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 May 4, 2016May 4, 2016 in meadow

Nothing Gold Can Stay

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“Then leaf subsides to leaf,
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay. ” -Robert Frost,

Summerland, CA

This morning I woke up at 6 am anxious. I got myself together and booked it to my favorite coffee shop, The French Press. While I was ordering my ice coffee the lady taking my order asked me what I had planned for the rest of the day. I answered with a simple reply of I am taking an AP Computer Science test. Her facial expression changed quickly from a tired gaze to a short laugh, then a “glad I’m not you” look. She handed me my coffee as if she gave me gold. After that I was off and on my way hyped on a bagel and caffeine.

About four hours later I finished my test and as Shakespeare puts it, “Twas’ a rough night.” (Macbeth, Act 3, Scene 4), but it wasn’t night. It was bright and early in the morning. I just thought that quote was relatable. Computer science is hard, but most of the time I have fun with it. Even though I feel like I failed the test, I am proud that I did it. I felt like a queen after taking the test, I hugged all my friends as if I just won a battle.

To celebrate, my friend Kelsey and I left school . We went to the beach. As I felt golden, the sky was gray. We left the gloomy beach after drinking our oreo milkshakes, and headed to the mustard greens meadow in Summerland, just south of Santa Barbara. I did a blog post about this yellow magical meadow earlier. But this was earlier, and now most of the leaves were brown. There was a small patch of yellow left in the meadow. I savored the last of the golden field and ran around through the tall weeds without luckily getting stung by a bee for hours. It was a nice celebration to be there after taking that test in the morning. Nature is always a party

It makes me sad to see the meadow turn brown, but it reminds me of the Buddhist term, impermanence , which basically means nothing is forever and to enjoy the beautiful things in life for the moment.

Much Love and Peace,

Charlotte

Posted on March 11, 2016March 18, 2016 in travel

Secret Gardens

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“Is the spring coming?’ he said. ‘What is it like?’… ‘It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine, and things pushing up and working under the earth.'”

-Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Summerland, California

I have saved this quote for awhile and I felt it was the time to use it because it is now March and it feels like spring. A slight storm came in and brought gloom to the sky, but the flowers and grass were vibrant and growing above the ground with little birds searching for pollen. It was a true spring day. On this day, I drove south to the small town of Summerland, California. It is a small, happy, and sleepy with cute local shops with all sorts off knick knacks like any other small California beach town.

What makes this places more special than other towns is this place towards the end of the main street (Lillie Ave.) called, Sacred Space. Sacred Space is technically a store, but it is more like a meditation garden with the influence of Buddhism. It is like how a Buddhist temple can have a gift shop, but the more important thing is that it is a temple. I want to put out there that I do not feel that my pictures below show the beauty of the place.

My camera did not like the fog.

Jameson at front entrance of Sacred Space

Jameson and I walked around the grounds of Sacred Space, which is small, but lots to see. Sprawled upon the bamboo, palm trees, and succulents, are Buddhas. Buddhas everywhere. There are also some other spiritual figures like the Hindu god, Shiva and Vishnu. Once we walked around and admired the place, we settled down on the couch under a cabana type of thing (pictured on the right-back below).

In front of the couch is a table with a journal. If you flip it open you will see quotes, journal entries, drawings from people have come to Sacred Space. The journal is my favorite part because people write in the journal about how thankful they are. Definitely check out the journal at Sacred Space.

It’s dope and inspiring.

After are time at Sacred Space we went up the road for a new adventure…

The mustard field (pictured above)! I can’t explain how I exactly got there because it’s sort of confusing, but this place is so BEAUTIFUL, nothing like it. It’s a massive piece of land filled with flowers! In this time of age of sky scrapers and concrete, sometimes it puts you in shock to see a place like this. It was my first time going to this field in Summerland and not my last! If you really want to know where it is ask me in person or comment below and I will give you the best directions I can:)

HAPPY ALMOST FRIDAY!!!

Have an adventurous weekend.

Go take a hike, I dare you.

Much love and peace,

Charlotte

P.S. Be a super cool, awesome person and follow my Instagram! @chartopia_ @chartopia_ @chartopia_

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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Posted on February 10, 2016March 18, 2016 in mountains

Up The Mountains

LIZARD’S MOUTH

Sometimes you wonder, “Why do I feel sad or mad or just the weird feeling?” Then, you drive up a mountain away from everything, and look at the sun slowing moving down to the horizon. All the negativity goes away. It is amazing what nature can do to you.

This past weekend, I met up with my friends, Jameson and Kelsey, at 4:30 and drove up the 154, took a left onto the windy back road up to Lizard’s Mouth. Lizard’s Mouth got it’s name because there is a rock there in the shape of a lizard’s mouth. It is also well known for rock climbers. For my friends and I, we jump to rock to rock until we find the “perfect” rock. Every time I go up there I try to find the rock I was at the time before, but it is really hard because the whole place consists of rocks, rocks, and more rocks. Many times I will go away from my friends and find my on rock so I can be by myself to reconnect with nature.

Spending so much time inside being in school and having a boatload of homework, can take a toll on yourself and your body. This school year for me has been tough because I started a new school. The academics are not bad, or the teachers, or the kids because most of my friends go here, but I feel stuck inside all day. Last year, I went to an alternative school where we took four bike trips each year going to places like Sedona, Arizona to to Ashland, Oregon. I was used to just having these adventures planned for me, instead of me planning them for my own.

To conclude, there are things in life that I really appreciate like being with my friends and looking out towards Santa Barbara with the sun setting onto the ocean at Lizard’s Mouth.

Much Love and Peace,

Charlotte