Posted on May 13, 2016May 13, 2016 in beach, meadow, mountains

Good Talks

Santa Barbara, California

Growing up in a town like Santa Barbara, many of the activities are based on the natural environment. Usually when it’s a sunny weekend, you would find me and my friends lounging at the beach. When it is chilly, I’ll be dancing on the top of a mountain.

Pictured above are my friends Bella and Grace picnicking after school at a local park. This day was a few weeks ago and it was spontaneous. I was getting home from school and my friend Bella texted me and asked if I wanted to meet me at the park close to my house. It was a little bit of a surprise, but I had a good time. I have already done a blog post on this magical park and I recommend checking it out ( https://inchartopia.com/2016/04/20/queen-of-the-woods/).

We spent a long time at the park, climbing trees, and enjoying our surroundings after a long day at school. I felt at peace. We sat in the long grass and talked about things we want to do in our lives and things we dislike in our lives. I realized then that nature does not only make me and others happy, but also brings people together.

Some people feel that coffee shops are the best place to hang out and talk to someone, but I disagree. When you hike with someone up a mountain, that is when the good conversions start flowing. They may be all complaints about the dust or blisters, but sometimes after you have been hiking for a hour and so and you are so done, that’s when one becomes vulnerable. That’s when the good talks happen. And then you wonder why does this matter? As you know, we live in the age of technology. It’s a great thing to be able to send a message across the world in a second, but there are also some problems that come with it. This problem is the lost of physical connection. We are so into with saying “what’s up” over text with the answer of “I’m good! wbu?” The end of the conversation. Done. Nothing else.

vsco-photo-3 — At the beach with my friends

So instead of just texting someone this weekend, go out of your way and take a friend to a park or on a hike and ask, “What’s up?”

In person.

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Much Love and Peace,

Charlotte

Posted on March 4, 2016March 18, 2016 in beach

Clovers

Hammond’s Beach

After some rain, the meadow at Hammond’s Beach has changed from brown weeds, an optimist would call it “gold”, into a lush green landscape. I was surprised that a small amount of rain can make the greenery come alive again after such a long drought in Santa Barbara. People think the drought it over, but hate to break it, but it is not. It will take the amount of time that got us into this drought, which was a few years, to get back to the normal water levels with sufficient rain.

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Enough with the drought, Hammond’s is still a beautiful place whether the meadow is dead or not. It is a popular place for people, mostly locals, to be because it’s more secluded than close by areas like Butterfly Beach. Butterfly is great to and it is a place where you run into a lot of people. Comparing Butterfly and Hammond’s, I would consider Butterfly Beach to be the “scene” and Hammond’s as the more “low-key” area. This is because in order to get to Hammond’s especially in high-tide days, you have to climb over some rocks dividing Butterfly and Hammond’s. Or, you can walk the train tracks and there is a path that veers off to the right. That way is hard to find, but basically if you are walk from Coast Village Road toward the beach, you will see the train tracks. Turn left onto the train tracks and follow it for a few hundred feet until you see an uphill dirt trail on the right side. You will walk past so walls with graffiti that says in pink and black “SB Locals,” then the path will release you into the meadow of Hammond’s Beach. Bring a towel, water, and snacks because Hammond’s is a great place to hang out all day.
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I think I love this place so much because I have many memories of being at Hammond’s. I have lived in Santa Barbara my whole life, so I have been going to this beach for awhile now. I feel like when you grow up, the places you go to change like in elementary school it consisted of Girsh Park, then in middle school it was Paseo Nuevo, and now it is probably Lizard’s mouth or my house because school makes me tired. But through all these times I would and still frequently go to Hammond’s with my family or my friends. A good memory I have of this place is when it was in middles school. It was a full moon, so my friends and I thought it was a good idea to sneak out to the beach in the middle of the night and jump in the ocean. I still remember how cold it was. So, so, so cold. We didn’t think it through that we had to walk a mile back to the house in wet clothes. We survived, but it was maybe the funniest, and possibly stupidest things I have done.

I love Hammond’s beach because 1) it is more private than other beaches in SB, meaning less people 2) the green meadow edges up to the sand and ocean, making it a unique place 3) a killer view of the sunset.

I recommend going if you want a good beach to go to:)

Much Love and Peace,

Charlotte Wall

Posted on February 14, 2016March 18, 2016 in beach

Levitation

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“You and me with our long hair on the gold one…
You should see there’s a place I want to take you”

-Beach House

Wilcox Property

And that place is the Wilcox Property. My friend, Gibson (pictured above), introduced me to the band Beach House a little bit ago. I enjoyed their music and I thought there song Levitation really reminded me of what I did today. Today was my friend, Grace’s birthday (also pictured above). She is a loving and thee most positive girl, who is always ready to adventure and try new things. So of course Grace wanted to go somewhere adventurous and decided to have everyone trek up to East Camino Cielo with her. Sadly, it was too windy up there, but we ended up at the Wilcox Property on the Mesa. I have been going to the Wilcox Property lately, and I think it is one of the most beautiful places in Santa Barbara. It is a piece of land with wild grass and eucalyptus trees just above Hendry’s Beach. The view of the ocean is spectacular because you get to see the dolphins leaping, the seal drifting, the birds diving, and a surfer paddling. It seems that people go there to meditate or just take a calming, scenic walk.

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I was there to celebrate Grace’s birthday. I was so happy that I could be in this beautiful place with my good friends I have known for awhile. Even though we don’t get to see each other all the time, when we are together it is like no time has passed. They are the type of people who push you to your limits and lift you up to your greatest potential. The type of people who wouldn’t buy you a cake on your birthday, but bake it from scratch. There is nothing like being in a special place with people you love and care about celebrating life and birthdays.

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I recommend going to the Wilcox Property when you are stressed, have some time to kill, or just want to go to a really cool place. When you get there, walk straight, and you will see a down hill trail. You might get thrown off because there is a giant, fallen eucalyptus tree in the middle of the rocky trail, but if you go to the right of it, you can go around. Bring some study shoes like converse because I saw a few friends take a slip due to not wearing decent shoes. This might sound off-putting, but is really not as bad as it sounds I promise. Once you get down the short 100 feet or so trail, you will arrive at a meadow-like perch above the ocean. It is very secluded, and not many people go down there because they don’t think it is a through trail.

Go there this weekend, bring a picnic, good tunes, and have a great time.

Much love and peace,

Charlotte

More Pictures Below. All pictures were taken by Charlotte Wall (me).

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