February 6, 2006
The sur sure is big
…listen
…info about the musicClick on the blue music icon above to hear some of a movement from my “Evensong Suite” titled “Magnificat,” to accompany these photos of Big Sur looking down, and up, the coast.
The perfect way to relax after a really fun time working in the Bay area, was a really fun drive the long way down the Western edge of the continent. I never miss an opportunity to do this.
It is impossible to snap a photo of the Big Sur coastline that doesn’t look like a postcard. Proof, above. This February day was unseasonably warm; a hat and sunscreen were needed to stave off the insistent sun, even through a touch of marine haze. For the countless times over roughly 25 years that I’ve taken this drive and collected favorite stopping points, not once have any of them ever looked the same way twice. The air, the water and the smells all change daily. Especially in vibrant places like Point Lobos, below, I barely recognize the coves and tidepools with which I’ve made friends twenty times before. This spot magnetically draws me each time I’m nearby; I even wrote a jazz tune in its honor. Maybe one of the reasons I love the Carmel and Monterey area is that I never know what I’m going to feel, no matter what my expectations might be. Just like composing a new piece.
Two unrelated things really amaze me: in each pair, the color of the ocean is green in one photo gazing south, and blue in the other facing north, even though they were taken within minutes of each other. It looked just like this in person, so I’m guessing this phenomenon has to do with the way the sunlight and clouds reflect and refract the light on the water.
And the second thing that continues to amaze and awe me is that I live like this. When I returned home this afternoon, as you can see from the header of this blog and many other photos here, it didn’t look wildly different. I cannot get over my great fortune to be surrounded by so much heart-boggling beauty, and that’s largely why I decided to start this blog this year, in order to share it with you. Whoever you are.
Click on the blue music icon above to hear some of “Point Lobos,” while enjoying photos of… Point Lobos.
