California Memories, Then and Now

We down coast highway, setting sun, smells of salty sea and eucalyptus. Walked the carpeted curves of the park overlooking Laguna Beach. At every turn, bench and picnic table, "We came here when we only had two kids with our first church brunches, and here with my brother's family and that's where the kids loved to body surf, play on the swings and go through the tunnels". If you know Laguna you'll know what I'm talking about. But you don't know the children or the images that are still pressed onto the pages of my memories. sigh............had a drink a Diedrich's and played scrabble with my hubby; he was reading A Pattern Language and I, Longing to Know.

Visiting CA, friends, family and the beaches. Recalls to mind a poem I wrote as a newlywed 25 years ago, when we lived in CA:

I like soft sweaters

after a day at the beach

where the wind and waves

have treated me as if I were

just another rock

- but I'm not

and the softness of sweaters

treat me as a woman.

Only those driving in CA can really understand these stories, as we have those discussions every time we go back for a visit (moved to FL 9 years ago). This summer we were driving in Newport Beach and were looking for one of our favorite beaches, Corona Del Mar, we came around a corner and AHHHHH, they'd built houses all over where the beach grass and overlook was. we felt like we were in twilight zone. ANyway we drove a few blocks around and no, they handed changed it all, it was still there as beautirful as ever, but the 3 years since we'd been there they had changed a few streets around the area.