The entire state of California is aware of the wildfires that are currently damaging many homes, wildlife and its ecosystems and much more. Although this disaster continues to be an issue, I believe it is important that one takes time to relax and find a therapeutic way to forget the issue for a couple of hours. Personally, not only was the fire worrisome, but the stress of upcoming finals was catching up to the overall stress about what has been going on recently. Somehow, through all the studying, I managed to take a stress reliever and visit a beach I have not been to. It was a drive down the PCH, which as we all know is a very beautiful view even though there was some left-over smoke. Once I arrived to Point Dune State Beach I knew it was going to be very different from the ones I have visited, but in a very good way. It is an elevated beach where you can either stay near the sand or hike a bit to the top of the cliff-like are and oversee the ocean. A designated rail leads you through the top of the cliff and because it is fairly easy to go under it, my curiosity to see better views led me to go under the rail and to another trail. As I was carefully climbing down sandy areas and big rocks along with trees on the side, I was able to capture a sight of the rocks on the beach with the waves hitting the side of the cliff pretty roughly. I also saw a few brown bodies in the ocean and still do not know whether they were sea lions since I am not sure if they are out during the winter—whatever they were, it was interesting to see. Once I climbed back onto the trail, I continued to walk and came across a wooden board walk with a view of a cape-like area on the coast. Normally, I would not use much physical activity on a beach such as hiking and I believe that is why I enjoyed this beach, as well as being on an elevated part of the coast opposed to directly standing on the sand. If it is needed to take a break from school or other issues, it is always nice to use the beach as a stress reliever.
