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Show -278- the ocean, familiar though i t had become to him from his five crossings of i t to Europe and back and his t r i p around the world, s t i l l remained something of an a l i e n presence, not particularly threatening, but s t i l l not-familiar in the way that his mountains were;to t h i s day? Seen from the summit feaia^s the sea was white, not be-cold cause of clouds but because of whitecaps that the/wind whipped across i t s surface. They lost sight of i t as they approached Olema, where the east-west road ended, and they had to decide whether to turn north toward Inverness or south toward Stinson Beach and Bolinas. The decision was made by the Professor's wife, who pointed out that if they went north the only beaches for miles would be alongside the bay, while if they turned south to Stinson Beach they would come to a public beach that fronted directly onto the ocean. They drove south on Highway 1, a two lane road that wound through or beside small dairy farms with sloping pastures, past produce gardens, and a t least one flower growing farm that supplied blossoms for the s t a l l s on San Francisco s t r e e t corners. The road for the most part followed the coastline, where terns and gulls floated playfully In the wind-currents, and where long-legged cranes stood knee-deep along the shallows or, s t a r t l e d by t h e i r passing, rose awkwardly into f l i g h t. Inside the car, they had the heater on, so were com- |