This morning I have Point Lobos on my mind. My boyfriend and I took a weekend trip to Monterey and Carmel in May and it was the first time that we had been to Point Lobos State Reserve, just a few miles south past Carmel. We started early that morning after a breakfast start at the famous Tuck Box, which unfortunately wasn’t very good that day. The waitress wasn’t attentive and the bacon was stiff and cold. We sent it back and she brought the same stiff bacon, slightly heated, back on a separate plate.

Back on highway 1, in no time, we approached the entrance to the reserve. We turned right and drove up to the booth to pay our fee and get a map. Already, I felt calmed. Huge trees greeted us, shot up high and pulled us in. As we drove slowly to the end of the road to one of the parking lots, I enjoyed the hush. It was early, so we had missed the crowds. It was as if we had the trees and ocean to ourselves for a while. I saw that there were several trails that we could start at. The first trail we took led down into a forest of trees. I breathed in the fresh air, walking quietly winding along the path, to the left the massive ocean, waves undulating. As we took it all in and circled our way back, we took the other trail with fewer trees, more shrubs that brought us closer to the water. I admired the rocks: textures and formations that nature had written and left for visitors to enjoy. There were sea lions, deer, lizards, and birds. I had never seen a deer against an ocean backdrop. For me this was something new and filled me with a tingling feeling. So today, I cleanse my spirit with thoughts of that vast ocean, knowing that even if I’m not there right now, I can travel back by remembering.