craving

February 09, 2012 candacemorris 3 Comments

Though I do not wish to spend all my days in 80 degree sunshine, I am still a California girl by birth.  Right about this time of year, I can close my eyes and feel my hair whipping my face as I ride in my Mom's old '57 Chevy Station Wagon, windows down because there was no A/C.  She raised four kids single-handedly for 10 years and we were rather tight on money, but she seemed to make special outings happen.  I remember not only frequent trips to Disneyland, but also trips to Ventura beach.  We would leave at sunrise and all sleep in the car as she drove the 45min to the seaside, then spend all day swimming and sunning.  Lunches on that day, though nothing fancier than homemade PB&Js, a thermos of cold water, and nacho cheese Doritos, never tasted better.  Come sunset, with sand-filled swimsuits, we would climb back into Betsy and watch the golden light on the horizon and drift off to the sound of the wind drying our hair as we drove home.

Windows Down. 

Always Windows Down.

Later on as a teenager, my best friend Keri and I would take several trips, looking for trouble (we never found any, we were good girls afterall) and turning heads as much as possible, which is easy to do in a bikini while driving.  Her VW Bug was my ticket to freedom, and also didn't have A/C.

Thank God.

I'm going home to Southern California this weekend to see my Teresa and Clara, and I cannot tell you how much my skin aches for a drive like this. I've requested to see my ocean.

I love your salt-water soul,

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