spinning, dr. jammies, fog, home towns

kristin and i have been spinning a lot. three times in four days. my legs are exhausto and so are my eyes as these classes tend to be early-ish in the morning. we also walk to the gym together — let's be honest, if we didn't have to meet each other then maybe neither of us would force ourselves out so early in the day.

because the time hasn't changed yet, the mornings are dark. because we're in the thick of an indian summer, there is a heavy layer of fog balancing on top of the streets and sidewalks, which we walk through. all five or six blocks. car lights and street signals crystalize through the fog like a little early glimpse of christimas.

this morning we passed the eye doctor place and there he was, the eye doctor, 6:30 AM, in his pajamas, picking out a pair of frames for i'm not sure what reason. but it's funny, cuz you never see a doctor in his jammies. in a corner window. that gave me a chuckle for several hours.

meanwhile, i've been spending a lot of time by the bay. los osos/baywood park is my hometown. usually, when someone asks me where i'm from it goes like this:

me: san luis obispo.
them: oh i know slo.
me: well, then, i'm actually from morro bay.
them: oh, i know morro bay.
me: well, then, i'm actually from los osos.
them: oh, i know los osos.
me: well, then, i'm actually from baywood park.
them: ohhhhh.

that's how you go about things when you are from a small place few people have heard of.

people don't really know where "baywood park" is anymore. most of the time they call Lohhhss Osos, Lahhhss Osos (my personal pet peeve). baywood is a super super cute little unicorporated part of los osos, that sits right on the bay. it still has a few cypress tree stands (back in my day every street was 100% lined with these trees, but about 10 years ago a beetle blew in and devoured all of the beautiful trees). there are still no sidewalks, stop lights, or street lights worth mentioning. dirt roads aren't unheard of. iceplant acts as the town's answer to grass. sand acts as the town's answer to pavement. there is a laundromat. a bar. a really good cafe. a half-handful of tasty restaurants. a kick ass farmer's market and really amazing thai food.

fall in los osos and baywood is awesome, alternating between hibernation-inducing blankets of fog and amazingly clear, gorgeous blue-skied days. the estero bay sneaks back and rests on top of mud flats that hold it up like swimming pool or soak it up like an old wet sponge.

make no mistake: the mudflats will not hold you up, but pull you in. i know a lot of people who have sunk up to their hips in this mud. and there are worms in there. i know you don't want the creepy crawly worms slithering around your legs as you are enveloped by low-tide muckymuck.

for your eyes there are 180% oceanic vistas, sand dunes, blue skies. egrets, scrub jays, rabbits and quail. it's a california that doesn't really exist anymore.