My favorite mermaid painting, by John William Waterhouse, "A Mermaid":

The Mermaid
Alfred Lord Tennyson



I

Who would be
A mermaid fair,
Singing alone,
Combing her hair
Under the sea,
In a golden curl
With a comb of pearl,
On a throne?

II

I would be a mermaid fair;
I would sing to myself the whole of the day;
With a comb of pearl I would comb my hair;
And still as I comb'd I would sing and say,
'Who is it loves me? who loves not me?'
I would comb my hair till my ringlets would fall
Low adown, low adown,
From under my starry sea-bud crown
Low adown and around,
And I should look like a fountain of gold
Springing alone
With a shrill inner sound
Over the throne
In the midst of the hall;
Till that great sea-snake under the sea
From his coiled sleeps in the central deeps
Would slowly trail himself sevenfold
Round the hall where I sate, and look in at the gate
With his large calm eyes for the love of me.
And all the mermen under the sea
Would feel their immortality
Die in their hearts for the love of me.

III

But at night I would wander away, away,
I would fling on each side my low-flowing locks,
And lightly vault from the throne and play
With the mermen in and out of the rocks;
We would run to and fro, and hide and seek,
On the broad sea-wolds in the crimson shells,
Whose silvery spikes are nighest the sea.
But if any came near I would call and shriek,
And adown the steep like a wave I would leap
From the diamond-ledges that jut from the dells;
For I would not be kiss'd by all who would list
Of the bold merry mermen under the sea.
They would sue me, and woo me, and flatter me,
In the purple twilights under the sea;
But the king of them all would carry me,
Woo me, and win me, and marry me,
In the branching jaspers under the sea.
Then all the dry-pied things that be
In the hueless mosses under the sea
Would curl round my silver feet silently,
All looking up for the love of me.
And if I should carol aloud%

Some of the reasons I love Pacifica:

* it's close enough to San Francisco to be considered part of the Bay Area, but it's got its own personality: unpretentious, relaxing, comfortable, and it's got the ocean.

* when you're in Pacifica, you can't miss with a meal at Nick's Restaurant, right on Rockaway Beach, just off Highway 1. Follow the link below; turn up your volume, you can hear the seagulls!

http://www.nicksrestaurant.net/nicks_restaurant_sea_breeze_motel_pacifica_ca_001.htm

* for barely $100 a night, you can fall asleep to the sound of ocean surf at my favorite hotel, the Best Western Lighthouse:
www.bestwesternlighthouse.com

Ask for a room on the top floor with either cove or ocean view. Don't plan anything for sunset time because you'll want to take it in, either from your balcony or down closer to the water (but don't let your kids frolic in the waves, there is such a thing as a rogue wave and it can take you right out! be careful!).

It's not a five-star hotel, but it doesn't pretend to be. For me, it's just right.

* the hiking trails and views in Pacifica are outstanding. You can take your dog or your horse! Wildflowers abound, and one sunny afternoon I was hiking on the ridge above Rockaway Beach and came upon a mother bobcat in a den of rocks...that was an unforgettable moment. I spied her from a ways down the trail, we locked eyes, she stared at me as I backed away and headed down the trail quietly. What a beautiful animal!

* you can get on highway 1 headed south and soon you'll be in Half Moon Bay, another great little town with a distinct personality, or keep on going south to Monterey and Carmel, Point Lobos, Big Sur...heaven on earth, in my book.

* hardly anyone seems to know about Pacifica, or if they do, they think it's just some exits on the highway. This makes me love it all the more.

a funny little oddity I found online:

Dressed to Thrill

As I rang Sabrina's bell
My heart went Pit-a-Pat
The door swung open
There she was
All Dressed Up in a Hat

Goofy Happy Mermaid Spotted on Balcony!

Yes, this is me at a beautiful hotel in Mill Valley last Sunday afternoon. I was about as happy as a girl can be without it being illegal.

I can't decide if this is a good photo of me or a really dorky photo. I suppose you'd have to know me to answer that one...but I know how exuberantly joyful I felt that day (the whole trip, really), and that's reason enough to love this photo.

Virgo Birthday Sisters, August 21, 2005

Last Sunday Amy and I threw ourselves a birthday brunch at her house in Marin County. I was in California on what I had designated my "princess weekend" getaway, ostensibly there to pick up my new laptop but also to soak up the ocean air, hang out with Amy and Mark and friends, and celebrate my recent divorce. On the left is a photo of everyone around the table;

on the right is a photo of the Virgo Sisters admiring our beautiful chocolate cake from Max's...those candles were the kind that won't ever stop! One good thing about being women of a certain age: we can choose exactly what kind of birthday cake we want, and then we can buy it for ourselves. Mmmmmm, dark chocolate!

Amy is one year and one week older than me; we always used to celebrate our b'days together as girls growing up. In fact, we were called "the girls" by our family and they liked to dress us alike!

Living in different parts of the country as we have for decades, it's a big effort to get together for birthday time. I'm so happy I made the trip this year.

Testing 1-2-3. I've been back in Minnesota for just four days and can still smell the ocean on my soft blue yoga jacket. I wore it this morning and felt so happy. My life here is in a fabulous new phase, and it's the best time of year. What better time to begin my blog?

Next I'll have to figure out how to post photos and get the hang of this. I've just started school again: grad. school in counseling psych., one night a week, with homework to do every day, and I am in a major learning mode/mood.