When the earth revolves far enough to prevent the sun's light from shining directly upon things terrestrial but still illumines the earthly heavens, we call that unique time a sunset or afterglow.
Here we are enjoying an Atascadero afterglow after a close to perfect day.
In contrast to the sterile definition above, English poet, Noel Carrington offers the following:The zenith spreads its canopy of sapphire, and the West has a magnificent array of clouds, and as the breeze plays on them they assume the forms of mountains, castled cliffs and hills, and shadowy glens, and groves, and beetling rocks, and some in golden masses float, and others have edges of burning crimson --- Never from the birth of time were scattered o'er the glowing sky more splendid colorings.
cambria
We just can't get away from art. Both nature and nature's crown, humankind, brandish their brushes with abandon. A visit to Cambria reveals both, especially in the Art Gallery shops where one-of-a-kind works will empty your wallet and credit card in a blink.
CAMBRIAN GINNIE and CAMBRIAN ORANGE
Basking in a little sunspot, this plant nursery cat knows the power of a low stress life. Looking dead to the world, this guy was actually breathing while the shutter snapped, but you had to look really close to make sure. A few more leaves on top of him would have made it more doubtful.
morro bay
The Morro Bay tradition of downing fish and chips is getting old. Over fifty years of it. That's a combined group total of 150 to 200 years. And one of us grew up in Brooklyn! Is it real, this magnetic attraction to the Rock? It's not like you're going to see anything new here, except the higher prices! But it's getting old. We didn't even go into the shell shop this time. Let's just eat, look at a few t-shirts and leave. Oh, take some pictures, too, for good measure.
I
S.F. HYDRANT ONCE RED POST BLUE FLECKED ROPEIf Morro Bay's fatal flaw (a.k.a. the Power Plant) were to magically disappear, a lot of lights would go out, but a few of us would be secretly smiling.
RETURN TO THE PR-USA HOMEPAGE
e-mail to: Dave Skinner
We stayed in the city by the bay two nights, so there was an opportunity to capture a sunrise at the water's edge. The mostly deserted Monday morning streets, shops and driveways increased the number of places to take pictures. Unusually clear and warm, this was the perfect time to see the rock in it's golden glory.
The German, Humboldt writes:Natural objects themselves, even when they make no claim to beauty, excite the feelings, and occupy the imagination. Nature pleases, attracts, delights, merely because it is nature.
And what is this attraction to Morro Rock? It's nothing more than a submerged mountain top. And a midget mountain at that. Lifeless in itself. Weathered and worn through millennial decay. Asymmetrical. Chewed on by men and machine. Disrespected by bird and beast. Majestic misfit.
Yet there is that pull toward it, an element of gravity tugging at our hearts, like a big and old friend. We are attracted to the huge, beautiful or not. A measure of security grips us. The unchanging monuments of life reflect the unchanging character of the life-giver.
YELLOW KAYAKS MORRO BAY LOOKING
SOUTH
pismo beach
It had to be about 90 degrees at this hotspot. Pismo doesn't share the purple mountain majesty of Morro Bay, so we don't visit often. A bit more desolate and downright ugly we were informed by a Wisconsin couple who were here for the first time.
KEN AND EVELYN"Wisconsin is beautiful, the miles and miles of wonderful fields, roads, farmhouses. This is too desolate, dry and dismal." (paraphrased) Guess he was expecting Oregon on the Central Coast. Anyway, we talked for awhile, found out why they were here (a wedding) and made friends, I hope.
There are mainly two kinds of people who come here. Watchers and watchees. These are the watchers above. The watchees are below.
Funny there weren't more people hiding from the scorching heat. This shady spot made for great photo framing. The guy below is also cooling it under some wet sand. He was actually shaking it was so cold. The two burial 'artists' covering him up wanted us to stay until they finished their project, hinting that they were going to use artistic license to embellish the final sculpture. No thanks.
BURIED ALIVE AND
LOVING ITTime to say goodbye to Pismo and hello to Avila Beach, our next stop.
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