CALIFORNIA COASTWALK

A jagged line from Oregon to Mexico

drawn long ago

by a child too young to get it straight.

It calls the restless to their fate.

It sings a song of crashing waves

and squawking birds and sailors' graves;

a route of sea-worn rocks and silky sand

and crumbling cliffs on unstable land.

Follow the roads and the railroad tracks;

walk across the fields where the woodsman's ax

once rang; but now they're full

of sheep and cows—keep an eye out for a bull!

The stately Redwoods touch the sky,

too old to play, too young to die.

But play do dolphins, seals and whales;

the otters and the elk tell tales

of crunching abalone shells

and locking horns and smelling smells

of shipwrecks, wafted on the breeze,

and exotic islands in exotic seas.

So come to the shore of which we boast

and walk with me on the sunset coast.

From Mexico embark

on this journey at Border Field State Park.

Head north along the Silver Strand—

between bodies of water a needle of land;

across the Coronado Bridge,

(only on special days is this pilgrimage

allowed for walkers) through bustling San Diego.

After Mission Bay go

along Pacific Beach, La Jolla, Torrey Pines,

Del Mar, Solana Beach; the sun shines

on those who live here; there's Cardiff By the Sea,

Encinitas, Leucadia (a jug of wine and thee);

on to Carlsbad and Oceanside;

across Camp Pendleton on a surging tide;

San Onofre,

San Clemente, Doheny.

Dana Point reflects the past

in this seaman's book, Two Years Before the Mast.

Laguna, Emerald Bay, Crystal Cove, Corona del Mar,

Balboa, Newport—home to many a tar;

Huntington, Bolsa Chica, Sunset, Seal;

and Long Beach—its expanses reveal

that it's well named; the harbors of Long Beach and LA

beside San Pedro—on San Pedro Bay;

across the Vincent Thomas Bridge;

again, walkers may make this pilgrimage

only when gods and civic leaders smile;

Palos Verdes Peninsula is worth the while

of the traveler; then on to Torrance, Redondo,

Hermosa, Manhattan and El Segundo;

Dockweiler, Playa del Rey

and Marina del Rey on a summer day;

then Venice (but not Italy),

Will Rogers, Topanga, Las Tunas, the sea;

the siren call of Malibu,

Corral, Point Dume, Zuma, Carrillo and Point Mugu;

Point Hueneme and Oxnard Beach;

McGrath and Ventura within easy reach;

Emma Wood, Seacliff and Carpinteria;

and on to Santa Barbara to see a

view of the students at Isla Vista;

El Capitan, and who can resist a

closer look at Refugio

and Gaviota, but on we go

to Point Conception and Vandenberg AFB;

to Surf, Point Sal and history.

Pismo Beach—vroom! vroom!

Grover City and Shell have plenty of room;

Avila, Point San Luis, Montana de Oro,

and on to the Rock and Bay known as Morro;

Atascadero and then Cayucos,

Harmony, Cambria, San Simeon and glucose;

the Big Sur digs of W. R. Hearst,

with zebras and such—but who was here first?

Piedras Blancas and Ragged Point;

Gorda, Point Lucia, fountains to anoint

the intrepid walker; John Little, Burns, Molera, Point Sur,

Point Lobos, Carmel, Pebble Beach go by in a blur;

Pacific Grove via Seventeen Mile Drive;

Monterey, Sand City, Marina, then arrive

via Moss Landing and Sunset at old Santa Cruz;

to Davenport and Año Nuevo to lose the blues;

Pigeon Point, Bean Hollow and Pescadero;

Pomponio and San Gregorio;

Tunitas and on to Half Moon Bay;

Montara, Gray Whale Cove, San Pedro Point and Rockaway;

Pacifica and San Francisco;

and across the Golden Gate we go

to Stinson, Bolinas and Point Reyes;

Dillon and Bodega Bay, it says;

Salmon, Shell, Sonoma, Armstrong, Jenner, Fort Ross;

Salt Point, Sea Ranch, Gualala know who's boss;

Anchor Bay and Point Arena.

Have you seen a

nicer place than Elk or Mendocino?

On to Jug Handle, Fort Bragg and we know

to MacKerricher, Westport, Cape Vizcaino we'll rove;

the Lost Coast to Sinkyone and Shelter Cove;

Honeydew, Petrolia, Capetown, Ferndale;

Eureka and Arcata faster than airmail;

McKinleyville, Little River and Trinidad;

Patrick's Point and Big Lagoon (it's bad);

Humboldt Lagoon, Klamath and Redwood Park;

Crescent City and Smith River on a lark;

to Pelican Beach and the Oregon border;

then back to a life of schedules and order.