beach days, beach nights

welcome!

we were totally planning on camping on mt. tamalpais,

but we took one look at this colorful little place right in the heart of tiny stinson beach with its handpainted signs (the one that said $55 didn't hurt!) and changed our minds and decided to treat ourselves.

there is nothing better than a beachhouse with the sun shining on sandy-gritty patios engulfed in greenery and succulents, hand painted murals, bright colors of red and yellow and pink and blue, umbrellas and uneven brick terraces and wooden rails and everything just a little ramble-shamble, rustic and cozy.

this kind of place sings to my heart and is purely inviting.

especially when a beautiful lady cat lives there and loves to have company!

our room was "the pink room" and it was quite foofy, kind of victorian style, super comfortable with floral cushions everywhere and an extra futon (we want to come back with friends) and little old-fashioned touches like perfume bottles and fringed lamps and calico curtains that tie with a ribbon.

best of all, we had our own balcony next to this gorgeous flowering tree!

but i am especially fond of a terraced patio with a rickety wooden bar set up, just for fun...

we shared some beer and sandwiches and chilled out here for awhile to read and write in our journals, which is my dream come true.

then off to the beach!

this next photo might be my favorite photograph i've ever taken....DAMN FINE JOB, if i may say so myself!

mmmmmm, can't you just feel it?!

there's a hole in my heart...

where the ocean comes frothing in and out.

leaving bits of flotsam and jetsam....

that can sometimes make for good pretend whistles and pipes.

this is the sound we slept to all night.

in the morning, we took coffee on our balcony with this view below:

then went to wander among the eucalyptus groves and headlands along the craggy coastline.

a tree of sisters, sharing and growing from one massive trunk.

i tried a climb or two.

wildflowers popping up everywhere, i think this might be california fuschia? 

darin and the view (i thrifted that shirt for him recently)

tiny mushrooms on the lush forest floor.

we ventured upon a steep muddy path down the cliffside, and found this hidden rocky beach just north of bolinas.

two surfers met up there and were out there on the huge waves together during the rest of our stay.

we found a driftwood fort decorated with sea debris, and i am pretending to be a pirate wench washed ashore and ready to relax after adventures at sea.

here is my mast,

ahoy!

headed back down to stinson beach for a more "traditional" beach with soft warm sand and children and dogs playing.

it was seriously the quintessential california beach day.

and needless to say i was in heaven.

but afternoon came and we had to get to berkeley, for another friend is in another play!

but first, a ramble down telegraph for some of our favorite haunts.

and a cup of coffee with new (used) books and cds to peruse. darin loves to stack them up, carefully look them over, making connections and conclusions in his strange and marvelous mind.

Jamie's play was a version of The Iliad (which is kinda funny, since we just saw Les in the Odyssey last week!) and it was performed in the round at this rad "Little Castle" downtown, the 80 year old Berkeley City Club. I love that it was designed by female architect Julia Morgan (who also designed Hearst Castle) and started as a "ladies' club" and still has its gorgeously designed swimming pool open all day to swimmers.

Jamie was mind-blowingly amazing as Achilles and i was proud to know him and Evan, both phenomenal actors and artists. 

it was late when we headed back up the hill but we were just in time to catch up with our friends in sacramento at the train station. joey, stan, nick, and bouey were heading out on the red-eye up to eugene, oregon where they will begin an epic bike trip down the coast!

i was kinda worried, especially because joey (my youngest bro) told me he had just tried out riding his bike with all the gear packed for the first time that day! and he said he was super wobbly on his bike....um...yikes.

so all i could say over and over again was be careful, and call me up if you want me to take a road trip and pick you guys up.

i'd be glad to head back to the coast again!

my dresses:

white and red floral maxi: from etsy

short pale pastel 80s floral: addie thrifted and reconstructed

(hemmed it shorter and made straps from the excess fabric)

sandals: bass outlet

flip flops with flower: roxy, thrifted (not recommended for hiking a muddy hillside!)

plaid overshirt: vintage Levi's thrifted

silver pendant: thrifted $1.50

silver hoop earrings, had forever like since i got my ears pierced