Beach art, some of it pretty extensive, is quite common in Santa Cruz, California but one example that caused a bit of a stir (in a good way) appeared some months ago at Sunny Cove Beach, one of many small beaches in the general area. I first learned about this by word of mouth from some of my friends so the next weekend my husband and I went down and checked it out.*

As is often the case, many of these pictures are much nicer if you click on them to see a larger version.

According to a short bit that appeared on the UK Yahoo site, the project was begun by a couple of women who were later joined by two men, and then finally it turned into a group project. If you don’t mind waiting through the ads (or have an ad blocker) the article includes a short video clip of some drone footage shot by one Alexz Londos. He also posted this footage on his Facebook page. His footage shows off the construct to much greater advantage and clarity than my pictures here do.

Sun, March 20th

We started the day by following a Jack Lalane video: DVD 2, Episode 2. Otherwise, it was a rest day.

Calories: 2019, Protein: 135 g.

Mon, March 21st

• (Morning Workout) Recumbent Bike: 30 Minutes, Aerobic Program, Level 7, RPMs: 80+ during the warm-up and end stretch, and 70+ RPMs otherwise.
• (Afternoon) I did the “Restorative Hip Stretch” video by Naya Rappaport and “Detoxifying Stretch” by Eleonora Zampatti on Alomoves.com. The two videos together made for a 30-minute session.
• In the evening I did pro wrestling referee training for two hours, ending the session with 100 squats. Then I stretched for 25 minutes.

Calories: 2005, Protein: 137 g.

Tues, March 22nd

• We followed along with Jack Lalane, DVD 2, Episode 3, shortly after waking up. Otherwise, it was a rest day. I did a lot of repetitive work in my evening referee training (and a little wrestling too) yesterday that was fun and good but left me pretty sore all over. Had a nice feed of red beans and high-protein tortillas for dinner, so that was a much-needed recovery protein boost.

Calories: 1995, Protein: 173 g.

Wed, March 23rd

• Still pretty sore today, so another day of keeping things not too tough and mostly restorative.
• Recumbent Bike: 30 Minutes, Aerobic Program, Level 7, RPMs: 80+
• Did one set of the following exercises. The two hip raises are from the Athlean-X “Glute Activation” video. The band exercise is from our chiropractor. The idea here is to mildly activate areas of my hips that don’t get much work doing squat and lunging movements.
  • Standing Toe Stab Hip Raises (each side): 12 reps
  • Lateral Walking With Band Around Knees (each side): 12 reps
  • Standing Toe-Up Hip Raises (each side): 12 reps
• I stretched for about 15 minutes and then followed along to “Back/Shoulder Flexibility for Beginners” by Dylan Werner on Alomoves.com. My total stretching session lasted about 45 minutes.
• We went for an afternoon walk in the woods. It took about 35 minutes.

Calories: 2168, Protein: 153 g.

This is the main way down to the beach from the side we parked on. This street deadends and on the other side is a wooden staircase down to another, nearby beach. Near the top of the staircase is a little bench that people like it sit on to watch the surf and such.

The hound coming down the stairs came up and visited me for a few minutes before his owner called him back. He was pretty friendly and I wish the picture I took of him had come out.

Thur, March 24th

• (Afternoon) Recumbent Bike: 30 Minutes, Hill Program, Level 9, RPMs: 80+
• I didn’t have much left because I had my bi-weekly chiropractor appointment. I was just going to leave but then I remembered that I haven’t done any online Tae Kwon Do in a long time so I followed along with a quick lesson: “Stances” from Global Martial Arts University. I think now that I’m thinking of TKD again, I’m going to start putting it back into my workouts since it is pretty fun, though I have to be careful because my left knee has been giving me some trouble. In fact, I went to the doctor and although the x-rays came back fine she is going to have me do some physical therapy, which starts in early April.

Calories: 1889, Protein: 128 g.

Some of the tools used in the construction of the Sunny Cove Beach art. There were a couple of guys standing at the top of the cliff and I asked (yelled up to them) if they were the creators and one of them yelled back down, “Yes,” but it was apparent they didn’t really want to talk so I didn’t press. I did see one of them, later before we left, tending some of the mounds with the gravel rake.

Fri, March 18th

• (Wake-up Workout) Recumbent Bike: 30 Minutes, Aerobic Program, Level 7, RPMs: 70+
• (Morning Full Body Circuit Workout) I warmed up with our 1 lb. indian clubs, 5 lb. mace, and dynamic stretching. I wanted to lift some weights this week but I wanted to keep it pretty gentle so I did this circuit and did two sets rather than my customary 4-5 sets.
  • (TWO SETS: No rest between exercises, 30-second rest between the two sets.)
  • Arnold Press: 15 lbs. x 12 reps
  • Leg Extension Machine: 25 lbs. x 12 reps
  • Dead Bugs (2-ct): 12 reps
  • Standing Ring Rows: 12 reps
  • Romanian Dead Lifts (BB): 64 lbs. x 12 reps
  • Bicep Curls (DB): 15 lbs. x 12 reps
  • Light Spring Bar (alternating sets supinated and pronated): 12 reps
  • Incline Push-ups (4th Cellar Step): 12 reps
  • Vertical Leg Press: 90 lbs. x 12 reps
  • Calf Raises (VLP, alternating sets of straight and bent legs): 90 lbs. x 12 reps
  • Tricep Kickbacks (DB): 5 lbs. x 12 reps
  • Face Pulls: 15 lbs. x 12 reps
  • Lateral Walking With Band (each side): 12 reps
  • Alternating Sets of Standing Toe Stab Hip Raises and Standing Toe-Up Hip Raises: 12 reps
  • Foot Dorsiflexion (cables, alternate foot each set): 12 reps
• The balance board I ordered from Amazon showed up while I was in the middle of warming up so I broke it in by balancing on it for a minute after doing the circuit.
• I did Tae Kwon Do “White Belt – Class 1” on the Global Martial Arts University website. The emphasis was on snap kicks and low blocks.

Calories: 1874, Protein: 147 g.

I thought it was cute to see this small construct not too far away, down nearer the water. A castle perhaps built by a child or family inspired by or oblivious to the giant dome geocentric thingie? Whatever the case, I thought the juxtaposition was charming.

Sat, March 19th

We followed along with The Jack Lalane Show, DVD 2, Episode 4 shortly after waking up. We also did some additional stretching.

Calories: 1949, Protein: 135 g.

I lost 1.5 lbs. this week. My total loss is 10.75 lbs. over six weeks for an average of 1.79 lbs./week. My calorie intake for the week was 13,919.

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* This was back in November 2021. Those old pictures really marinated for a while on my old (now defunct) Galaxy 6.