Thursday December 30, 2004 – Oh What A Beautiful Morning

Thursday December 30, 2004 – Oh What A Beautiful Morning

Wednesday morning began at Doheny Beach at the Doubletree Hotel, room 294. It was a gorgeous morning, too. Outside the sun was ablaze, illuminating a landscape that yesterday was being merciless punished by a fierce Pacific storm, winds gusting to 50 miles per hour—last night a tornado watch was in effect for Catalina Island and Pacific Palisades. At about 7:10 AM I left the Doubletree, attired in running togs and turned left on the Pacific Coast Highway, making my way south. To my left across the PCH is a cliff that must rise straight up at least 150 feet or more. To my right are the train tracks that carry Metrolink and Amtrak trains. A Metrolink passes as I’m a half mile down the PCH from the Doubletree. At the base of the cliff at this point in my run are a series of hotels: Capistrano Surfside Inn, Capistrano Beach Resort, Best Western Dana Point Inn, and Capistrano Seaside Inn—nearest to furthest from the Doubletree.

Just beyond the Seaside Inn, there’s a traffic light that allows cross traffic from Palisades Drive to cross PCH to access Doheny Beach to the north or Capistrano Beach south of the intersection. I crossed the PCH at the light and begin my jog up Palisades. I say “up” because that’s exactly what the street does. If makes a sharp left turn and then climbs at nearly a 45 degree angle parallelling the PCH climbing to the top of the cliff. Near the top of the Palisades’ climb, the street curves right and intersects with Camino Capistrano where I turn right. The run up the incline is one of the most exhilirating parts of the run for me. I always get an enormous sense of accomplishment making it up the grade without stopping to rest. The run along Camino Capistrano passes Pines Park, a beautiful neighborhood park with an incredible view of the pacific from a towering height. Camino Capistrano meanders through a neighborhood of houses with cliff-top oceanviews, but I turn left when it intersects Camino de Estrella, a divided boulevard that climbs at a gentle grade to a K-Mark shopping center on the right and just beyond the Interstate 5 freeway.

I break off the run at the freeway and retrace my route. When I return to Palisades Drive and begin the descent, I am confronted with an incredible view. Directly in front of me (south along the PCH) the big bright ball of sun is just above the horizon, illuminating a small patch of fog just above Capistrano Beach, giving the area a slight glow. A gentle breeze is blowing the few palm trees along the beach, and the dirty grey brown surf is rushing the beach and turning into white water as it breaks. An Amtrak train is streaming along the tracks next to the PCH, which has only a small amount of traffic. The sky is a vivid blue color with puffy white clouds scattered helter-skelter all about. And the sky is filled with flying, squawking birds. And the air has the fresh clean smell that comes only after a drenching rain that clears everything except the smell of earth and saltwater. A picture could not convey the enormity of the view, the sweep of open sea and endless blue and white sky all lit by a blazing red-orange sun. I forget how tired my limbs are drawing strength from the euphoria the scene instills in me.

By the time I return to the Doubletree, it’s just past 8:00 and Doheny Beach is beginning to wake up and get busy. I can hear the sound of breakfast being serve in the hotel coffee shop. There are one or two guest checking out at the reception desk. A man's booming voice talking on a cell phone fills the lobby area. I look up to see him standing on the second floor landing. The hotel staff has hauled out their cleaning carts as I make my way back to my room. Thus began Wednesday. It would end in San Jose after a 450 mile drive back from Doheny Beach along Interstate 5. We managed to make it back before the next Pacific storm began to make its way ashore. Now, it’s nearly midnight on Wednesday and the storm is full upon us. Time to go to bed and enjoy the sound of wind and rain.