Oceanic

Yesterday, Drew said, 'We should go to the beach this weekend.' Yeah. We should. We have been having this gorgeous weather, which makes for nice beach time in the winter, with low angle sun and a rather slack wind. Somehow, I often forget to go visit the ocean, even though it's only a short 7 miles away. So we gathered our snacks and extra layers, the dog and her chuck-it, and piled in the car.

We arrived shortly at the mouth of McNutt Gulch, the place where the Mattole Road spills onto the beach flat when you head north out of Petrolia. We drive by it several times per month, but until today, Drew and I had only been there together once, and I had only been there one other time besides. It's a beautiful beach, bordered on the east by impressive sand dunes. It's a wide, flat, plain-like beach with a fantastic view in all directions. McNutt Gulch is generally a small volume stream, and its water usually snakes back and forth wildly before disappearing into the sand before it reaches the ocean.

We walked out and immediately were all drawn into searching for tiny, smooth, orange, green, and yellow agates, with the unlikely idea that we will use them someday in a concrete countertop. There are so many! There is sea glass too. We could spend all day collecting odd shaped trinkets and pieces of shells made smooth by the action of sand and waves and time.

The wind came up rather suddenly from the north, the cold strong wind, unfolding white caps out beyond the surf zone, so we retreated to the dunes, to a south face that was warmed by the sun but protected. Ahhh, reclining in the sun next to my husband while my daughter throws the ball for the dog, snacking on salty almonds and crackers in December...is there any better life?