Being Realistic

2013

I usually have Austin with me when I'm driving between my house in The Bay Area and my dad's house in Long Beach, so I tend to pick the shortest route. This go round I drove out to Long Beach to see my dad and my brother (who just moved here from Texas) alone. I knew on the way back I'd want to check out Pacific Hwy 1. 

In my mind I imagined driving up the coast the whole way with the ocean to my left, stopping to watch surfers, finding some secluded areas to hoop on the beach and finally making sure I had a hot drink when I pulled over for my last stop to watch the sunset. All of which takes more planning than I I actually did.

I ended up ditching seeing surfers, hooping on the beach, and drinking coco while watching the sunset wrapped in a blanket. Instead my main goal was to work my way to to the beach in time to watch the sunset. If I could manage that, then I would consider my endeavor a success.

I cut it close, but I arrived at a cute beach community with about 30 minutes to spare.  The waves were huge and loud and the sun quietly took her time setting. It was totally worth the time and effort it took to get here. 

I'm sure there is a life lesson I could derive from this drive about planning, expectations, being flexible and realistic. For now I'll focus on this perfect moment I had to watch the sunset at the end of a wonderful weekend.