In 2013 I discovered a special secret beach inside an ungated ‘gated’ community. I was enthralled with its beauty and pristine nature, and we returned almost every day that summer and fall. In 2014 I discovered that the gate had finally been installed, and access was now a long hike in. I knew a neighbor who had a parcel in there, but he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) give me the gate code. Sadly I resigned myself to not having access this year.
But after about a month I was jonesing, so I decided to make the hike in.
As we got to the section of the road that ran along some of the nice expensive homes on the beach a dog came charging out barking at us. Uh oh, I thought, the jig is up now. The owner came out and called his dog off, and as he and George sniffed butts and made friends, the friendly gentleman introduced himself and we started chatting. I revealed I had hiked in, having fallen in love with the place the summer before. Before I finished my sentence, he said “you want the code? I’ll give it to you.” Imagine that. Imagine the same situation in say Hope Ranch or Montecito, or Padero Lane, or Rincon, or the Ranch…
My new friend Val called out his wife, and we all chatted for about an hour about everything under the sun. I’d also been looking at some lots there online and mentioned I would like to get in touch with the development company as well…the info was eagerly provided. Eventually George and I headed down to the main beach having made new friends and possible future neighbors. (more on that in future posts…)
The day was as spectacular as they come, the water was crystal clear and warm and inviting, the beach pristine. Naturally I took dozens of pictures. When I got home I downloaded all of them and made a slideshow video from them, all of them, unedited, in order shot, my first of many more to come.
The soaring feelings buoying my heart and soul in ecstatic joy at re-entering my Shangri-La can only be approximated by listening to Carlos Santana’s beautiful guitar composition, Samba Pa Ti as you come along with us and experience that first return visit.
