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Carmel Beach in Rain Storm
California Hiker
On Dec 14th I traveled to Carmel with a group of fellow music lovers and adventurers. We boarded our bus at Merced College and drove to Carmel, California, a 2 or so hour trip from Merced. Several hours of time in the afternoon were allocated for shopping or dining. Afterward we would attend a Christmas concert.
It was raining when we arrived, but we had expected that. A friend and I decided to go to the beach. The beach is beautiful, even in rain. We were dressed for it, and both of us had umbrellas. The beach isn't all that far from our drop-off point, The Carmel Plaza.
When we arrived at the beach, it was cordoned off. How dare they? We forged ahead... the waves looked huge, and this was worth a little investigation!
Suddenly the ocean "disappeared" from our view in a deluge of rain. The wind picked up to... not sure what speed, but in a matter of a minute my umbrella had 3 bent ribs, and it wasn't of very much use. In a matter of 5 minutes our pants were soaked, shoes turned into capsized boats that seemed to weigh 50 pounds each, and my hood kept coming off leaving my hair freshly washed.
We weren't able to make any progress walking to the water's edge, so regretfully turned around and squish sqished up the hill to the plaza. Dang!
The purpose of the trip to Carmel mostly was to listen to a concert at the Mission in the evening, so we couldn't go there with squishy shoes and wet pants. Around us we noticed stores like Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Ave- you will realize our predicament!
To make a long story short... I lucked out and got away with shoes $80, pants $50, socks $15, expensive little trip to the beach! However, both Barbara and I agree:
The walk was worth it- seeing the fury of Mother Nature, and given the chance, we would do it all over again... just a couple of California nuts cutting loose! :)
Look at the pictures!
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Photos and Graphics by California Hiker
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