It was an extremely windy spot on the Sonoma coast in Salt Point State Park, just north of Gerstle Cove, and I had the place mostly to myself as I clambered over the rocks trying to get a peek into some tide pools. I chose not to climb down too close to where the tide washed in, so my tide pool photos were shot with a zoom lens and the hope that I might capture some interesting creatures. Even so, I was happy to be there, listening to the roar of the ocean and taking in the unspoiled natural beauty all around me.

Tide, rocks, black seaweed, and mussels

The only other person in sight was quite far away, standing on a rock, fishing. It wasn’t until much later that I realized he had his dog with him too. I have no idea who the young man is; but seeing him fishing on that exposed point, dressed in a warm jacket, his jeans soaked with the salt spray and his alert dog waiting nearby, takes me back to some of our fishing trips in the 1980s. He may not be standing in the safest spot, but you don’t worry so much about things like that when you’re young and the fish are biting.

Fisherman just visible on the far rocky point, second from left