OSL!

Oxnard. Now, I will admit, the name of this place is, well, less than pretty. It doesn't roll off the tongue so much as it just stumbles and face-plants (hence the re-naming of certain things as "Mandalay" whatever). But as un-flattering as the name is, the essence of this sleepy little beach town is serenity. All it takes for me to unwind is to flip on my right turn signal and merge into the exit lane on the freeway toward Oxnard. By the time I've sailed through two intersections, I'm on vacation mode. L.A., traffic, school, stress...they've all been left behind on the 101 freeway. Even if it's just for a couple of days, my world consists only of sand, surf, sleep, snuggling (yeah, I know, I'm kind of a fan of cuddles), and Starbucks (it wouldn't be fabulous if it didn't have that, too!).

I can't count the times I've walked down to the beach (oh, right, did I mention that the house is a block from the sand?) hand-in-hand with my honey to do a surf check, climbed these dunes, and gazed out over endless blue Pacific. Whether the waves are good or not, it's still gorgeous. Sometimes the water is a somber gray, and sometimes it's a happy almost-turquoise.

I have run on this very path, Gwen Stefani in my ear, with wide-open views of the ocean on my right and a busy, family park full of green grass on my left. Does it get any better?

And then, at the end of a day of late morning lattes, outings to the dog park, and Dominoes up on the roof deck, you get sunsets like this. Seriously. Hopefully some day I'll get to call myself a true OSL.

P.S.-That's Oxnard Shores Local, for you inlanders...;)