Sunset Musings at Ocean Beach

A while back, my bosom buddy, Chiqui Channing and I went on a leisurely stroll on Ocean Beach. We first had dinner at the Beach Chalet (hmm, so-so, not memorable at all) then went on a nice walk. Ocean Beach is a mere 15 minute drive from my hood (NOPA, formerly known as Western Addition) and it amazes me how we can just get stuck in our own immediate vicinity when there are so many amazing things to do around the city. Is it laziness? Are we superglued to our couches? Do we even realize how many people would love to just get up and take a brief ride to see a beautiful, bonafide Pacific Ocean sunset?

Well, Chiqui was eager to display her new, "authentic" designer shades, so she asked me to take this picture with my phone. After our impromptu photoshoot we scanned the sights and realized that this beach could use some warming up. Cold weather means bundled up bodies - boring. Shirtlessness is what it's all about!

Looking at the picture I'm realizing how much magnetite Ocean beach sand has. Did you know that during the last ice age the Sacramento river dumped large amounts of sand on the Pacific shoreline, about 20 miles west of where it is now? These sands were carried by the wind and covered the SF Peninsula creating a sand dune province. After the ice age, the sea level rose and covered these sands, they are now offshore sand bars that are pushed to the beach during the summer months. I studied all this and it was sooo not asked in my midterm Oceanography exam. Que lastima!

Thanks, Oceanography class!