It is Sunday evening and I find myself on vacation in Southern California ready to spend a quiet evening walking the beach watching the sunset. The sky is clear and a full moon is on the calendar. I am expecting to experience the best part of my vacation tonight, just me, alone, watching the waves and smelling the fresh salt air.
I leave my rented beach house in my two-piece bikini and notice a crowd gathering on the shoreline apparently to watch the sunset. There is a line of large sailboats jockeying for position in the bay for the same show. One boat stands out as the largest and most impressive, with sails towering over the rest and the colors the colors are brilliant. I am drawn to this particular boat because of the colors of the sails. The boat itself is that standard high glossy finish of white but even the white seems to have a Mother of Pearl sheen to it.
I see the lone sailor sitting on the deck of his boat in a deck chair with a can of something cold to drink relaxed and enjoying what is left of the sun and the breeze. The sunsets here are legendary and this is the time of the year that the sun sets right in the bay. Cars have lined the roadway along the coastal highway. People have brought their ice chest with cold drinks, lawn chairs, pets and Frisbees. You notice that there are no children among this group but this is a college town and this doesn't surprise you much. You were a bit surprised to find that the local nude beach was only a mile from your beach house and wonder why THAT isn't mentioned in the brochure anywhere.