Interlude: the Beach

Seven days ago I watched the sun set from Mount San Antonio's west summit. Tonight, a much lower (and warmer!) perch: Santa Monica Beach, looking out toward the pier. With a bit of a heat spell picking up, temps have shot up, from 70's at the coast to 80's inland.

Faced with such brutal weather, what is there to do but take the day off, hop on the bicycle, and cruise the strand along the beach?

We live about 3 1/2 miles away from the ocean, which is just far enough to forget it's there. I never get tired of the feeling I get when I dart through downtown Santa Monica on my bicycle and the Pacific appears. Kind of like driving up Mountain Avenue and suddenly finding yourself in the wilderness of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Yes, perched precariously between mountains and sea, on days like this Los Angeles can seem like a little slice of paradise.

Just stay away from the freeways, or the illusion is sure to be wrecked. And it doesn't hurt to find yourself wandering about in shorts and a t-shirt while other poor souls are praying for the mercury to go up. Tomorrow's forecast high temperature in Fargo, ND: -12°F. Yes, that's minus 12!

What do you call the middle of February in Southern California? Spring.

Ah well...back to work tomorrow. :)

— February 9, 2008

Andy Lewicky is the author and creator of SierraDescents