The best of both worlds...

Beach, meet forest. Forest, the beach.

This beach is located near Chennai in India. It looks fantastic.

This is a (mostly) Wordless Wednesday post.

Photo by Balaji.B via Flickr

A bottle tree on American Beach

Northeast Florida’s Amelia Island is steeped in history and one highlight is the dreamy stretch of 200 acres called American Beach.   Developed as the first African American resort community in 1933, when Jim Crow laws restricted integration of most beaches, this landmark offers gorgeous, undeveloped vistas and decades of rich cultural history.  It’s a great place to swim, stroll or beach comb but the best way to experience American Beach is with a 90-minute historical walking tour. Read More »

Drawing the Line in the Sand at Leo Carrillo State Beach, CA

As with most state-run agencies, California’s state parks are suffering from the dismal budget crisis that slashed its funding and raised its fees.  The governor almost shut the parks down completely to save money.

How is it that we’ve come to this point?  That lands set aside for the public can be closed to the public? That nature is off-limits to the humans who live near it, who crave it, who require it to survive?

In the movie “Into the Wild,” young punk Christopher McCandless headed out to kayak through the Grand Canyon without a permit and completely blowing off all the rules.  During most of the movie I thought the kid was pretty much a jerk, if for no other reason than he renamed himself Alexander Supertramp, but I had to agree with him when he showed disgust for The Rules.  I’m not saying that all rules are bad:  our parks have rules for safety, maintenance, and to preserve the lands for the enjoyment of others.

But when you simply close a forest because there’s no money to pay the rangers or the janitors, that’s just ridiculous.  It’s Earth.  How can you shut her down?

But without money, how can you keep her open?

When we went camping at McGrath State Beach in Ventura earlier this year, the garbage cans were overflowing, the bathrooms were too disgusting to shower in, and there was no firewood for purchase at any of the advertised stations in the park.  Yet, the place was full.  At $35 per campsite per night, they DO have money coming in, at least sometimes.  But the $1 billion backlog in repairs and maintenance state-wide is making all parks suffer.

Enter the voters!  We can save the day!  At least that’s how it usually goes in California, where the Wrath of the People is heard if not at the ballot box (the percentage of registered voters who actually vote is consistently low) then online, in political fliers, and in television ads.  Yes For State Parks – otherwise known as Prop 21 and not to be confused with Legalize Marijuana! which is Prop 19 – aims to create a fund to help stem the tide of disarray suffered by our 278 state parks by charging most vehicle owners in California a new annual vehicle license fee of $18.  For outdoor lovers like myself who can afford to pay the fee, this seems like no problem.  In return, California drivers get free day use at any park.  That saves parking fees for Leo Carillo State Beach, the one that we use most often.  All of this money and the administration of it will be subject to a yearly audit.  Can we place our faith in a legislature and administrative body that has screwed up royally thus far and put the parks into the sad condition they’re in now?

Here’s hoping.  Unless somebody else has a better idea.

[photo by Kim Tracy Prince]

Riding Honey along the beaches of Amelia Island

Nestled off the coast of Florida, Amelia Island may not be on all the maps but it’s worth the adventure to find it. This charming island bursts with natural beauty and the best way to see it is on horseback. I love horses and one of my favorite activities whenever I travel is to explore my new surroundings is to hop onto a horse and ride along the most scenic route. On Amelia Island, that means  the pristine beaches. Read More »