“Ocean in view. We
are in view of the ocean. This great
pacific ocean, which we have been so longing to see. – William Clark”
I blame that on my mom’s constant playing of a music album
with Lewis and Clark’s quotes peppered in it.
Nonetheless, here I am, at Newport Beach, California, soaking in the
perfect temperatures, letting my feet hit the sand and toes in the water. Wimpy little Orange County people are all
bundled up, but to me this is a second summertime.
This should be a lesson to me, one which I’ve learned and
forgotten now for too many years. Just
let things be. Go, explore, be
agendaless and take every possible thing, from novelty to annoyance, and view
it as an adventure.
After arriving at the airport, several annoyances came to
play. The TSA apparently had to test to
see if the honey I was bringing to Joe was in fact a bomb. They almost closed the jar completely, but
not quite, resulting in it leaking. A
small bit of honey was lost in the process and a portion of my suitcase is now
sticky.
But you know what was also occurred? I saw all the theme park brochures and
recalled how much I’ve been wanting to go, plus Kyle is not a fan of theme
parks so unless it were staring us in the face we wouldn’t, plus Joe is a fan
of theme parks, equals delight! I hope
we go to one this weekend.
Since Joe is predictably in work, I had more than a few
hours to burn. I live in the mountains
these days, but I was born at the sea (Newport Hospital to be exact, the
original, erm in America, Newport), and some of my most cherished memories were
borne of the sea. So I had it in my mind
to explore some stretch of the sea.
There are taxis, but that would be expensive, and even if I
were moneybags mcgee, that does take away some of the adventure. I have determined, in some cases (not all,
see Osaka, New York, Europe) individual transportation is more convenient. In all cases, public transportation is far
more adventurous. First there is the
part about figuring out where to go, and how to get there. Then there is the ability to actually see
what you are going through and appreciate it.
Finally, there is that hint of danger, not real danger, but the
possibility of failure; the possibility of not ending up where you intended to
be. That makes it more like a game than
a cardboard cut objective.
Yet I had a very hard time finding out where the local buses picked up. I suppose it should
have been expected, but when I asked airport employees where the bus was, they
gave me a very queer look that suggested “What is this ‘boos’ thing you are referring
to?” No matter. It was another adventure- to find out how to
get where.
A lack of convenience forces you to be happy with your
result. How many times have I driven
around to find the perfect spot I am looking for, be it park or
restaurant. When you are going by bus or
by foot, every spot it perfect, because it is the one that is there. It is the one that calls to you the most and
will call to you the most for the next 5-10 minutes, depending on how speedy
you are. That is, you give your
surroundings a chance to actually speak to you.
I used to do this a lot in Japan. Walk around, take a train somewhere and just
go. I loved it. It was fun.
I haven’t really done that since.
There is the social anxiety.
Who the hell is this hobo girl with her big rolling luggage on the
beach? What is she doing here?
But baaahhh. I climb
mountains. I go to places that are
actually physically inhospitable. Why
should I let any possible snide remarks deter me? It isn’t worth it, so fuck em I say.
The sun is long from setting, but it is great to see it
here. At home it would be starting to
crest behind the mountains; one of the misfortunes of living right against a
9000ft mountain; in the morning it is worse as to the east is a 14,000 ft
mountain. This I miss. In Rhode Island it was the dawn that was most
beautiful, but here I can see it being dusk.
Man I miss the ocean.
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