What do you write about when you aren't anywhere but home for a while?
It seems ridiculous seeing as I was originally able to write a ton about random things like going to a farmers market or going swimming as it was in a place so foreign to me at the time (Hawaii) or to write about climbing in a different state as I hadn't been there before (Colorado), but now that I have cooled my jets a little bit for the "winter" season, I am finding it hard to grasp the motivation needed to write.
That being said, I realized I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world- the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains in California. Many people spend their whole lives without ever setting sights on these beautiful giant trees or experiencing the freezing waters of the central coastline of the United States. The southern sea otters and gray whales migrating leave you with an incredible connection to the world around you, no matter how many times you've seen them. There is something to be said about breathing in the eucalyptus and redwood scent as you ride a trail or step out onto your front porch. I hear the blue jays and chickadees and sparrows calling in the morning instead of parrots and Japanese pheasants. There are three fluffy cats living next door who come over to hang out in the morning and watch the birds in the bird bath. There's the raccoons walking through the brush at night outside the window and the deer eyeing the garden from the other side of the fence.
There are trails just up the road leading into several different state parks or into the backside of the university's upper campus. Mountain lions, bobcats and deer frequent these pathways as they are the routes less traveled and quiet for most of the year. The nights are cold here for the most part with more stars than you could ever hope to see if the night is clear. The mornings are quiet and cool with blankets up to my ears not wanting to get out of bed.
There are so many beautiful places here and yet because I call it home I feel like I need to adventure away from it to have a new experience, when in fact there is so much here still left unexplored. I am learning more and more there does not need to be a big trip planned in order to have new experiences and enjoy new sites. There are plenty of new opportunities close to home often overlooked or forgotten that can keep a mind and body occupied and inspired.
I met a woman the other day who came into the shop to rent a board to go paddling for her first time. She said she had lived here for 35 years and had never been out on the water. Not once. I asked her what her change of heart was and she said she saw a whale spout in the distance. In my mind, I'm thinking, "just one little spout? Geez..." I imagine it was probably a couple of miles off shore and nothing more than a little puff of air, but it had inspired her to come and get a board and do something she had never done before (keep in mind she wasn't going by herself, but had a friend along for the journey with their own board). This got me thinking about how this woman had lived here over a decade longer than my whole lifespan and had never ventured out into the water. To many of you, myself included, this seems ridiculous, as most of us have a special place in our hearts and lives for the water, but for some it is a boundary, a no pass zone. Her story gave me a new bit of inspiration to explore places I haven't been before here in the Santa Cruz mountains and along the coastline. It isn't far from home and I can get there easily enough, but when you think of something as a boundary zone, we no longer see it as an option for exploration and growth. Basically, kudos to a woman over twice my age who is going out to do something new- you're inspiring.
Now that the rain has shown up, even if for a brief moment, the trails are delicate and need some time away from my bike tires, but I'm confident the exploration will continue once the storm passes.
To all of my friends near and far- thank you for thinking of me on my corner life day. I am grateful for all of you as you are what make my life so special and peppered with amazing experiences and adventures. Travel safely, the roads are wet now (finally!).
-M.
~We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. -Jawaharial Nehru
Nice post Meggan ! Its something I think about often as there as so many things to do round here. Even with the trails so wet its my favorite time of year to get out and run, the smell of the woods and wet earth more than makes up for getting soaking wet. Heres to more rain !
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