A Golden Beam of Light Beckons

On a recent weekend some friends and I congregated to spend time in the small community of  Pescadero. Hidden between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay, Pescardero is a unique coastal community.  The old restaurant/saloon Duartes, serving the best clam chowder on the West Coast, is inland and located in what some might call  the town center.

Pescadero rests minutes from neighboring La Honda, which features a most interesting and eclectic General Store.  There is always a small band playing blues or rock and roll on the weekends.  You can drink a handcrafted local micro brew while shopping local art and crafts, books and homemade foods.

Yet it is Pescadero that offers one brilliant historical site which attracts us here for the weekend, and that is the lighthouse at pigeon point.  We came to have a slumber party at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel.  Ten amazing women along side the Pacific Ocean, watching transient male whales en route to warmer waters for the winter.

The weather in December was beautiful.  California coastal atmospherics at their best.  With less than three weeks weeks before Christmas I wore shorts and a sports shirt . The wind was crisp, and the cold ocean water leapt to kiss our cheeks and lips throughout the weekend. It was absolute beauty and perfection.  Fresh ocean winds and sunny warmth by day.  Billions of stars at night.

At the hostel we had one whole house to ourselves, stocked with memory foam beds wrapped in rubber-like permanent sheets.  The bunk beds located in 3 rooms allowed for hang out space and proved to be quite comfortable.  The living space and kitchen area provided additional cooking, preparation and relaxation areas. There was music, bingo, drinking, laughter, napping and reading going on around the clock.  Women braiding hair, massaging backs and painting nails.  The exact right balance of sound and silence. 

At a time of the year when the world can be very busy and frenetic, we all came to the coast to be together and experience rejuvenation by reorienting ourselves to our own true north stars.

Its easy to overlook the gifts in our life, as we run from thing to thing everyday.  We keep ourselves and our children ever involved in activities, so much so that we run the risk of missing  life by focusing on the chaos.  I have been unplugging from the grid of activities for the past three years.  I have been dismantling my façade one activity at a time.  I have been growing into the awareness of  my blessings as I step off the merry-go-round and touch ground in my own soul.

The lessons I am learning focus precisely on my people/friends, and my family, parents (still living!) and siblings who have persevered through so much LIFE.  We migrate now to one another in a way that is inspiring and supportive.  My people/friends/family are great teachers to me.

My daughter, Hannah, and my husband James are my constants, like the North Star — guiding, shining and singing throughout my life.  Both Hannah, James and my mother are Pisces.  They sing their own songs, practice art and photography, and are incredibly talented.  I am in awe of these amazing creatures. My mother is 87, my husband 53 and my daughter just 16 years old, yet they each offer the world their own unique talents and beauty.  I am so grateful and lucky to be in their presence.

Today, I give thanks to Mother Earth and all of her relations.  I give thanks for the love, friendship, health, financial freedom, insight, gifts, memories and every minute of this day.   My cup overflows with goodness and joy.

Day's Finale, Pigeon Pt., CA, #4201/2-7D

© 2012  James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: December 10, 2011; Canon 7D; f/8 @ 1/664 sec; —2 EV; ISO 250;
Tokina AT-X Pro 11-16mm f/2.8 DX @ 16mm

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