Ledbetter Beach

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Ledbetter Beach – Hendry's Beach
Santa Barbara

8/2/07

This was a morning paddle, a birthday present to myself. It felt good to be out on salt water again after being behind the wheel for the past three days on the drive down from Washington.

It was overcast when I put in, just across the road from Santa Barbara City College, where I spent the first couple seasons on my 12-year quest for a bachelor's degree. It's hard to be a student in Santa Barbara, at any school, especially one with the beach so close. There is a great point break at Ledbetter and when the swell is going off, the waves can be big and sweet.

Not today, though. The water was flat as a mill pond, and dense kelp forests only served to further calm the surface. I paddled past the point and along the sandy cliffs below Shoreline Park. I could see a few people on the trails up above, walking their dogs mostly.

When the park ended, the houses began. Beautiful, elegant homes, some carved into the cliff itself, others seeming to float on the mist that slipped gently through the erosion lines on the ground. A seal eyed me from out beyond the kelp. Pelicans swooped past me, silently, low on the water.

Hendry's Beach hove into view, with people walking on the shore, a few optimists spreading out their towels and a group of people who looked like they were shooting an infomercial. They had metal frames with ropes attached to them and were using these contraptions to stretch and contort their bodies while two people with cameras circled them, getting the scene from every possible angle. I don't know what they're selling, but I expect I'll see them again sometime on late night TV.

Mary met me and took a few photos as I surfed the tiny waves. The biggest among them couldn't have been more than a two-footer, but the rides were good anyway, long and easy. Even the little waves gave long, carving rides, something that is all too rare in western Washington.

A great way to spend a birthday morning.

Ken Campbell