Point Reyes National SeaShore - Beauty & the Beach

Is there such a thing as too much beauty? I would have said not, until I laid my eyes on the Point Reyes National Seashore. Haven't really seen the beaches as yet (got the weekend ahead for that), but from what little I've seen so far, the beaches aren't the only thing competing to catch your eye. The views of Inverness Ridge, the mile upon mile of human free nature in the raw, the migrating birds, the ponds, the wildlife, the lush flora and fauna, the trails - Its a spectacle and a graphic reminder of just how beautiful the earth was, before we decided that skyscrapers and factories spewing smoke and MacDonalds and Mega-malls were more necessary than what God gave us.

Don't get me wrong. I'm no bleeding heart tree-hugger, and I love to bite into some highly tasty, transfat-laden and non-organic and juicy burgers. And everything else that comes with living in a metropolis. Just that sometimes, the exquisite beauty and purity of places like Point Reyes gets to you, and you think you'd rather have this than all the wealth of things to do in San Francisco. Fisherman's Wharf and Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge may be well worth visiting, but it just can't compare with nature in full bloom. Of course, its just a phase, and this too shall pass. :)

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that rather than spending entire San Francisco vacations in the urbanity (is that a word?) and kitschy tourist enclaves, it might be a good idea to rent a car and head out to Point Reyes for a weekend getaway. And getting back to the subject, I have two days and a dozen beaches to 'inspect' (FYI, I'm on a nationwide outing to discover and list the best beaches). And scandalous as it may sound, this lodge I'm staying at is friggin idyllic, that I have no will to go anywhere. There's this neat patio with a sweeping view, absolutely no man-made structure anywhere in sight, and Inverness Ridge looming in the distance. There's a pond just behind the lodge, and all sorts of migratory birds are swooping down on the pond. There's little animals scampering about in the shrubbery, and I have no wish to leave all this. And to make matters worse, I've been put into a room with a fully equipped and extremely well stocked kitchenette, so there's really nothing to complain about.

But the beaches are a-calling. And schedule's tight enough as it is. Saturday is set aside for the prime candidates - Drakes Beach, Limantour Beach, and Point Reyes Beach. The rest will have to wait till Sunday.