My Best Days, Part 1

One of my college roommates has written a book that is a guide to gratitude. Conscious gratitude is supposed to improve our outlook on life and bring us joy. So in that spirit, I’m starting a new recurring feature of the blog.

Called My Best Days, it will be a recollection of singular days that in themselves might not have been dramatic or life-altering, but were memorable simply for being good. The experiences were simple but they continue to remind me of how life can be great through a collection of bright moments.

My Best Days, Part 1….LaJolla, California, 07-06-2000

I get lost in thought when I see these photos. I was visiting one of my best friends in the world (of course, a “Jen”) who was living in the San Diego area. She had a cute little apartment in La Jolla, just two blocks from the Pacific coast. We spent this particular morning hiking the hills and rocks along the shoreline.



It was misty and breezy in the morning, but in typical fashion the marine layer lifted by noon and our sweatshirts came off.

This picture was taken on a pedestrian bridge that spanned a small cove of ocean that jutted into the landscape.



The water could not have been bluer, the foliage greener, or the sun cast a more golden glow on everything. I kept looking right, then left, then ahead, and then back again…I just couldn’t take in enough of the panorama. At that point I remembered a coworker telling me that when she went to San Diego, she felt like her soul was where it belonged. That is what I felt here!

And it was so quiet, save for the water hitting the rocks, the blowing breeze, and our own laughter.

I don’t know how far we hiked, probably only a mile or two. Maybe “hiking” isn’t the best word…aerobic meandering is more like it.

We watched the seals on the pier. I saw gnarly trees that appeared to be directly out of a Dr. Seuss book.
We laughed uncontrollably when a squirrel looked at us funny. It was that kind of day, where nothing could have gotten us down.

We ate lunch at bistro in LaJolla Village, and to this day I swear it was the best sandwich I’ve ever eaten. Turkey and cheddar on rosemary bread.

Two old friends with no schedule to keep, warm sunshine, and laughter. It was a day where I can truthfully say I completely relaxed and loved every...single...minute.

I still think of that day whenever I eat rosemary bread.