A Baja-Style “Welcome Home”

We are back in Baja, where we lived for 9 months through June of last year. I am walking out to the beach for the first time since our arrival. My daughter, who I am pushing in a BOB stroller along the dirt road, drifts into her midday nap. As we arrive at the sand,…

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Adiós 2018: Reflections on a wonder-filled year

As 2018 comes to a close, I sit down to write with my nearly 4-week old son propped up on a blanket and nursing pillow as he gulps down yet another snack. I lightheartedly wonder to myself if he is the hungriest man alive. In my loose plan for the day, I had hoped Theo would…

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WOW: Seashells with Lily

“Mama, more shells,” says Lily as she beckons to me from under the shade of her hiking backpack perched on Dave’s shoulders as we walk down a seemingly endless stretch of white sand beach. Dave throws a log back into the perfectly warm 76 degree aquamarine sea, and our dog Bandon sprints into the beach…

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WOW: Fulfillment of the Heart

After playing with my daughter under a morning sky lit by the pink full moon, I walk up to my beachside office at Casa Azul for the last time during our stay in Baja this season. Here, I have watched whales breech while clients shared victories; listened to birds underscore coaching certification calls; and found…

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WOW: In the Small Moments of Easter Sunday

Walking around the kitchen counter to gather up the remaining dishes after dinner, my eye catches a ripe mandarin hue beaming through the window. I stop and turn to see a whale spout just south of the sun that is settling itself atop the horizon line for a final glow before dripping into dusk. “Mama,…

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WOW: Wonder, Wonder Everywhere

A sea bird with origami-like wings and a pointed tail soars up above; Flies over giant palm fronds dancing on trees in the breeze just north of where I am surfing. I look out to the horizon to catch wave number 19, Another lined up in perfect geometry. Short side toward the rocks to my…

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WOW: “Mama, Mano”

As mandarin light climbs up and over shadowy peaks in the distance, rays of canary and maize outstretch like arms reaching skyward as the sun takes its first yawn of the morning. I breathe in a salted dewy mist as my daughter’s voice breaks the bird songs in the breeze. “Mama, mano,” she says. I…

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WOW: Psychedelic Waves

Hues of strawberry, orange creamsicle and lavender swirl against varying shades of silver and grey to create a psychedelic glass over the open ocean. I drop the longboard from under my right arm so that it floats beneath my fingertips as I wade out into the water. Large seabirds fly through the sky, and a…

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WOW: Adventuring with Whales

This past weekend was filled with “Wow!” over here in my neck of the Baja. Together with family, I adventured 4 hours up the coast for an intimate experience with nearly-ready-to-give-birth grey whales. I am still trying to find words for the magic we discovered in Magdalena Bay. I melted somewhat into a land with…

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