My airplane’s wings suspended upon an invisible bed of air, I view the California coast from an elevated and distant perspective. Beneath me, a thousand shades of blue intermingle, entrapping the sun’s vibrant light within glistening waves. As I am drawn higher and higher into the Earth’s atmosphere, each individual ocean wave progressively diminishes in size until all that is left is a continuous cobalt gradient. I cannot help but think to the incredible memories I formed upon the miniature expanse of Earth shrinking below.
Day 1: Santa Barbara Beach
Clad in a UC Berkeley tee, skin-tight charcoal grey running pants and neon coral Nikes, I bounded out of my grandparents’ peach-washed bungalow and on to the palm tree lined street. The hot dry air that seeped into my every pour was saturated by the thick romantic fragrance emanating from the freshly bloomed deep violet Agapanthuses. Miniature terra cotta-shingled houses dotted the landscape infinitely, the brilliant bouquets of flowers that burst out of the ground, blurring together in my vision to create a vibrant jungle. In one moment the rubber soles of my sneakers sprung from the hot concrete sidewalk and in the next they tread silently upon the shaded sandy trails of an expansive nature reserve. The brief cluster of high-reaching trees opened upon a stretch of tall withered grass, beneath which, the ocean peered in minute blue glimpses. A couple hundred paces later I stood directly at the edge of a cliff. Beautiful fuchsia-tinted succulents tumbled over the jagged boulders and grazed the fine grains of sand on the beach. Below the aquamarine water crashed against the shore, creating bubbling white tides and, in the distance, the stunning blue-grey mountains seemed rise directly from the ocean floor. Overwhelmed by the serenity and beauty that surrounded me, I stood frozen in this exact location, hoping to soak every pixel of the Santa Barbara landscape into my memory.
Stay tuned for Day Two….
