I couldn’t figure out the right word, if there was even just one, to capture my week at Kalaloch. And then my friend asked if my stay was bringing serenity into my life. And that was the word I didn’t even know I was looking for: serenity.
From the north end of Kalaloch beach…
To the south end…
It is an amazing thing to experience standing on this particular edge of the North American continent.
There are tide pools and geological rock formations that tell the area’s history in stone, and I’ll need whole other posts for those.
This post is just about the views and the serenity they brought me, walking on this each every day, an hour or more, camera in hand.
Feeling the wind pushing against me, the sun (when it showed up) on my face, the sound of the endless waves crashing into the sandy beach, it was just what I needed to walk off my work world and start entering into the new phase, which I am calling “permanent vacation” (with a hat tip to the Boston bad boys of Aerosmith for that).
The light was different every day, and it seemed to set the mood for the day’s walking meditation. Some days, overcast and spitting rain, were about thinking through specific things that I needed to let go of while other days, more sun and blue skies, were the times to think of the future and the things I will do.
And on the day when I was thinking some “what did I do?” thoughts about retiring so early and not waiting for what the Social Security people call “full retirement age,” I looked out and saw two pelicans soaring above the waves. They are my favorite birds, and I had not expected to see them this far north so late in the year. But there they were, as if to remind me that I, too, can soar in unexpected places.
And so my week has come to a close, and it’s time to move on and explore new places. Kalaloch will always be special to me, though, for the serenity it provided after a hard and crazy couple of years.
(Note: If you would like to use any of these photos as a screen background or just enjoy it at a higher resolution, like 16×20 inches, you can find high-resolution versions at my smugmug site.)
No doubt the most magical campground/beach I have ever had the good fortune to visit.
It is magical indeed! I look forward to returning at some point because it’s one of my favorite places now.
beautiful !!!!!
As always, Annie, you put into pictures and words things I may think or want to express but are unable to. So very glad you have retired and moved on to a much more “productive” phase of your life. You bring joy through your pictures and words. Keep up the good “work”!!
Looks like you are doing well, enjoy
Annie, your photographs are exquisite. I feel as though I could reach out and touch the sky or walk barefoot in the ocean or just stand and watch the ever changing shore and the birds soaring effortlessly above it all. Serenity indeed! It must be difficult to leave after just a week. I’m sure you’ll be back. This beautiful place is now on my must-see list thanks to you (and thanks indeed).
just lovely, annie! i hope we can meet up someday and get acquainted.