The last California sunset

My last sunset in California was not that great. Frankly, the afterglow was 10 times better, which is why I chose to post the pic above.

The sunset wasn’t great because my parents and I got to the beach too late. I don’t know if it would have been any better if we were there earlier, but being late didn’t help much. (Viewed from the Huntington Beach area, the sunsets in the summer are not as good as they are during the winter months, anyway. Instead of setting over the ocean, the sun dips below the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Lovely.) But I saw it disappear behind the marine layer nonetheless. That was the one and only last thing I wanted to do.

Tonight I’m staying with my parents in their hotel room. I moved all my shit out of Apartment 2, got my deposit back, and kissed Alabama Street and the beach hicks around downtown HB goodbye. Those motherfuckers crawl out of the woodwork around this time of the year, as if they burst from hundreds of egg sacks carefully tucked in eves and inside ceiling corners around the city. The Fourth of July is their holiday to be as dumb as humanly possible, and I’m thankful not to be stuck in the middle of it. (Last year I parked my car after coming home on the 3rd and didn’t move it until sometime on the 5th. If I moved it anytime between, I would not have found a spot within two miles of my apartment. I was trapped. On the 4th I watched everyone make a patriotic fool of themselves at the parade, dodged the water balloons being lobed from somewhere on Detroit when I walked home, and, after seeing the city fireworks, saw the 10-minute bottle rocket extravaganza put on by the idiots in my building.) Instead, I will be in Cortez, Colorado, en route to the motherland.

The plan is to head out somewhat early tomorrow morning. I really really hope we don’t get stuck in the holiday traffic heading to Vegas. After leaving the Southland, the next major metro area I’ll need to deal with will be Kansas City on Tuesday.

Am I sad about leaving California? I don’t know. I don’t really feel anything. I am eager to start the trip home, so I doubt if any post-California emotions will surface before I return to IC. I will say, though, I was a little sad after watching the sunset. I took off my sandals and stood in the waves. I let the Pacific roll up the incline of the beach and cover my feet. I thought of what my mom wrote in an ominous email a week or so ago: “Enjoy the ocean while you can, because it may be years until you see it again.” Yes, it may be years; I have no clue when I will be standing in the ocean, specifically the Pacific, again, so I wanted to cherish the moment.

After I was in the waves for a while, I thought, “That’s it. I’m done.” I walked away, but then returned to the waves. I did that at least three times. I swore I was done, walked away, then walked back. I wanted to enjoy it for as long as I could.

When I walked away for good — after the water rushed up to my calves and I was finally satisfied — I turned my back to the ocean and took a few steps toward dry sand. A wave crashed a few feet away and the water raced up to me as I was walking away. It was as if the ocean was trying to pull me back. But I kept walking.

Goodbye, California. It’s been interesting.