Santa Cruz: It Just Keeps Topping Itself

Surfing is big in Santa Cruz. I mean, really big. I'm talking cetacean big. That's right, even whales and dolphins come out for the Santa Cruz surfing.

Here's another example of the ridiculousness with which this new home keeps setting the bar high for idyllic moments, only to raise it still higher: on our daily stroll after work, we walked along West Cliff Drive towards the lighthouse where the Coldwater Classic surfing competition was happening. As we neared the crowds gathered along a promontory, Marina grabbed my arm and pointed out beyond the kelp beds, beyond where the surfers gathered to begin their runs. Flashes of gray and silver arcs, up and out of the water, a pod of dolphins frolicked. That was pretty exciting and soothing, and my feeling of well-being, a feeling that has settled on me ever since the move, was strengthened. Seriously, a five minute walk from home and I'm seeing dolphins? Can't tell me I'm not a lucky boy.

And then, five minutes later, as we were watching the wet-suited surfers corkscrew their way along the ridges of water, two big spouts maybe fifty yards from shore, two big backs sliding out of the water. Whales, close enough to see, as close and as vivid as I remember from my childhood experience in Fort Ross, when I remember seeing a pod of migrating whales from the cliff. The difference is, my childhood memory must have be playing tricks on me, because I wasn't that close to the whales. My imagination filled in the details. This moment today was very real. It became clear that there were several whales just off shore, and the frequent spouts transported me to a childlike joy.

I say this as someone who has actually touched a grey whale from a panga; this was every bit as special a moment. When you answer calls all day for work, when things are crazy and intense and there is barely a respite, it all becomes worth it when you can walk outside and worship at the altar of the ocean, which does not require active worship, really, but a passive acceptance, like a flower turning towards the sun.