Manor Bay, The Hidden Gem of the bay they call it. It’s located just south of the city along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Just enough off the beaten path to hang onto that small-town feeling. The only way in is down the old highway or “through the trees” as the locals call it. It’s a 15-mile winding road through the Redwoods. That relaxing drive can feel a little treacherous to your average city boy as it’s a slow drive full of steep twists and turns. Enough to keep the “suits in the city” as we say. With its little downtown and a 100-year history. This little fishing town has its fair share of secrets. But doesn’t every small town?

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There’s only 1 high school. Manor Bay High, “Go Tritons”. Everyone makes a big deal about the football team. But I guess that’s no different from any other small town. One thing that makes us stand out is our orchestra. The school orchestra has a bigger trophy case than the football team. My dad, well he was a local legend at the school. When he was my age he won a competition and had his composition performed by the Orchestra in the city. It was a great honor for our little school. At least that’s what I’m told.

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Do you see the smoke rising from the beach? That would be us down at the beach on a cool summer night. You can see the bond fire from a mile away. Most of the time it’s your harmless teenage shenanigans. There’s a handful of burnouts that try to take things to the next level. You know the ones. They find their way over to the city and let’s say they bring some of that city snow back with them. For the most part Sheriff, Miller keeps them in line.

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Downtown there's a handful of restaurants and coastal shops. That windy drive through the trees and vicious wind coming off the bay doesn’t bring a whole crowd of tourists. But in those summer months, we get our share. Our downtown area is right off the ocean. The main source of our economy comes from the fish market. Some of the fishermen will double up as a tour guide during those summer months. You wouldn’t think of such a small town that we would have many “lost at sea” stories. But sadly for this little fishing town, we have our share.

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As far as local action goes, well most of the locals would be found at the Sea Breeze. A little restaurant on the lake away from the downtown area. Nothing beats Saturday night Karaoke at the Sea Breeze.

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At the end of the beach is a spot we called The Eternal Echo. It’s basically where the beach ends, It’s always a good spot to sit and listen to the wind & sea. In the darkness, It would get so quiet there. Some say you can hear the voices of the lost in the wind. I’m not sure about all that. All I know is that’s where I would go to talk to my Dad. I never really knew my dad. I mean I was only 4 years old when he was lost. That’s right. My dad was lost at sea.

No one likes to talk about it. It was a finishing accident from what I've been told. My dad and his brother Paul owned a fishing boat. I’m told they got caught in a storm one night. I was only 4 years old, so I don’t have much memory of him.

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Sometimes I’ll go out to the echo and talk to him. I can’t say I've ever heard any voices in the darkness, but some people say they do. I often wonder, do we have a soul? If so, where does our soul go? Do we really turn into ghosts when we die or is it just lights out? Those that were lost at sea do their souls linger in the winds. Can he hear me now from where he is? I wonder if I will ever know. And if there’s an afterlife will he find me there? These are the things I ponder when I visit the echo. But mainly I think about how life would have been if he had been here. Maybe he could have saved us. Maybe that was the one thing that could have save me from this whole nightmare.