There have been very few places in my life where I have felt freedom. I think the first place I discovered this sense of liberty was the beach. Whether San Diego and San Luis Obispo, whenever I was able to walk along the sand or bob up and down in the rolling waves in the ocean, I felt at peace. The second place I remember discovering this sense of tranquility was when I moved to Morro Bay. This was connected to the ocean but more than that it was my first experience on my own. Still, I remember a huge pull for me to move to Morro Bay involved getting out of the city. Again, it was an expression of freedom. Now at the age of 45, I think I have discovered another example of freedom, and that is in the mountains.
When the weekend arrived, Mary and I escaped to Big Bear where we attended a jazz festival. The music was good, and actually this one guitarist was smoking hot. His name is Jay Santo and he had all the moves of Elvis but with the jazz guitar savvy of Joe Pass. Really good. But the highlight of the whole concert was the setting: an intimate amphitheater nestled among the pine trees.
Mary loved the experience and had to get her photo taken with Jay Santo. Here are a couple of photos of her with Jay and his drummer. Exploring The Mountain
The next day, we explored the top of the ski slopes via the chairlifts. This was an amazing experience. The lifts elevate up nearly 1,000 feet and to see the tops of the forest through the bottom of your feet is quite breathtaking.
On the top of the mountain, the air is so fresh and so clean. It is filled with the sweet smell of pine and lake water.
I remember reading “For Whom The Bell Tolls” by Hemingway, and being totally aware of the surroundings he described while living in the mountains above Spain. While at the top of Big Bear, I felt the same sensations as when reading this novel. What was amazing about the mountain, was when we walked on one side, you could see the breathtaking vistas that overlook the lake. It was as beautiful as anything I had ever seen. However, when you walk to the back side of the mountain, you could see the well known San Gregorio Mountain, which reaches into the heavens at 11,000 feet. The old man that lives next door to me often describes the day he and four friends climbed San Gregorio. It took them 6 hours. Amazing. Of course we grabbed a quick bite to eat, a couple of beers, and then we headed down the mountain again.
Playing a Couple of HolesOnce in the valley, we decided to play a little golf. Mary has been practicing and was more than game to hit a few balls into the alpine air. So we shot a few shots, played a couple of practice holes, and then headed back to Los Angeles.
This past weekend, Mary and I hauled our kayak out to the lake and tried our hand at fishing. The weather was warm and sunny, with clear blue skies and crystal clear lake water. It was a perfect environment to try the adventure of fishing. We first launched from a small beach on the north side of the lake. From here, we paddled to a deserted cove where we tried our luck. As we sat on the shore throwing our line in the water, I was reminded of this quote..."The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of that which is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope” Indeed, we had the hope of catching our dinner for the night, but this vision was an illusion that was replaced instead by the reality of catching only very small fish that had to be thrown back. But we had a great time. We felt alone and at peace. Later on we paddled in the middle of the lake and dropped our line straight down into the black water, but we kept drifting, and so it was hard to keep our line were we wanted. So we decided to move onto a outcropping of big boulders. It was an amazing view from here. There were some old cabins that were boarded up but that looked amazingly like a scene from Tom Sawyer.
