Healdsburg, California 2024

We had a good night's sleep and woke up early to the smell of coffee drifting from the upstairs kitchen. As the first sun rays touched the beach homes below, we were visited briefly by Matt, an engineer friend of Jeremy, who will return in the evening with his family for a BBQ dinner.

With a light breakfast in our bellies, we went exploring the narrow streets that crisscross the steep hillside of Shelter Cove. Most of the homes here are vacation homes. There are no businesses, except for the General Store, a handful of restaurants, a beachfront hotel, and a few bed & breakfast places.

Having oriented ourselves and gotten a feel for the town, we parked the car at a trailhead and descended to Little Black Sand Beach. We walked for quite a while along this amazing beach, exploring the steep cliffs, interesting rock formations, black pebbles, driftwood, and surf. I watched a seagull devour an entire starfish. Jeremy captured some excellent footage of crashing waves with his professional Sony A7 Series 4.

Arriving back at our cabin, our ladies prepared a quick sandwich and got busy with food preparation for tonight’s dinner. I noticed several small planes landing on the airstrip along the beach. It’s a beautiful, sunny Sunday, and the wind is not blowing as hard as yesterday.

Matt and the dinner guests arrived soon and the Jeremy fired up the grill. We had bratwurst, beef ribs, and four healthy salads. It was very interesting to get to know everyone and learn about their simple lives in off-the-grid homes in the coastal hills.

With only two hours of daylight left, Jeremy got inspired by the high tide waves and went out surfing - his passion. We picked him up with the car just before dusk. He didn't complain, but admitted that it was a bit on the cold side, even by his standards! Czytaj więcej