The Urge for Sunshine and Warmth

This is the time of year when many northern dwellers are thinking about escaping to someplace sunny and warm to escape the frigid cold.  I know this because where I live in Arizona is one of those places that fills up with sun seekers during these winter months.  Maybe because I live in a desert, my thoughts of escape would tend to include large bodies of water.  Luckily, I live pretty close to California so it's easy to pop over to the coast for a refreshing view of sailboats skimming by.

Some people might think that a January break might be a good time to exercise off some of that holiday weight gain.  Water exercise with the sun beating down on you is much better than in one of those indoor pools.

Or maybe you would like to do your exercising in a little more daring way.  You could rent a water board and paddle around the bay for a while.

If you have an artistic streak you could set up your easel and paint the beautiful scenery before you.

Or if you are the curious type, you might want to find a "Tidepool Educator" and learn all about the creatures who live in the cracks and crevices along the beach.

I tend to enjoy a long walk along the beach where I can enjoy the vast variety of nature's offerings.  A rock full of water birds offers quite a lot to observe.

You never know what you might encounter walking along the beach.  Besides the plentiful wildlife, there might be some interesting human activity to observe.  I stumbled on to a photo shoot on one walk.

But most of all, I think almost everyone would be happy with a brilliant sunset and a skyline dotted with palm trees.  Besides my wonderful Arizona, I think the California coast offers just about everything needed for a winter break.