Nightglow Window

Terramar

I’m floating on my back in a green sea, and flecks of pyrite make the water shimmer gold in the sunlight. Not much surf today down here at Terramar, the lineup mostly a social scene for an armada of longboarders, also floating serenely. I gave up on catching anything decent ten minutes ago, after another flaccid wave limped me towards shore, barely allowing a turn. Now I’m in the soft flow outside the tiny breakers, kept afloat by the buoyant salt water and my 3/2 fullsuit. My board is on the beach with the girls and Heather and Mike.

Christy is off to Joshua Tree today, full of excitement. Can’t say I blame her. I try to keep my envy in check. Six employees from each So Cal REI are invited out for this climbing demo weekend -- about 80 staffers in all. Cooks prepare all the food, various climbing companies set up a bunch of top ropes on some of the better climbs in this beautiful national park, the dinners are catered.

She'll get more "climb time" in the next two days than she would in a week's worth of family trips. She deserves it. She climbs beautifully and some time camping in the desert will help her unwind. It's not going to be "heavy lifting" after all. Around noon, after saying her goodbyes, she rushed back into the house in a panic.

What was the problem?

She had forgotten her limes. You know, for her beer. The bocce ball set she remembered – and the sunscreen (which she’ll need). Mid-80s and sunny is the forecast. Nope, not heavy lifting.

But it’s a heck of a day here too, and soon after she leaves the girls and I are being followed by Heather and Mike to the beach, past that dream home on the bluff, down the sandy stairs, to a warm and welcome sight of quasi-summer California. Sunny and 76 and glassy (but small).

The beach at Terramar is full, but doesn’t exactly feel crowded. Dogs chase balls and colorful longboards lean against the large sandstone rocks that form the small beach amphitheater. Now, floating on my back, the whole scene appears colorful and manageable and like home. It is a bit of a local’s beach, people seem to know each other and stop to say hello.

A pelican skims across the water, close enough that I can hear its passing. It fits into the scene perfectly on this “winter” day in Carlsbad.


Christy on the southwest corner of Headstone Rock in Joshua Tree.