Land of eternal sunshine

Posted on November 3, 2009 by elizabeth

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waves on the jetty @ Corona Del Mar, Nov. '08

Southern California is land of eternal sunshine. The only way I know the seasons are changing is because the light changes.

Summer light is stark and white hot. It glances off the ocean, burning your eyes and your skin.

Summer sand is hot as coals–blazing the soles of your bare feet as you hip-hop across it.

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running into the waves @ Newport Beach, summer '08

Summer sunsets are like molten lava, flaming oranges and angry reds. You feel it stinging the back of your legs as you haul umbrellas and surfboards back to your car after a long, sandy day.

But the light changes in mid-October. The air is cooler in the morning, the beaches are quieter. The light  warms the ocean cliffs with yellow gold. Autumn sunsets are languid, painting the sea pink. And the twilight breezes are cold.

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sunset just north of Santa Barbara, Oct. '09

Winter light is pale and thin. You can lay out for hours without getting burned. And the sand stays cool all day.

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Crystal Cove State Beach, Feb. '08

Rain storms blow in from the Pacific and the coldest days hover around 60 degrees. On those days I like to bundle up and watch the wind-swept ocean near a jetty. But I never brave the jetty rocks.

Rogue waves have swept many a soul into the roiling sea.

In late spring, the marine layer moves in–sometimes socking us in for days. All is gray. Visitors wonder if they mistakenly booked a trip to land of eternal fog. If the sun burns through the gray, the light is orange–the sky a dirty shade of beige.

The gloom can last through late June. 

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Laguna Beach, June '09

And then it is white-hot summer again.

Some days I wish I could witness more signs of changing seasons: brilliant foliage, frost, snow.

But then I'd have to give up the ocean and the California sunshine.

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Cambria, March '08

And I've watched too many ocean sunsets to give that up.

Not even for all the brilliant foliage in Maine.

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Cambria sunset, March '08

How about you? Where do you live?
What signs of the changing seasons do you cherish?

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  • http://brambleberrygrace.blogspot.com/ Katie

    I’m in Minnesota. I love Winter. The first snow fall is magical. I even like the heavy blankets of white that linger through February and into March. There’s just something about the crunch of snow beneath my boots, the cold nipping at my nose…and cocoa tastes extra sweet when you come in from the cold.

    (I would love to experience a Pacific Ocean sunset, though!)

  • http://MeditativeMeanderings.blogspot.com Susanne Barrett

    I am also in Southern California, but much more southern than you … like 17 miles north of the border.

    We live in a small town 50 miles east of San Diego, at 3700 feet, so we get a few dustings of snow each winter but spend most of the summers over 100 degrees. Our town (pop 1200) is in the mountains, so we are surrounded by oaks and pines, and some trees have spectacular fall color. But we are also a 45-minute drive from the beach where my parents live, just south of La Jolla, so we rather have the best of both worlds.

    From one Southern Californian to another… blessings.

  • http://debsueknit.blogspot.com DebbieQ

    I live in Northeastern Ohio and I love all the seasons around here but I think Fall is about my favorite. The leaves are spectacular, the light is soft.

  • Susan

    I live in Nebraska and there is something about standing outside in the fall when everything seems to be still and drawing the a breath of crisp air and watching the leaves fall like a golden carpet on the ground. The first snow- the crunch of boots, the pile of wet shoes by the door. The chaos of dogs, and kids all clamoring to be the first outside. The smell of cider heating up in the kettle on the stove.
    The cold mornings having one more “snuggle” before you throw back the covers and dive for your slippers and thank the Good Lord above for programmable thermostats.
    Sleeping with your electic blanket on and the window open.
    Flannels and fireplaces.
    Husbands in coveralls- chopping wood!
    Sigh…

  • http://goodlifelane.blogspot.com DramaMama

    I live in WI by Lake Michigan – I cherish snow, leaves, bright sunny but 40* days, tons of blankets on the bed, planting a garden while wearing a winter hat, wearing your bathing suit during the day but a sweatshirt around a campfire at night, etc…I think the only part of the seasons changing that I do not like is mud and slushy gray melting snow. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live in a place of eternal spring/summer, but I could never part w/fall and winter! I love wearing snowpants and shoveling (yes I’m a rare breed!), I love crisp fall air, I love how at Christmas everything looks like an old time calendar…lights in the window, the soft glow of snow and icicles…We are blessed to be able to do a lot of traveling and it’s cool to see how the kids react to the weather in other places. I’m grateful we have experienced the ocean, the mountains and the desert, but I’m always happy to be home!

  • Canadian Leanne

    I live in Ottawa, Ontario. It’s still pretty nice here although their calling for flurries later this week. Considering that we got our first snow storm before Halloween last year, I’ll enjoy the last warm-ish days that we have. Winter will last for approx. 6 months. I love the snow until Christmas and then curse it for the following 4 months. It can be quite beautiful when the sun shines down on it but also quite depressing to go for weeks without any real sun. I’ll just have to keep looking at your California pictures to get me through the winter. =0)

  • Lou Ann

    Hello from Northeast Ohio! But this is from a native California, an original “valley girl”. I have now lived in Ohio for 25 years and have loved the changing seasons since our first autumn when we arrived. When we first moved here and mentioned to others we missed the ocean, they would tell us to go to Lake Erie. Obviously, they did not understand nor experienced a sunset on the west coast or the roar of the waves or the fragrance of the salty air. We still love the ocean and were blessed with a beautiful day last February walking the beaches of Santa Barbara and Leo Carillo. But to look out daily from the windows in the hospital I work at and see the vivid oranges, reds, yellows in various shades is breathtaking! The quiet of the snow falling and the bursting forth of spring blossoms is of great pleasure to this transplanted Southern California girl. My other favorite spot is Minneapolis and Red Wing, Minnesota.

  • velinka marton

    We live in MI.

    Spring… everything coming back to life… sun again… beautiful colors… lovely. Apart from the days that can be riddled with freezing rain and gray skies, it can be quite an exciting time. The fall is beautiful, for all the reasons that have already been given. And, I never thought I would be “cherishing” this, but in the winter, after a freezing rain, when all the trees and every surface is coated in ice… there is something very magical about that. If you have to leave the house, you can only drive about 6 miles an hour BUT it’s a beautiful, magical, sparkly world as far as you can see. It’s really quite spectacular.

    Having said all that…. we lived in SoCal for about seven yrs. and I’d move back in a heartbeat. Some days I miss it terribly and I LOVE visiting my fam. and friends. Thanks for sharing your pics of what still feels like home to me.

  • Kaitlin

    I live in Maine. I love the brilliant folliage. :)
    Winter is as equally beautiful right after the snow falls.
    Spring here is so blah!
    Summer with the beaches’ waves crashing along the shore is so peaceful.

  • Jennifer

    Small world – we live in OC. :)