Reasons to Return: Mesa Lane Steps, Santa Barbara CA

Whenever guest blogger Yvette Keller’s dog isn’t walking her on the beach, she writes, reads, and narrates audiobooks. As the owner of Mesa Steps Consulting , she designs training content from her home office and recording studio located in Santa Barbara, CA. This is the life she has always wanted, and she feels extremely fortunate to have arrived there. So fortunate that she regularly wonders, “How did that happen?”

It is an old saying that change is the only constant. Recently, it seems to me like the rate of change has swerved away from the natural flow of time like a Tesla powered by a flux capacitor. When political and social upheaval comes my way, I venture out to not-too-distant neighborhoods, parks, and historical sites. They rejuvenate me and I’m reminded that I control my internal stability and my personal awareness of time.

One of my favorite places to go is my local beach. I visit it over and over again to survey the eternal serenity of the Pacific. It is calming to know that though it is changing (and not all for the better) the ocean isn’t going anywhere.

However, thanks to wind, sand, and waves, the beach is never the same twice– a  perfect reason to return. Beaches change dramatically from season to season and year to year. I believe my visits help me become more accepting, more comfortable with any constantly shifting landscape.

This is an image of the same stretch of beach. The California Current is constantly moving particles along, from North to South. Sometimes there is sand. Other times, not so much. Winter storms can often take our sand south to L.A. or San Diego. That’s the best time to go tidepooling and beachcombing for treasures.

Because there is always something to see, bright summery afternoons or silent, misty mornings are equally good for skipping down 247 steps to arrive at the secluded paradise of Mesa Lane Beach.

The trick is getting back up again. Cardio anyone? Built in 1982 to provide pedestrians with safe beach access, Mesa Lane Steps might be  the narrowest and most vertical “park” in Santa Barbara. A friend of mine once told me that I could easily train for the Bright Angel Trail at The Grand Canyon by walking up and down the steps a few times every day.

Getting down is easy, but leaving Mesa Lane Beach requires a level of athleticism that typically excludes families and tourists. Locals (including students from the nearby Santa Barbara City College) and surfers tend to be the only ones brave enough to face the many wooden, metal and concrete steps it takes to get home at the end of the day.

Less regularly, the infrastructure that provides beach access also changes. In 2012, the old steps at the bottom had become so badly damaged by high tides and surf that they were replaced. In the image above, I’m standing in front of the new metal steps. The beautiful picture below, by my friend and artist David J. Diamant , shows the original stairs at sunset.

Olieo dog loves running on the beach more than any other activity.

Getting outdoors and being with my family, on the beach, no matter what else in the world changes, is one of my favorite ways to stay healthy and happy, inside and out. Do you have a favorite beach you escape to?