I actually meant to get this post out yesterday, but just ended up too tired after the beach…it’s a bit sacriligeous it took this long to actually go to one (living 15 minutes away from a beach on a tropical island and not going for 6 months is arguably insane), but I finally did it! It was so gorgeous.
Truthfully, I’ve always thought the beaches in the US were severely lacking. I thought the Socal coastline would be different (the East shore is so…dirty and murky), but I still found it underwhelming compared to the white sand beaches here. Even though the water is a little too cold in the mornings, if you get in around sunrise, the water is so clear you can see straight down to your feet even when you’re waist deep. Some of my earliest formative memories are of going to the beaches here in the mornings before they were full of people and watching the fish swim by my feet.
Anyways, this beach! It’s pretty famous. You have to drive up a pretty bumpy road to get there. It’s a lot more “forested” rather than palm trees. There are also a lot of cotton plants, which I thought was interesting? So the landscape is definitely not what I was expecting. It also feels really isolated compared to most of the beaches on the island. Sure enough, there weren’t all that many people there. But luckily, it wasn’t too empty, because when you’re the only one there, it can feel a little eerie or like the water is going to be full of jellyfish.
I really love the sea; I always have. It was really nice being back, and I think I got some exercise in. I’m going to make it a point to visit more often. I have a sort of vendetta against the sun and heat, but it doesn’t feel so bad when you’re in the water. After a few hours of splashing around and minding the manatee warning signs, I went to get some pinchos and beer. I’ve been trying to have smoothies for lunch to be a little healthier, but something about the beach makes me crave meat and alcohol…maybe it’s all that sun.
When I got back, Nutmeg and Licorice arrived to complain that I hadn’t fed them yet. I swear, Butterscotch is teaching them awful things. He’s recently been very hard to get ahold of. Every time I see him, he’s running around meowing his big head off. Like, physically running. I’m not sure what’s going on with him. But he’s seemingly dropped the kittens off at our place while he handles whatever business he’s dealing with.
They’ve even started meowing at me! And Nutmeg has made it a habit of trying to break into the house from time to time. Luckily, yesterday she was satisfied with a few spoonfuls of food, but sometimes she makes her dissatisfaction known via breaking and entering. Once, she even ran between my legs when I tried to block the doorway. Butterscotch is a terrible role model.
After all the excitement of the day, I settled down to read a trashy GL webcomic. And was promptly interrupted by a rather strong earthquake! They’re rather common here. A lot of cracks in the sidewalk and floors can be attributed to frequent earthquakes. Last night’s was a 4.5, I believe, which is pretty strong! Sometimes, if it happens while you’re sleeping, you wake up really confused and disoriented and wonder if you dreamed it. The houses here are mostly made of concrete (to endure hurricanes), but concrete doesn’t hold up against earthquakes very well. A bit of a catch-22.
The cats were undisturbed by the earthquake and chose to meow at me through the window instead. After being ignored, they knocked over a container of old lightbulbs I’d left outside. Technically, I have no proof, but there was a great crash, a few guilty looking faces, and an awful lot of broken glass. Ah well, guess it was time to get rid of those lightbulbs anyways.