Page 44 - Sonoma County Gazette February 2020
P. 44

   Well, well, well! Spring is once again around the corner.
Can you believe it! Many of you might already be thinking of getting outdoors for an extended all-day walk, exploration to a new area, backpack amongst the giant redwoods, or camping at the ocean. There is a ‘good feeling’ about car camping; you pull in, unload, set up the tent, blow up your bed, get your sleeping bag to create a cozy sleep area, cook simple food, and just hang out. You talk, sing, make funny skits, or go Snipe Hunting (you know about this).
Loving Where WE Live, Indeed!
This month I want to give a shout out to the Ocean Cove Store and Campground. The land was surveyed, October 18th, 1860 and soon after
the store was built by the first owner Dr. Henry Jackson. Dr. Jackson sold to Fred and Anna Liebig who operated Leibig’s General Store for at least two decades. By 1898 the property was sold to W.J. Walsh who gave it the name Walsh Landing. Mr. Walsh was the owner of Salt Point Ranch and established the boat landing, where timber harvested on the ranch and surrounding areas was then loaded from the bluffs onto “Dog Hole” schooners and sent to San Francisco. Hans Dreier, a well-known director at Paramount Pictures bought the property in the late 1920s and built a “get-away” home. He liked horses and beautiful women and hosted “wild parties” which opened the locals’ eyes a bit. He also built the six cabins in the back of the store. He made one movie in the area while he owned the property called Frenchman’s Creek. Later the cabins and campground were well known as a fishing and abalone picking spot. Tony and Mary Lopes purchased the property from Mr. Dreier in the 1940s and Mary operated the store, cabins, and campground for nearly 30 years. Soon after Mary passed away Bill McMaster purchased a portion of the property and later some of the family who still own the property today with great love and care. Also soon after Mary passed away, the Manaro’s became
a part of the story when Gary contacted the family inquiring about running the property. And thus began the 40 years for the Manaro’s as caretakers alongside the McMaster’s ownership. Gary Manaro’s interest in running the property was due to his dad who used to bring Gary and his brothers fishing.
Preparing the way for my baby girl has given me time to look around and appreciate this great place we call home. I’m so grateful that I’ve been raised here and I’m so glad to be bringing my daughter into this abundant community. We are and will be surrounded by loving support and I’m confident that our home will give her an incredible foundation.
Believing it takes a village and knowing we are such a special one, I have immense peace while I enter this season of new motherhood.
We are some of the luckiest people, truly. Despite the problems we encounter with the cost of living, housing, permitting, bureaucratic turmoil, access issues, agricultural upsets, new developments, floods, fires, more obstacles... we still live in the most beautiful region and are rich in so many ways - the people, the food, the earth, the culture, the community, the natural resources, activities, and views.
 Today the Manaro Family is celebrating the 40 year anniversary as caretakers. Gary and his family will celebrate the year with many old-time campers who have been coming for over five generations. Gary’s own sons grew up attending Fort Ross School and now help with the management. One of the big changes coming this year is moving the store, built in 1860’s closer to the campground so folks don’t need to cross Highway 1. Interesting to note is that in a prior renovation in the 1970s a giant poster of Abraham Lincoln for President was found on the wall.
What do each of us value?
All I’m really getting at is how crucial it is to assess our values. What’s important in our everyday lives that keeps us happy, motivated, content, inspired and engaged? We’re best off when we give attention and subsequently affection to the people and things that support what we value. Maintaining our own alignment is a key component to sustainability. In order to have a life that we truly love, sometimes we need to step back and take a look at the way we spend our time and energy.
How was your first month of the new decade? Hopefully, we’re seeing clearer in 2020. I myself kept so busy making the most of my last days as a single person. I also tried to refocus, adjust and accept a different lifestyle, slowing down for the sake of my infant - Maia Alexandra Granahan. I trekked to the beach one more time before she came. The closer I get to the ocean, the better I feel - physically, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually - all of it! Just soaking up all the negative ions and absorbing the ocean’s ancient wisdom, epic power, and infinite love. Harnessing that energy to fuel my labor and new life was priceless.
I urge you all to get out and do what you love! Carpe diem.
Being a private campground they offer many services that state, county,
and national parks cannot do. They can fix just about anything on the spot including a boat motor that won’t start, or an RV that needs attention, or if a boat needs pulled from the water. Most campers are on a first-name basis with the Manaro’s. The campground can accommodate all sizes of groups and as well as sizes of RV’s and trailers. Need an extra table, no problem they will bring you one. And the sunsets are free! Check out their new cup created just for the anniversary as well as learn more about the history and services at: oceancove.org.
For all the events on the North Coast please check out The Gualala Art Center events calendar at: gualalaarts.org/category/events, Timber Cove Resort at: timbercoveresort.com, Action network at: actionnetwork.info, Four Eyed Frog at foureyedfrog.com, KGUA at: kgua.org, Point Arena Theater at: arenatheater.org. And last please check out the Point Arena Lighthouse at: pointarenalighthouse.com/visit/calendar-2/lecture-series . I will be offering a lecture about my recent trip to Siberia where I was hosted by the Yakutia people, the Sahka. The history along our coast is tied to this far away land and amazing people. Please join me.
Someone once told me not to worry because “You will be rich in the currency that matters to you.” This is true, and it really stuck with me.
In this perspective, currency does not just represent money (which so happens to reflect our capitalist system). It’s interesting to think more deeply about a currency that does matter to us.
How is our time spent? Where do
we like to pass time? Who is most
important in our lives? When do we feel
at our best? These questions are only to
get you started. This process is a critical step in grasping who we are and why. Now if money is the currency that matters to you, what’s your interaction with it? How does it affect your personal or professional relationships? Where do you spend it? Who does it bring into your life? When do you think (or stop thinking) about it?
Eva Granahan and her soon to be born baby girl Maia Alexandra Granahan
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