The Lost Coast--April 1999
==========================

With my qual starting to loom on the horizon I was beginning to think I really
shouldn't be joining Magdalen and Sailing Sarah on their 3-day key swap trip
to the Lost Coast--but too bad! I was going anyway. Their careful plans--laid
on the boat the week before while I lay back and steered with one 
foot--gradually unravelled as person after person bailed, right up the to 
last minute, leaving just Sarah, Magdalen, Paula and me in the North-South 
group and Michiel, Ed, Jonathon and possibly Greg in the S-N team. "This
will be a character building weekend for Chris" quoth M., "He's with 3 people
who like to tease him"...Leaving straight after my guitar lesson on Thursday
alas meant I didn't get to do any practice while it was fresh in my mind but 
did mean we met Sarah--joining us from Eureka--at the trailhead at a more
reasonable hour, tiring out a poor wee rabbit in the process--I hope it found
its way home again! Next morning we set off on our 24.8 mile journey down
the coast, passing poppies, clumps of iris, stands of mustard flowers (tastes
like broc'li!), an old lighthouse; spying seals, sea lions, snakes, and whales
spouting at sunset; gazing on moonlit waters and starfilled skies, rejoicing 
in the crash of surf and the sight of light on wet sand, enjoying good 
weather and good company. A hankering for coconut milk made me break with 
my practice of never carrying cans and Friday's dinner was an experimental
rice dish which Sarah "I'd add more water" Herbelin kept from burning. She
swears she followed directions but Saturday's dinner was runny...Midway
through Sat. 4 figures appeared around a distant headland but failed to 
join us for lunch so the two teams had a brief exchange of words before 
continuing their separate merry ways...After dinner Magdalen and Sarah proved
an exceedingly demanding audience as I told of the struggles between the
monkeys and the industrious chipmunks over the strawberry harvest (with much
ambushing with PFDs (personal flotation device) from both sides...). On 
Sunday the green grass covered hills (nice to look at but hard to shake
the feeling that I was on a farm, though they assured me it was naturally
that way) gave way to cliffs and wooded hillsides as we continued south to
Black Sands Beach. A quick look at some tidal pools then it was off to the
car exchange rendevous point--early, but no matter, we arrived at an 
intersection partway there at exactly the same time as the other group!