shelter cove
We found a place we'd love to return to someday, to stay a while and truly enjoy. It's a long secluded beach at the end of a treacherous mountain road. On the way there, you'd think that no one could end up at such a place, then once you get there, you are met with hundreds of homes. We think they are vacation or retirement places for Bay Area people. jack says they are for "dentists and general practitioners, not specialists" because the houses are generally ugly, huge, and on small lots. Pretty tasteless, and sad because the area is lovely. and the best part: it sits at the end of a 24-mile long, secluded b each called the "lost coast"
The first few miles of the beach are known as the black sand beach, and are littered with black pebbles ranging from coarse sand to golf ball size. most of the pebbles are banded with white quartz veins, and many are rolled into perfect cabechons and spheres. the marbel-sized pebbles, with their intricate viens suggesting chinese characters, are hard to resist picking up. And so, after about 1 mile of hiking and picking up pebbles, Jack's shorts pocket is so heavy that he can hardly keep them on. Not that it would matter anyway....there is no one else on this beach, and it is, after all, northern california.

Lots of seals here, and boy are they cute. I love watching them scramble on to the rocks, you really appreciate how much effort it takes when you only have front flippers, the tide doesn't want you on the rocks, and you are one heavy lardy sluglike thing meant for swimming. Here they are enjoying viewing the humans.


a van pulls up in the parking lot, a big Grateful dead logo on the side, and 4-5 young hippies pour out, all garbed in hair, hemp and cotton. Their truck has a name: "even further". later on the way out of the steep windy mountain, road, we got stuck behind them as they attempted to get that old thing up the hills. i wonder how far they'll make it before replacing the engine.

Oh yeah, a lot of these pix have a "where's Waldo (jack) in them. I love taking pictures of jack taking pictures in these beautiful places, looking so tiny perched on bluffs overlooking the ocean. so if you see a little figure on a cliff, it's him messing with his camera for a "real" picture that will be for sale in the future.

We send you all fog, beach stones, salt, seagulls and crashing waves!