Thanks for tuning-in to Coastal Zone CA! Our
site endeavors to log the character of coastal California’s natural
and human history, as well as to highlight the contributions of locals of
the land doing great work and having fun. Please check for regular updates.
In the Zone Interview
we visit salt of the earth and hear their stories, in the Real
World we examine pieces of the natural history of coastal
California, and in Coastal
Roots we share a bit of California’s maritime history.
A BIG THANK YOU to the ultimate Zone Local - Zephyr Forest
- for constructing the Coastal Zone CA website!!
Yay for hi-tech teenagers!!
Enjoy
I was told by a certain teenager that my last issue of “The Latest” was too long.. so I’ll be keeping this one shorter - hopefully:
Please check out all the pages of this latest edition of the Coastal Zone CA: a new Zone Interview, natural history updates (serpentine alert!) in The Real World, maritime heritage tidbits in Coastal Roots, and even updates to our Photo Album and Coastal Connections resource pages.
Please join the Coastal Zone CA email update list at coastalzoneca@gmail.com. You’ll get messages from us four times a year or so, when our site is updated. Pass the Coastal Zone news on to your friends, and we’d love to hear from you at coastalzoneca@gmail.com.
Go See:
La Mission, and Touching Home: Two fabulous, small budget, local-schmocal
films that we loved. You can check the descriptions on-line. I think La Mission
may have gotten mixed reviews from the hardcore hard asses – but this
white girl thought it was worthy of praise and support. Touching Home is sweet
and full of country baseball which is always a winner with me. Both films
are feasts for the eyes.
Please Read:
Deadlines by Paul McHugh. Fabulous coastal murder mystery set in and around
San Francisco – complete with coastal preservation vs. the developer
bad guys as the central theme. Familiar places and faces – some fictitious
characters more recognizable than we’d like! Definitely makes it scary,
timely, and fun.
CONGRATULATIONS ZEPHYR!! Zephyr graduated with honors from Sir Francis Drake High School in June, and is on to the school of his dreams: Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA to study green architecture and politics. And of course a big hug and CONGRATS to Lizzie!! Also a 2010 Drake honors graduate, and full scholarship recipient to the United States Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut, where she is already underway with basic training, then on to an education in marine engineering and a life of honor and adventure. A very brave, cool girl - we miss you!
Best bumper stickers I’ve seen lately:
“We don’t surf in your toilet, so don’t dump in our ocean”
(an oldie but goody)
“Live Free or Spaz”, and my favorite:
“Bad Yogi, No Kombucha”
Well, the historic Santa Cruz Roadhouse site and buildings were finally demolished. The good guys lost and the big rich guys won again on the California coast. This was a very cool property perched above dreamy Pleasure Point on the coastal terrace that is eastside SC. I loved checking-in on this old timey site on my way to surf at 41st. A little slice of country too perfect to hang on: On the property there were little dirt roads and gardens linking cabins and outbuildings, with the abandoned main lodge gazing south out to sea as it had since the early 1900’s. There was a citizen group trying to save it I think, but then the chain link fences went up and last time I was there it was all gone. I’m sure next time I check-in a McMansion will be neatly erected in its place, blending in with the monotonous Tuscan sprawl of the surrounding cliff side neighborhood. I think I won’t check.
Watch for snakes in the road!! It’s that time of year.
Did you all hear about the current cost of living survey in California? It says a family of three needs on average $70,000 or better a year just to get by in CA at a minimum! Holy crimany.. I mean, that’s about the size of it. Most everyone I know gets by on much less, but it’s a creative struggle to put it mildly. Lots of people are living with parents or other family members to make it work. Living in a teepee or yurt sounds romantic and all, but it’s damn hard when you come down to it, especially with kids. I’ve lived a lot of different ways, and seen all sorts of variations on getting by in CA. Write in and let us know your getting-by-on-less-than-average-in-CA stories and solutions. It’s such a big issue especially now with record unemployment for the State.
For the first time ever Glyceria occidental popped up in a marshy area of my yard. I’m not sure how it found its way there, but I’m glad it did. It’s cool to think that the seeds were waiting for years underground for enough of the weeds to clear, and enough water to puddle up in order to make their move. Or a bird dropped them by!
Enjoy,
-Rowena, and the Coastal Zone CA crew
Photos P. Pyle
Ferndale with CA Indian Basket, 2005
