JANUARY

As El Nino-powered waves battered the California coastline on a day of frighteningly high tides, I headed north with my cameras on U.S. 101 to check out beachfront homes in Ventura. My car was driving down a small lane that runs next to the ocean when a large wave broke over the road, pulling my car toward the ocean and disabling it. I walked about a quarter-mile to the small community of Solimar Beach and met Ben Lane, who was sweeping water out the rear door of his home. I was still there when a big swell came toward the house. Lane’s wife, Marilyn, ran over to close the doors that had been broken open by previous waves. She didn’t get there in time. The wave came crashing through, flooding an entertainment area and soaking their furniture--and me up to my waist. “Don’t worry, honey,” Ben told Marilyn. “That’s what insurance is for.”