When the Winds Blow
28 October 2003
You feel its effects in your body before you feel
it on your skin... your lips are a little chapped, you order an
extra glass of water, and suddenly realize you're out of moisturizer.
Then you realize that the wind has changed and it's suddenly warmer,
dryer, easier to breathe. It's a Santa Ana, when the warm desert
winds blow west towards the coast challenging the wet pacific air
and for a brief few days, it wins.
I was up at the Getty when the Santa Ana started blowing on Saturday.
As the sun set it grew cooler, and then suddenly, it was almost
hot. It felt like a storm was coming, there was an energy in the
air, but it couldn't have been more calm. Sometimes the pacific
air will mix in and you get a spiral of smells up your nose like
chocolate vanilla twist ice cream. All at once hot and dry and soft
and sweet.
There was a minus tide on the beach. When the tide drops so low
rocks you never knew were out there are exposed. Standing on the
sand bar near our beach the water is normally up to my waist during
low tide. On Sunday, it barely covered my feet. I took a walk with
my neighbor at the same time as a week before, but last week we
stuck close to the rocks to try to stay dry, and this week we walked
out on the sand bar, splashing through the sand and mud. Kids buried
themselves in it, and only surfing was allowed near the pier due
to the low water level.
Even though we saw little evidence of the fires, the smoke in the
air turned the sunset into a bright splash of purple, teal, fuchsia
and tangerine and the sand looked almost oily as the waves receded
back out to sea.
As I sat on the beach, I though about the things I've learned out
here. I've learned what a minus tide is, and that on the Pacific,
it's anyone's guess as to the tide schedule! The water temperature
has only a loose association with the air temperature and it's ok
to step on the kelp... there's only water inside. I know what it
means to "hang 10" and "get barreled" and I
know that while sharks rarely attack surfers, they feed on people
that swim with the seals. Kids, no matter what their hair color
should be, are all yellow heads and no matter how much 45 you put
on your baby, even he will get a tan. You can always tell who the
tourists are. I've learned there is no way around the L.A. traffic,
if you can't handle it you better just stay home. If you want to
see lots of freaks, head to Santa Monica, but those same freaks
will also be some of the nicest and most humble people you ever
meet. In Southern California you can learn Spanish by osmosis, you
absorb it no matter how hard you try to avoid it, and the Spanish
are really attached to their saints... i.e. every other city is
named after one. And finally I've learned I never want to live in
Southern California again, but I wouldn't mind visiting sometime.
Wait... was I supposed to learn stuff about photography and magazine
production? I guess I learned that stuff too... but compared with
everything else, it seems almost insignificant.
I don't like Orange County, or L.A. The traffic is ridiculous, and
it's virtually one long strip mall from Santa Barbara to San Diego.
All 210 miles is inundated with Wal-Marts, Targets and Ikea. But
there are some reasons to at least visit. The seals at La Jolla,
the museums in San Diego, not to mention Little Italy, really good
Mexican food and Tequila, the Venice Boardwalk, the Getty, the drive
to Santa Barbara when the traffic is moving and the drive down the
PCH towards San Diego on a slow Sunday afternoon. Watching the surfers
from the pier during sunset
I also know that the small taste I've gotten of hot dry desert air
is a sign that it's time to move on. Instead of riding off into
the sunset, I'll be driving into the wind. As I sat here on the
couch, surrounded by my three boys, so patiently watching old episodes
of Sex and the City with me, I knew it was all over and I'm ready
to put summer on the rack till next year.
Moab calls, and two days of mountain biking with my friend Jenny.
Then parties in Denver and a drive back to Michigan. It will be
hard to leave Colorado again, but my parents have strategically
placed a trip to the cottage the next weekend to ease me back into
life in the Cold North. I've had 6 months of summer this year, capped
off by one last breath from the Santa Ana's. Now I'm ready for 6
months of winter! |
