Cazalea takes readers on a poignant journey to Sunset Cliffs, sharing personal history intertwined with the natural beauty and unique character of the area. His choice of an obscure Seiko Olympic Sports Timer for this reflective walk adds a distinctive horological touch to a deeply personal narrative.
Due to scheduling difficulties with Mrs. C, I walked alone today, and later than usual. I'm wearing an obscure Seiko Olympic Sports Timer, gold tone with blue. Time is 3 minutes to 8 and those are the original hands.
I decided to walk an area called Sunset Cliffs (which is not where you usually find good sunrises).
This area became an oasis for the Theosophical Society of America about 120 years ago. After that mystical experiment petered out, it was dedicated to perpetual use for educational institutions. Balboa University, California Western, United States International University and now Point Loma Nazarene University have occupied the area.
About 20 years ago a corner was carved off from the college and made into a natural park. After a full century of abuse from mystics, hippies, surfers, druggies and more, the native-plant-restoration zealots are hard at work restoring it to its original chaos of scrub brush. I noticed they are fortifying the area with cactus too.
Most of the bare dirt at the cliff edge is theoretically off-limits, but the thousands of footprints bear testimony to the magnetic power of the ocean, drawing people closer, closer, closer ... until they fall over the cliffs. Hence the sign STAY BACK!
The signs mean nothing to me because I learned about unstable cliffs 50 years ago when I came here to go to college. It was Cal Western then. My first morning after moving into the dorm (shown below) I walked 100 yards to the cliff edge and carefully peered over...
There laying on some rocks was the body of another freshman, who didn't even make it through his first 24 hours of college.It was the first dead body I'd ever seen or reported. "Death by misadventure, plus intoxication" was the verdict.
So I stood a safe distance from the edge and watched the surfers.
Full wetsuits on most of them, remember this is mid-December.
Grizzled old dudes and young surfer chicks mixing it up and most of them locals, because it's about 3/4 mile walk on a dirt path plus a steep cliff to descend.
Descend with bare feet and one hand free; the other holding a board. Grey-haired geezer here heading for the water.
I think this was a dad with his kids.
The ascent is the same path. Only now your arms are tired and your feet are wet. Surfer chick on her way up and out.
I wandered a bit more on the trails, remembering my college days here.
The birds distracted me a bit but I didn't pursue them too hard.
I love this Sony RX-10 Mk 4.
I think this is the ravine where I crashed my roommate's Bultaco Matador motorcycle. I screamed around a corner to find a 10-foot ditch, into which I went head first. I was able to climb out with nothing permanently ruined except my pride. It took 3 of us and a rope to pull the Bultaco out.
Enough of this nonsense. Time to head home.
One last shot
Cazalea
PS - this is why I was late; I had to stop by the docks earlier and get some fish.
