Looking Across the Bay

The latest disaster: one of the world’s biggest battery storage plants is burning.  Built in the 1950s by Pacific Gas and Electric, the Moss Landing Power Plant is a property that’s changed hands several times over the years. The 500 foot towers—an iconic landmark— are visible across Monterey Bay when it’s clear, and serve as an orientation point for those of us who live here. (For those of you with sharp eyes, count three dark sailboats in from the right and you might spy a faint shadow of the towers before you make it to the white boat.) You pass by the power plant when driving south on highway one, to Monterey, Big Sur, southern California, LA. That highway is closed right now, in, as they say, an abundance of caution. Those destinations aren’t the best choices at the moment anyway. Monterey is okay, except for the air quality from all the toxic material that is on fire, although authorities are saying it’s safe. Big Sur? I can’t keep track of the road closures along the coast, but it isn’t raining right now, so maybe you can get through. We all know about southern California and LA by now: there is no there there. Even though they persist in saying our air is upwind of the power plant fire, the sky here was thick and gray yesterday. This morning it was still dismal. The sun pushed through at some point, and we ventured to the cliffs on a seemingly bright and fresh afternoon. Frankly, I expected to look across the bay and see flames or black smoke, but the air here was invigorating, and you can see how clear it was. After my acupuncture treatments for this nasty cough, I felt I could breathe well for the first time in a few days, although I didn’t walk more than a mile before I got tired.

For the curious: the larger boat, the non-sailboat on the left, specializes in at-sea burial. I had to enlarge the photo and look up the name, Sea Spirit, because the boat was so out of place, closer to shore than I would expect, and just kind of hanging out. They provide an interesting array of services, from scattering ashes to a full body internment at sea. I wasn’t out of the house for an hour, on a path I’ve walked a million times, and I learned something new! Shows to go ya, as my mother used to say.