Category: Weather

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The Undulating Seascape

I’m from San Diego, California, and Carol’s from Seattle, Washington. We both are ocean-loving kids. Carol’s family visited the northern Pacific coast often; and my parents took us to the Southern California beaches often during my childhood, and to the Atlantic seaboard in my later high school years. Carol and I can sit on the beach or on a pier jutting into the water and watch the undulating seascape for hours on end and never tire of it.

Friends and acquaintances don’t understand, and ask, “How can you just sit there and look at the same thing for hours? Isn’t that totally boring?”

The answer is a resounding NO. The sea is never the same.

The swells that eventually morph into waves are always changing; and believe-it-or-not, the waves never crash the same. Sometimes the waves merely topple over, other times they mount up and trap enormous amounts of air as they prepare to pound the sand. That’s when the compressed air sends water exploding every which way. Other waves relax and melt into the surrounding water. Often several swells, which are moving at different speeds, will combine and create a much larger, more dynamic wave. And we get thrilled when a several hundred-foot-wide wave curls and breaks in one unified action.

The winds offshore create whitecaps out at sea, and the color of the water – based on the color of the sky and how the sunlight reflects off the water – changes continuously.

Sea animals often come into view. In Puget Sound in Washington State, Orcas (killer whales) are often present; but on our last trip up there we saw and filmed a humpback whale. That humpback must have gotten lost because they normally don’t enter the Sound.

Up and down the coast, we often see dolphins, sea lions, sea otters, gray whales, elephant seals, humpback whales, harbor seals, and other sea critters. In fact, on our last visit to the Oregon coast, we saw hundreds of sea lions floating off the coast, barking their greetings and, quite often, their disapprovals to each other.

We watch seagulls fight for food floating or near the surface of the water. And pelicans have an interesting way of circling to spot their underwater prey, then dive like spears to get their fresh fish feast. Periodically, we see jellyfish – and portions thereof – washed up on the beach. If you see any of these, please don’t touch them because the poison on the tentacles can still hurt you.

We like to go fishing on the coast. An interesting rule is: if we stand on shore or even in the surf, we need a license. But if we stand on the pier, no license is required. I caught a lot of fish from the pier.

One interesting non-sea-life viewpoint was Face-Rock at the State Park in Bandon, Oregon. The huge rock just off-shore resembles the head of a person looking up to the sky, and carries the legend of Indian Princess Ewauna who was lured out into the water by Seatka, the evil spirit of the sea.

At Monterey, California, we nearly lost track of time. After visiting the fascinating Monterey Aquarium, we went to the shore several miles away. The tide was coming in, the waves were crashing in spectacular form with dynamic results! We watched for several hours without realizing it was getting dark. Although both of us had taken over 150 pictures, we kept taking them because every time we looked, the scene was different.

By the way, it was the Monterey Aquarium staff who discovered that octopi (plural of octopus) kill sharks. Look it up on the internet for the whole story.

But just as the undulating seascape is ever-changing, life is ever-changing. Every time we wake up, turn around, go the to store, or meet someone, things change. Our health changes, businesses close, people lose jobs, someone dies. We sometimes emotionally feel like corks tossed about on turbulent water. We need an anchor. What can we do?

As a ship in a storm needs a safe harbor, we can find peace and safety in Jesus. The song declares: “I’ve anchored my soul in the Haven of rest.”

The Bible informs us that Jesus understands everything we experience, has endured every kind of temptation, pain, and hardship we face, and is willing to help us – if we let Him.

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Weather Woes

Before we begin, you need to know that we stayed on the positive side of life all through these weather woes, and you can, too. Now, on with the story.

Carol and I began the trip on July 30, 2018. Throughout portions of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington, we breathed smoke from forest fires, and I had to take allergy pills to reduce sneezing.

In early October, the smoke had cleared out of western Washington where we were staying, but something changed. In mid-October we felt the cold hand of winter tapping us on the shoulder, so we made plans to head south. By November 1, we heard that snow was on its way, and we started driving.

Heading down through Oregon, snow was no threat, but rain was visiting us often. We had some days of sunshine, and we enjoyed the trip, but rain was becoming much more prevalent. We cut the scenic trip short and headed south to sunny California.

On November 17, our son and his family moved to Mountain Ranch, just sixteen miles east of San Andreas, California, so we went to visit them. Now in California, we were south of wintery Washington and rainy Oregon. We are not classified as Snowbirds, but we do prefer a little warmer and drier climate.

I grew up in California, and winters on the golden coast were normally mild. For example: In February of 1993 we drove to Southern California for my grandmother’s funeral. Our ten-year-old son, Michael, said, “Dad, a California winter is like a New Mexico summer!” I laughed and said, “You’re right.” (Our home in New Mexico was at 7,830 feet above sea level.)

Back to the trip.

I had planned to stay in Northern California only through December. But the pastor of the church, asked me to teach on the Beatitudes (found in Matthew 5:1-12), so we stayed another month. Our son had a full-hookup on his property for our trailer, so we got settled in and really enjoyed the time with their family.

California had been in a drought for a number of years, so we were surprised to hear that a heavy rainstorm was on its way. That would be okay because, based on history, it wouldn’t last long, and the state needed the water.

But we got pounded! Rain came fast and furious. Any roof that could leak DID leak, some houses slid into rivers, and mudslides had to be removed from many streets. Our trailer was rocked by rain and heavy wind, but we survived the onslaught.

Then my cell phone warned me: “Weather Alert – Winter Advisory in effect for the next 48 hours. Snow accumulation of two to four inches.”

Our son said that might be an exaggeration because they haven’t received much snow for about 12-15 years. Good. Nothing to worry about.

But within the next 36 hours, we received 16 inches of heavy, wet snow. California needed the snowpack for its water supply, but it made things difficult for us. Snow-laden trees toppled onto power lines, and electrical power was out for almost a week. I made plans to move south as soon as I completed the Bible series. (Power was restored, but with damaged trees, branches kept falling and power was intermittent for two more weeks.)

By February 5, the snow had melted enough to allow me to pull the trailer off the property and down the mountain. So, with another winter advisory set for February 7, we pulled out on the 6th, and we headed for Bakersfield, California.

We wanted to stay in Bakersfield for two nights, but a portion of Interstate-5 called Tejon Pass is over 4,100 feet, and snow was predicted in two days. We stayed only one night.

We reached Oak Grove, CA (adjacent to Palomar Mountain) where my sister and brother-in-law, lived; and breathing a sigh of relief, I said, “We are finally out of the weather.”

That was a misunderstanding!

On February 14, Valentine’s Day, our area got the heaviest rainstorm on record and received over six inches of rain in two days. Roads washed out and several bridges were ripped up.

You might understand that, as soon as the dirt road was repaired, we headed further south to San Diego. Yes, we visited the zoo and Sea World. We had sunny skies for the next week – and hit the road to Phoenix before the next storm descended.

Where am I going with this tale-of-weather-woes? Simply this: we cannot always escape problems – weather or otherwise. Whatever we’re facing, we must pray for guidance and wisdom. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to give our worries to the Lord because he cares for us. If we keep a cheerful outlook and trust the Lord, He will guide us.