What if? What if the Golden Hinde was careened in this very spot where I am walking today? What if the exhausted men of Sir Francis Drake's crew, on their voyage around the world in 1579, stopped in this very place to rest, repair their ships, regroup, and explore?

There is so much history and wonder and beauty right under our feet…

When I told the volunteer ranger/educator at the Bear Valley Visitor Center that there was so much in the Point Reyes National Seashore I haven’t yet visited even though it’s almost literally in my backyard and I’ve lived in the area for almost 25 years, she responded, “You’ve been working too much.”

And, I thought about this and realized she was right. How much in this life is missed because we’re hustling and bustling, waiting for the “the right time” or retirement or some such other inadequate “reason"?

So, I asked her to recommend a good one hour hike and I opted for Limatour Beach, about a nine-mile drive away from the visitor center.

In 25 years, I have visited Limantour only once. Once! And, it’s just right here! It’s probably forty minutes tops from my house! And, I’ve only been here ONCE!

From the parking area it takes about ten minutes to walk to the beach over a small bridge and some sand dunes.

Limantour lies adjacent to Drake’s Bay, a body of water protected by the most southwestern portion of the National Seashore (where the Point Reyes Lighthouse resides). It would be the perfect place for an explorer circumnavigating the globe to stop and make repairs on his ship, meet some of the locals (the Miwok) and name the area New Albion! Sir Francis Drake’s voyage in 1579 on the Golden Hinde endlessly fascinates me. When I first moved to the area, I delved headlong into a study of Drake's voyage, reading a number of books on the subject, researching details of the exploratory adventure (under the banner of England and the protection of Queen Elizabeth I) and their stops along the way, with particular interest (of course) in this region of the world. There are differing opinions about where along this portion of what is now the West Marin coastline he landed. But there is no question that he was here.

When the beach emerged from the dunes, my first impression was…expansive beauty. The waves were gentle and two middle-school-age boys were body surfing in their wet suits and reminding me that even though it was a sunny day, the water was still the cold Pacific. Even so, I envied them - I wanted to be in that water swimming out and gliding back to shore on the gentle waves! I headed south toward Sculptured Beach and you can see why the name:

Even though it’s Midsummer, there were few people here, very different from many beaches in the U.S. right now. I loved it.

Strewn across the beach were little by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella) or “the marine life so nice they named it twice.” Often identified as a jelly fish, they are actually hydroids and are more closely related to sea anemones. They sail along on ocean currents and of late, they’ve been washing ashore along the California coast. They are fascinating, with a transparent sail and a blue-toned body.

It was a great opportunity to practice some macro photography…

Unfortunately, when Velella velella wash up onto the beach, they unceremoniously die.

They were not the only dead creatures on the beach that day.

There was also a dead dolphin, something I’ve not seen before, and a dead sea lion. Whenever I see turkey vultures on the beach, my heart sinks a little. It was obvious the sea lion had been here awhile.

And a dead dolphin brings a heartwrenching sadness. But it was still morbidly interesting:

I’m heading out here regularly from now on. I want to see Limantour Beach in all the seasons. I want to come out in my wetsuit and ride the kind waves. I want to walk in the (probable) footsteps of Sir Francis Drake and imagine where the ship might have been brought to shore and how deeply with relief he and his men must have breathed in this gorgeous coastline. I want to lie on my belly and try to capture the world through the sail of a by-the-wind sailor and risk a sloshing and that mouthful of seawater. And I’ll honor the life that once was, too.

There's no more excuses…it's all just right here!

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