Would you like to see where the opening scene in The Fool on the Hill in a Convertible takes place? The mystery begins to unfold at Sunset Cliffs, where Torrey is taking some surf shots of her brother.

Here’s a quick excerpt from The Fool on the Hill in a Convertible —

Now, about that afternoon in December…

Have you been to Sunset Cliffs? It’s a gorgeous spot of California coastline on the Point Loma peninsula in San Diego. Standing there, the Pacific Ocean stretches out before you in all its glory. Behind, a hill rises, studded with homes whose lucky owners have million-dollar views. 

From up at the top of the hill, you can look down on the other side to San Diego Harbor, the airport, and the city skyline, such as it is. We’re trying to be a first-class city, but our skyline isn’t much. It seems like every week another beautiful old building is torn down to make room for something tall and modern. Maybe in twenty or thirty years we’ll have a skyline you would recognize.

But back to The Cliffs — that’s what we locals call this bit of coastline — just The Cliffs. My brother, Tobin — he’s just a year younger than me — was out surfing. I was shooting him from the steep metal steps at the foot of Ladera Street. Those are some crazy stairs that go straight down the face of the cliffs. I mean straight down. Steep. I was kind of hanging onto the railing with the crook of my arm to steady my camera. The wind was coming up the cliff, off the sea. Salty mist stung my nose. I zipped up my sweatshirt a little tighter. It’s freezing out there this time of year. Probably in the 60s!

The guys were way out in the water. They’re sitting on their surfboards, waiting. They’re wearing their full winter wet suits — covered from their ankles to their wrists. They would almost blend in with the deep blue ocean water, except for their colorful boards. You wonder what they are doing so far out there. And then the swells start coming in. Winter storms somewhere way out in the west or northwest blow against the top of the ocean and send those swells. When the swells come near the shore, the water compresses and waves result. And these were some beautiful waves, nicely shaped, long. The surfers were having a blast. The waves were crashing, the seagulls calling. I got some good shots.

Here’s what The Cliffs look like from the foot of the stairs at Ladera Street:

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And here are those crazy, steep steps that take you right into the ocean if it is high tide. When I took these pictures on a winter afternoon, the tide was low, uncovering rocks at the foot of The Cliffs:

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Surfers in their full winter wetsuits climbing over the rocks to get out to the break:

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Here’s the view from about halfway down the stairs. You can imagine the setting sun blinding your eyes and making it hard to see what might have been going on with The Fool on the Hill in a Convertible.

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Here’s the guardrail that is supposed to keep people from going over The Cliffs:

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And here is why you DON’T want to fall off The Cliffs:

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So be careful, OK?

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Keep reading The Fool on the Hill in a Convertible.

Available at many retailers: https://books2read.com/THE-FOOL-ON-THE-HILL-IN-A-CONVERTIBLE

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