i'm just back from a few days spent beach side. one last fling up the coast before the alarm summons me at the crack of dawn on monday. my first day of working stiffdom since last december.
i headed up north to hide out in an old motor court motel very close to my favorite beach.
i wanted to be in this exact spot at low tide when i said goodbye to 50 and set sail for 51.
goodbye old stories. hello new.
just me and a flock of sandpipers.
i walked with barefeet over and around the rocks. from good old ed ricketts, i learned this is called the intertidal zone. i went back and forth from the tidepools to the strandline to see what had been uncovered. what sea stones, or kelp, or shells there were to be found.
so much is cast ashore and today plenty was exposed.
thanks for the thoughtful comments on my last post about the journals. i read each one as they filtered in. it's interesting to know how everyone feels about holding on and letting go of their own journals. reading through mine this past week has given me fresh insight. the little wagon of preciousness i've been dragging behind me is getting ready to get a lot lighter. so long old voices of the past!
here i am heading into my 51st year.
scruffy fur, sandy paws, ears back, mouth open, teeth sharp, running hard. chasing something i can't quite see yet, but know is out there. hello world!
Happiest of birthday wishes to you! Love the art the sea left for you to discover.
Have a year full of peace, joy and new dreams Mary Ann… I am in my 52nd year and happier than I have ever been. And of course they say the 60’s are the new 40’s… We have a helluva ride to look forward to!
Happy Birthday!
The Agave Inn looks like so much fun. I would love to stay there…it looks fantastic!
We used to stay at Casa Del Mar in SB. I say “used to” because we now have family in SB and if we go there without staying with them…we will be in BIG trouble. Casa Del Mar is within walking distance of the beach and the State Street trolley. The staff are friendly and personable. We love the rooms and the courtyard space.
“and today, plenty is exposed” Gulping deep breaths the way I always do with your photos of the sea. Enjoy your posts so much,
S
A celebration with sandpipers… What an exceedingly cool thing to do!
Congratulations. Hugs & love, sharron
I am going to print out the photo of the dog and keep it on my desk at work in an elementary school library reminding me that there are better things I can strive for rather than get wrapped up in the frustration of elementary education. There is something beyond that I can’t see, but it is what is important for the soul.
Happy Birthday! I wish you lots of luck in returning to work.
Lori 🙂
Happy Happy Birthday to you Miss Mary Ann Moss! These are the best years, the 50’s. Enjoy everyone of them!!! Wishing a wonderful year filled with all things good and happy. xoxo
You are not getting older only wiser. Remember age is only numbers! Keep on doing what you are doing because you are doing a great job.
Oops forgot – Happy Birthday! I hope your day was filled with lots of specialness.
I could smell the ocean looking at your pictures. I love CA! We just got back from Lake Arrowhead and miss CA already.
Yes, happy BD! I so enjoy reading your adventures. Don’t know if I;ll throw my journals away…. I lost a lot inside them when my house flooded a few years ago and everything written with water soluble ink (hello, fountain pens…) was gone. I hate that! So I dried them all out and IRONED the pages. They are MINE, dammit. A chronicle of my younger self and therapy journey and art journey. I am so much happier now than I was then, but they are all in a waterproof tub (!) and in storage now. Maybe someday I’ll let them go. Yours look far more interesting than mine.
Could you email the name and location of the cool beach you went to? I could just kill for a nice beach now. I am a prarie girl, and I want to wander a beach all day and pick up shells, stones and beach glass. I want to let down my flaps and land awhile. I’d like a low-impace quiet sort of holiday. someplace like where you went, or something even nicer. A beach, for sure. Sigh. Of course right now even a nap sounds like a good deal!
thanks for writing and wonderful pictures that take me away. Your pictures of the cannery row area made me cry – my first husband was born & raised in So Cal and he is never going to be here to show it all to me. So north and central would be easy on the heart for me. Not southern.
Peggy
Hi Mary Ann – Inspiring as always. the perfect way to celebrate your birthday new year. I am heading towards a Big one soon and the beach sounds like a great place to be when it hits!! Hope you have a magical year xxx Michelle
Lovely. Very peaceful. Thank you.
Love your beach pictures. It’s so perfect knowing that there is something there, but the ocean covers it, then, low tide and now we have to go on the search. Quick, but slowly, all at the same time. Cuz the tide’s already coming in. With new stuff, reshaping the whole thing.
Belated happy birthday!
Being “Thankful” for your sharing and your post today, especially after a dreary week here. It is uplifting and full of possibilities for a new day …. for all of us. HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I’m going to sharpen my teeth and color my hair …. preparing for the New Year around here …… really! Praying too. Thanks for waking me up to grab the possibilities and know they are right in front of me! JOY to you …. you deserve it!
Happy Birthday Miss Moss. Enjoy the chase. The world wouldn’t know quite what to do if you were not around to give it the occasional nudge so I’d have to say I think the world will keep the doors open and the light on for ya know matter where ya hang your hat, even when it’s a classroom full of mischief makers. Happy 51 sweet woman. Looks like it was pretty darn relaxing walking with sand between your toes and the wind in your hair.
Happy Birthday! You really got a lot of mileage out of age 50, can’t wait to see what you accomplish at 51. Tally Ho!
Happy Birthday, New Year, and back to school! Thanks for sharing. I always enjoy your posts, and this one was no exception. Your photos are lovely. I’m going through a bird phase after having been snowed in (Southern IL near St Louis)watching birds at a friends house. Birds are so interesting and graceful.
This morning I saw a post from Tanya Davis, a woman who wrote a poem, How to be Alone. It’s on UTube, and now published. So sweet. You would enjoy it too, I think.
Have a good one.
Sending you joyous birthday wishes Mary Ann. May it be just the first day of a year filled with delight and abundance.
Happy birthday!! My fifties were the BEST!! Enjoy this decade of your life. Your photographs are just wonderful. I especially like the one where the sun is sparkling on the water.
Happy Birthday… what a wonderful launch into the next 50. I love your sentiments regarding your “little wagon of preciousness”…wishing you a light and wonderful 51st.
It’s your birthday and yet we get the gifts – thank you for all that you share with us. May you have the happiest of birthdays and may the coming year be chock full of creative inspiration! xoxo, gretchen
Hey-ho! Happy Birthday Mary Ann,
guess what I stayed at that same hotel in Oct., 2010! I thought it was perfect….loved the tile steps and planters….
Happy New Year, too Holly
Happy Birthday Mary Ann – I missed you in Venice this Christmas! So nice to have met you and I did some lone traveling this year inspired by your posts. Take care and good look for Monday!
Thanks for posting these wonderful pictures for me who has never seen the tide. Beautiful pictures!
And a big hug from me in Sweden for your birthday. Celebrate your beefing in this world!!
You have so much more to experience. I tell you.
Happy Happy
Wishing you a year full of fun and happy surprises! Happy Birthday !
51 is a good place to be . You have all that experience in you for the next half. ESP after this year of grace. Continue to celebrate all of it.
Happy Birthday. I hope it involved a bit of cake!:) You’ll need to have all your Alpha canine instincts around you as you return to class. Good luck herding and leading the pack!
Your final image is perfect. I just turned 64, and I’d like to see myself as that scruffy dog, alive and running into the wind.
happy happy birthday!!! can’t wait to celebrate art retreat style. xxoo
Your photos of the beach are incredible…I felt like I was there myself. You certainly know how to usher in a birthday with style! A toast to your next 50 years! Good luck with your return to work.
A lovely place to ponder and not dwell. I wish you many creative returns for this 51st year. Thank you for sharing so much of your journey. xx
Happy Birthday!!!
I know you can run with the big dogs, Mary Ann. Lead the way. We’ll follow you anywhere.
Once again, you have transported me straight from my winter deep freeze to the salt scented, waves glistening, love to feel the sand on my toes seaside. So happy to have been on part of your journeys through your eyes, camera, words and art. Thank you dear one…and many happy birthday wishes to you!!
Happy Birthday lovely. The next year will your best yet. 🙂
Happy Happy Birthday! Photos are gorgeous and I could smell the ocean. Haven’t been near one for a few years but it is in my soul. Looking forward to your shared journey this year.
Wishing you the very happiest of birthdays as you embark on yet another uncharted course in your adventures – bon voyage!
Happy birthday to someone who brings stories, laughs and art to people who appreciate it. May life find you willing and ready for what lies ahead. Life finds you, it’s what you make of , your best story yet, don’t forget to enjoy it.
Happy birthday, Mary Ann! The earth is a better place with you here. Your creativity ripples.
hey, hey Birthday Girl! happy, happy, Joy, joy to YOU! i hope you have found renewal during your time away from work stifdom. i hope you have found new songs, new friends, new worlds to bring dreams to you in this 51st year. i always am happy to see what you are up to. i will have my 50th next month. i do not know where i want to be when that year begins, only with those i want nearby singing and shouting, laughing and carrying on in a boisterous fashion. anywhere is fine, really, so here’s a glass (or two or three) raised to YOU! hip! hip! HURRAY!!
Thanks for sharing your birthday with us! I hope it’s been a happy day for you.
From a former LAUSD teacher, I wish you peace and strength on your renewed journey. Happy Birthday and welcome to the 50’s Club! Much Love and Thanks for your creative inspiration!
Happy Birthday! Hope 51 is a great year for you! I am only 6 months behind you…..boy does time fly! Much enjoy your blog!
Happy Birthday, Little Girl!!! There are no barnacles on you. Looks like I may be the first to tell you…. the second half just gets better!
All best wishes.
Happy Birthday!!
Hope the new year treats you well.
A perfect way to celebrate a new year. Happy birthday!
What a wonderful place to say goodbye to your first 50 years and hello to what follows… I hope you are having a wonderful birthday time off at the coast and readying for… well, whatever happens! Take care Mary Ann and know we are all wishing you well this day.
I posted on Instagram, but want to wish you a Happy Birthday and wonderful 51st year here also. Can’t wait to see what you come up with in this New Year!
Happy Birthday / Happy New Year! May the year begin with fun diversions, prizes and blessings and proceed at warp speed to bright travels with adventurous friends. Cheers!