Seaside sunsets…
Veni, vidi, vici. Winter ’05 is now a quarter of memory. Mwahahaha!
Hopped onto the trusty Southwest flight 1794 (they ALL sound familiar now!) to Burbank at about 4:30 – and saw Ojai from the air for the first time.
Every.
Other.
Flight.
that I’ve taken has been through cloud cover or at night – but today was so beautiful. The sun was about an hour from setting, a storm was just clearing, and everything just glimmered. Lake Casitas caught my eye first. What’s that? It’s a lake… with an island… just inland from the ocean where it starts to bend back out… It is! It’s home! And from there I oriented myself to the upper valley and the Santa Clara River and then the fairgrounds.
I felt such a strong emotion, looking out at those green hills and the freckles of snow on what I think were the Topa Topa mountains. I don’t really know how to describe it. A little maternal, a little nostalgic, a bit of wonder at never having seen my home from this angle before, awe at the beauty of it. There was still some moisture in the air, so the whole valley was shining with a bit of a fey air. I felt a strong magnetic pull – this gorgeous view was mine, my heritage, my birthplace. And yet I don’t know if I’ll ever move fully back to Ojai, or even Southern California. I guess I feel a bit of empty nest’s reversal – the world that raised me has moved on to new children. I can visit but I’m no longer a part of the ecosystem. Even the Ojai I grew up in has become a moment in history, unseen by my own successors.
It’s a strange mix of emotions.
By the time I tore myself away from the window to point it out to my LA-bound companion, the effect had faded and we were looking out at Camarillo. Not quite the same, as I’m sure all my Ojaian friends would agree.
It’s good to be home.
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