Last weekend, I was at a writing retreat in Oceanside, California (near San Diego). A group of us rented a house directly on the beach. If we walked onto the patio, there was the beach, right there. In fact, at high tide, the beach was completely under water. It was a hugely inspiring weekend because of the people who attended and the amazing view. I did not bring my fancy camera since I was traveling and there for writing. I had my iPhone X, and here are some of the pictures I took.

Pacific Ocean

Often, in addition to surfers, there were dolphins in the surf. In the above photo, you can see a portion of the balcony where I was standing. Directly below is the patio and the rock stairs to the beach. Here it is high tide so there is almost no beach. The view and the sound of the ocean was a wonderful backdrop to a weekend spent with other writers talking about writing and the business of writing.

Sand Covered Kelp

I took the picture above on a walk along the beach in the afternoon. It was just so pretty and delicate looking, even though it’s kelp covered with a layer of sand.

Sunset over the Pacific

The sky looks like it’s on fire almost, and the ocean is steely gray. It’s an oddly peaceful picture. At sunset, we’d take a break from our discussions and presentations to watch the sun set over the ocean.

Sunset, Oceanside, California

For me, these last two pictures are surreal. I’ve never seen the ocean and sky look like cotton candy backlit with orange.  It’s graceful and solemn, and awe-inspiring.

Sunset over the Pacific

This is the other picture of this sunset where the colors are surreal. Here, you can see a portion of the beach and the waves.

It’s calming and inspiring just to see the pictures again.