Somethin' about nothin'

Have you ever watched a wall of fog move towards you? It's as if it swallows everything in it's path and at the same time it's mesmerizing.  If you have the good fortune to see it, look closely. You'll find pieces of fog pushing out ahead of the wall, as if they're small arms reaching out to feel if anything will be in it's way...not that it really matters...it will roll right over the top and swallow them whole.

According to Wikipedia, it's also known as Advection Fog, and it's common along the California Coast. Here in San Francisco, it's a daily event, and part of what makes the area naturally beautiful. As we drive home and get within view of the marine layer coming in, the car turns silent. We're caught in it's trance, and it's beautiful. The arms and fingers are reaching out as the wall starts to feel it's way over the mountain, moving closer and closer to the buildings below. We decide not to head home (which is just below the fog line), and to drive straight towards the wall instead. We want to be part of it, to feel it, to watch it, to breathe it.

As we drive through the fog, we can see it racing by. It seems to be pulling our car, making us feel like we're moving faster and faster while we move deeper and deeper into it's belly. It's a massive beast and we've allowed it to swallow us whole. The moisture is thick, and releases the natural oils in the wild eucalyptus trees.  (It's nature's own humidifier...with scented oils.) The smell is incredible. Now this is aromatherapy!

Hours pass before we realize that it's late and reality starts to sink in. The hold on us is lifting and we begin to make the short drive home. It's been a wonderful evening, in a place where time seems to stand still...that is, until our eyes started burning and we couldn't get a sentence out without yawning.

I so often times hear about people who never leave the San Francisco area. In their minds, everything they need is right here. This concept is foreign to me, but when we're pulled into the fog it gives me a small glimpse as to why. I may never understand it completely, but I'll most certainly enjoy the view!