Oyster Rock - Natural Bridges St Park

Oyster Rock - Natural Bridges State Park

This stretch of Natural Bridges State Park pops with the striking contrast between sun-warmed earth and the cool sweep of the Pacific. The cliffs radiate rich golds and ambers, heated by sunlight, while the ocean shifts through deep blues and fresh greens, creating a refreshing counterpoint.

But it’s the wave that gets me. Tom Sawyer had his raft and the Mississippi, and at that same age we had the beach at Big Corona and a never-ending supply of waves. One of the first things we learned was to dive under incoming waves, rather than stand upright and take their full force.  Turns out that not far below the tumultuous surface is calm water easily reached with a properly timed dive.  The wave in this painting looks like so many under which I made such a dive. 

And one more thing.  The reason to eat fresh oysters on the half shell is because their briny taste is identical to the taste of the water underneath that wave!  Wouldn’t trade childhoods with Tom or Huck.