The Back Bay beckons

Young Chang

Regulars to the Newport Beach Back Bay know its colors well.

In the morning, at about 7 a.m., there are grays -- a light silver

film of mist that floats just above the water like a levitating block of

tinted glass -- hazy blues from a sky that hasn’t yet welcomed a full-on

sun, and a sap green from grass that doesn’t look as vibrant in the weak

morning light.

In the afternoon, say, 3 p.m., the bay is a party of yellows. A

blue-yellow in the sky, a Tweety-bird yellow in the flowers and a

sun-kissed yellow in the expanse of greenery that is in some places a

lighter, more impressionistic green.

In the early evening, about 6 p.m., the bay gets ready for sleep. The

blue-yellow sky morphs into a shade of periwinkle, the water grays

slightly and lavender flowers look sort of lime green, tinted by the

dulled, setting sun.

It is for these simple and subtle whimsies of nature that walkers,

bikers and runners choose the Back Bay as a place to exercise and sort

through the happenings of their day.

“It’s kind of spiritual, in a way,” said Bill Carnett, a longtime

Newport Beach resident who walks about two and a half miles, five to

seven times a week, at the bay. “It relaxes me and I feel better.”

In the quiet and rather spontaneously located spit of Newport Beach

nature, outdoor enthusiasts -- including owners who walk their dogs or

dogs who run their owners, in some instances -- are coming out at all

times of the day now to take advantage of the spring bloom and Daylight

Savings Time.

Carnett is more of an early-evening walker. This week, the 79 year old

made his rounds wearing a beige zipped-up jacket, khaki-colored pants and

sneakers. He doesn’t wear exercise clothes anymore.

“I wear just normal clothes. I used to run, but you get old after

awhile and you get sore feet and everything,” he said.

But Carnett brings up a good point. The colors and styles of clothes

worn by walkers and bikers also change throughout the day.

Flared and faded blue jeans hung on the hip, believe it or not, are

common during the time of day Carnett walks. Teenage girls, probably just

finished with an extracurricular activity at school, walk the bay wearing

little T-shirts, backpacks and retro-inspired jeans.

Rick Rodriguez, a Santa Ana Heights resident whose home is right up

one of the trails of the Back Bay, bikes or walks there every evening

alone. He’s not wearing wind-slicing biking gear, just a sweatshirt and

shorts.

“I bike here for the scenery, the fresh, cool breezes,” he said.

Mid-afternoon is when you might spot the greatest number of helmeted,

spandex-wearing, neon-striped bikers who seem to whiz by almost too fast

to soak in the scenery. Contrasting with them are adults wearing business

attire who are breaking from work or just off early.

Karen Ollila, of Costa Mesa, walked the bay Thursday with Hannah

Surles, the 7 year-old daughter of a friend whom she picked up from

school.

Dressed in black dress slacks, black suede heels and a short-sleeved,

pink button-down shirt, Ollila walked with Hannah for about an hour

talking about everything from the times-tables that third-graders have to

learn to the official names of certain lizards.

They avoided the dirt paths, though, as Ollila wasn’t wearing the

right shoes.

They were there to “look for animals and birds and smell the nice

smells,” Ollila said.

Hannah was winning their game. She had found six animals to Ollila’s

three. Among the findings were birds, ducks and alligator lizards.

They also spotted wild mustard flowers past the bridge near the Upper

Newport Bay Ecological Reserve.

“Those plants smelled like a combination of sugar, butter and

perfume,” Hannah said.

And in the mornings, in the mist and colder air, it’s a fashion show

of sweatshirts. White ones, blue ones, old ones, extra-roomy ones.

Carnett’s son, Jim Carnett, regularly walks the bay at about 7 a.m.

“The morning’s just very special and everything’s so fresh,” he said.

“It’s just beautiful. And the wildlife -- the chipmunks, rabbits, I’ve

seen coyote out there too.”

Participants of “Bike the Back Bay,” an Earth Day celebration, will

get a taste of what Carnett describes April 21 as the ride starts at 9

a.m.

Rob Perry, a Newport Beach resident who walks vigorously along the bay

in the late afternoon, favors this pot of untouched nature for its

rarity.

“It’s one of the last pieces of what most of Southern California used

to look like,” he said.