spotting the ocean

 
i've been officially landlocked for about four weeks now. 
 
i was fortunate to leave santa barbara and within days be at another beach town, but in mexico.  traveling around mexico, i didn't think much about missing the ocean.  in semi-urban aguascalientes you just have to lift your eyes to the horizon to see the blue mountains and the earth there green from summer rains.  traveling through oaxaca, we traversed valley and mountain towns, treading both dusty and verdant trails. 
 
back in bakersfield, the summer weighs maybe a little more heavily than in other places.  though the hundred degree weather causes some people to complain, it doesn't bother me much.  it's dry heat, feels like a blanket sometimes.  it's the pollution that makes me feel sluggish; my eyes water; my skin itches; my breath does not come as easily.  i grow wary of the dustiness, the brown haze covering the mountains.  i find myself praying for rain.
 
i miss the ocean.  how it changed color and glint every day.  i miss the salty air and cold breeze.  the tender blue sky.  i miss mornings running along the edge of the changing tide.  
 
my favorite coffeeshop in santa barbara was off the 101 south, heading west on carrillo.  my car would make it through a few curves, heading up the mountains and then, all of a sudden at the summit, a view of the ocean so expansive and blue on the horizon that it would take my breath away.  every time. 
 
landlocked here in bakersfield, the ocean feels like a luxury.  but from here to the nearest california coast is only two and a half hours by car.  and worth the trip.