Big Surf Comes Rolling In

Today, even as the sky shined bright warm blue and fall colors shimmered in the trees, mayhem descended upon the entire Monterey Bay shoreline.  A tall rolling swell coming from north-northwest and big pounding waves conspired to tear kelp beds, beaches, and any hesitant creatures in tide pools completely apart.

There is a muffled roar that is constant, but it has a crescendo-decrescendo of booming lower notes that tell you breakers are hitting the coast.  The surf is very dangerous, accompanied by a rough chop and steady breeze that is sending salty mist high into the air to drift to the treetops of coastal hills.

There is a kinetic intensity to big surf.  It looks like a living thing energized with a wild spirit and magnificent power.  If you watch for awhile, you'll see huge tall plumes of whitewater blooming upward as an especially big roller hits a granite rock outcrop.  There is constant action, incessant movement that has continued for hours and seems to show no signs of waning.

The royal blue sky, leaping plumes of whitewater and roaring sound distract everyone who drives anywhere on the coast.  It's far safer to park and walk, too easy to swerve your car or wobble or stop in the roadway when a big set of waves comes bashing to the shore.  If the swell continues tomorrow, I'll be out there with my camera, dazzled to my heart's content by the big bold free show.