June Gloom | Swami’s | Encinitas, CA

Most people, when they think about San Diego, they picture sunny days at the beach. However, those who visit during June are often a bit disappointed to find that the fog often lingers through the day and the cool breeze sometime necessitates a sweatshirt. Its called June Gloom – and I love it!

California beach fog is awesome.  Anywhere else in the world (at least those places I’ve visited) fog is just visible humidity. I recall waking up one morning during the early Fall in Sicily and seeing a blanket of fog covering the valley where I lived.  I was ecstatic, especially after the scorching summer.  I ran around and opened the windows and waited for the cool breeze to hit.  Instead, within minutes I could feel my feet sticking to the tile floor because of the moisture in the air.  Not fog, just visible humidity. Yuck.

I remember feeling the same way when I lived in Florida – no cool breeze, just humidity. I can’t tell you how happy I was to get back to California, roll down the windows on the car and feel the cool breeze coming off of the ocean!

I love California beach fog – cool enough for a sweatshirt, warm enough for flip-flops. It doesn’t get much better.  Today I took a drive up through Encinitas to Swami’s Park overlooking the beach. I relished the cool breeze, the sounds of the crashing waves and the calls of the seagulls. It was anything but gloomy.