O is for Ocean Beach Pier
(This is part of a series, Blogging from A to Z April 2014 Challenge. My theme for the challenge is Quintessential San Diego from A to Z, focusing on those things that are typical, or perfect, or classic examples of San Diego life. Today is O.)
San Diegans call the beach community of Ocean Beach ‘OB’ for short. Home of the OB Pier. Below is an idyllic sunset scene of the OB Pier.
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But in the winter, a storm from the south can hit, and waves wash over the pier.
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Do you want to know what my recurring nightmare has been my whole life? I thought you did. It is being stuck in a storm out on the ocean with huge waves overtaking the ship I’m in. The pictures above and below are really scary to me.
I have a healthy reverence for the power of water. It comes from being agitated in the waves at the beaches of San Diego many times. And once being washed down a flooded river on Palawan.
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Thankfully, those crashing waves overwashing the pier happen rarely. A typical day at the Ocean Beach Pier looks more like this next picture, taken a few days ago, on April 14th. The sun is out. Spring Break is in session. The Pier is a scene of relaxation and recreation.
The Ocean Beach Municipal Pier, built in 1966, is the longest concrete pier on the West Coast at 1,971 feet (601 m). It lies at the south end of Ocean Beach, just north of Sunset Cliffs. The pier is a popular fishing spot, and is open 24 hours a day. A bait shop and café sit at the far end of the pier.
Ocean Beach as a community is historic, colorful, and alternative. It deserves its own post. We’ll do that someday. In the meantime, here’s one more shot of the OB Pier.
https://www.donnaamisdavis.com/ocean-beach-pier/San DiegoSan Diego A to ZOcean Beach,San Diego(This is part of a series, Blogging from A to Z April 2014 Challenge. My theme for the challenge is Quintessential San Diego from A to Z, focusing on those things that are typical, or perfect, or classic examples of San Diego life. Today is O.) San Diegans call the beach community of...Donna Amis DavisDonna Amis Davis[email protected]AdministratorDonna Amis Davis
I love the sea! Loved the first picture on this post.
I wish I could take credit for that picture! I found it on Wiki Commons, though.
That’s some length of a pier. must get great views of the ocean from the end of it.
Does the cafe sell English tea? That is tea added to hot water and drunk with milk – not the chilled American tea.
The menu runs to fish tacos and lobster tacos. But they do serve breakfast, including blueberry pancakes, so they probably do have hot tea. Not everyone is a coffee drinker, even here. But, up to a Brit’s standards? Hmmm. Maybe not!
Unless the water is freshly boiled, no! From a Brit.
When friends went to New York they asked in cafes for tea but the New Yorkers did not know what they meant. They thought they meant chilled tea.
To make proper British tea you buy some loose tea such as Ceylon, Dargeeling, China etc and boil up some water. I use a cafetiere (French Press) and put in some loose tea then pour in the boiling water.
Leave to infuse for a few minutes then push down the plunger to keep the leaves at the bottom. Pour into a china cup and add milk and sugar to taste.
I have some Anglophile friends who really know how to make and enjoy English tea. But I think most Americans just use teabags.
Teabags!! One does not make proper tea with teabags! You want to make it with loose tea as teabags are usually mostly tea dust.
Maybe that’s why people here prefer their coffee – we don’t get proper tea.
So beautiful – even the rugged, nightmare inducing shot is gorgeous albeit scary.
I went to high school in Dana Point, which isn’t far from San Diego but believe it or not I’ve never been to Ocean Beach. Now I feel like I should go. I bet the sunsets are great from the end of the pier!
Julie Jordan Scott
The Bold Writer from A to Z
I don’t think I’ve ever actually been to Dana Point, either, though I’ve been very near many times!
I love the contrast pictures of the pier in summer and in the midst of the wilds of winter. It looks like the perfect beach for summer!
Donna Jean, I’ve known you since junior high and you’re still full of surprises. 🙂 Tell us more about that Palawan experience someday!
Will do, Anita!
That sunset is perfection! That was enough reason for me to visit.
Your pictures are amazing. I would love to visit Ocean Beach Pier! You’re so right about those storm pictures – quite ominous!
If I have nightmares about storms tonight, I know why! It looks great though.
Donna my Mom was caught in a storm like that and she has stayed clear of boats ever since. It was extremely scary to her and my Dad. I think I’ll be sure to visit that pier on one of those sunny days in April! 🙂
I’d love to walk along that pier on a sunny day – and come back at night for one of those stunning sunsets! This is what I immediately think of when I picture California 🙂