Foggy blanket and ocean mist

A reflection piece. Perhaps because I had a very vivid dream of my hometown last night. In it, I had gone back to the high school and was shocked and disheartened by the decrepit buildings and overgrown weeds. I was saddened knowing that when I lived there, it was a source of pride to tell people that I had grown up in this picturesque and quaint little coastal village in Northern California. 

All time time I would be told just how lucky I was to be there. And at the time, while I knew it was beautiful, I never fully grasped just how special it was. Ask anyone who spent any part of their childhood there. It was just an extraordinary sort of place.

This morning, in an effort to relieve my anxiety of my dwindling town, I spent a few minutes googling Mendocino trying to find recent pictures; anything to prove to myself that it was as beautiful as ever. In my most recent visit (which I am embarrassed to say has been over three years), I couldn't wait to show my then boyfriend (now husband) all of my old stomping grounds. I wanted to take him to the bakery where my friends and I would get our morning tea and bagel as well as show him the cute little jewelry store where I worked for a summer. I wanted to show him the "fancy" tourist restaurants that none of us locals could afford to eat at, but where we all knew at least half of the staff. I wanted to brag and show him the view of my high school and the little French shop where my mom worked as a bookkeeper for years and years....All of these things I was so excited to show him. And you know what? Only one was not as I remembered. My beloved bakery had changed hands and while it was similar, it wasn't quite the same. However, one thing in all wasn't too shabby.

I remember excitedly pointing out the spots on Lansing Street that they had shut down during the making of The Majestic and how cool it had been that Jim Carey was in our town. In fact, he paid a visit to the little store my mom worked at and did quite a bit of shopping; unfortunately, mom wasn't at work that day :(. 

Top of Lansing Street looking down into "down town". 

Almost an exact replica of the view of town from my old high school. 

One of our favorite things to tell visitors was that it was absolutely normal to see Christopher Lloyd walk his dog around the football field and track at the high school. Every day. His house was just down the block. So many neat little things that made our town special and unique.

Mendocino holds a special place in my heart. To me, no matter where I live, it will always be home. The crash of waves and damp coolness of the fog will always bring me comfort. I have a fear of enclosed tight spaces, however the envelopment of fog all around me has never once made me feel uncomfortable. To me, instead, it is like a reassuring blanket. It quiets everything around you and allows for time to think. To this day, seeing fog instantly takes me back to happy memories where all is safe and good in the world. 

Mendocino evening. This image is not my own.