One Of California’s Charms

I am not (and never expect to be) what one might refer to as a “beach bum.” I do not surf, in large part because I have issues with swimming. But in the mellowing and wisdom of my advancing years I have become more enamored of activities involving the water (for example, I’ve learned to love kayaking) and I’ve grown to like the beach.

I don’t go to the beach to get a tan (I don’t tan, I burn, and skin cancer doesn’t sound pleasant) or to go swimming (see above). But I do find it to be a calming and often beautiful place, especially since there are often interesting pictures to be found in the surf, sea birds (gulls, terns, pelicans, and so on), sea critters (seals, dolphins), sunrises and sunsets, clouds, and the play of light on the water. To name but a few.

California does have some marvelous beaches. On the down side, they can be hideously crowded in or near the city on a summer weekend day. Also, after one of our rare storms moves in and washes months and years of accumulated toxic crap out of the sewers and storm drains into the surf, the water isn’t a healthy place to be for a few days.

But if you go just a bit away from the big cities you can avoid much of the crowd problem. And as we all know, the solution to pollution is dilution.

In the end, one of the best things I like about our beaches is that even an idiot like me can get pictures like this, if I’m lucky and patient: