July 21, 2012

Report Details

Water was way out today; quite a bit of the ocean floor (or an area normally underwater) exposed. I was on the mile from 8:40 a.m. to 9:55 a.m.; the number of people on the beach changed during that time, as did the number of dogs (and vehicles in the parking lots). Number of people increased to approximately 17 people, number of dogs to 5, all off leash, seemed mostly well mannered. Of the 17 people, maybe 4-5 were surfers, two were runners and 1 a bicyclist, the rest walkers/standers. This is a typical pattern, people come & go on this beach within the hour or so that I spend on it. Probably the surfers are most likely to be on the beach as long as I am, unless it's a hot day and people come w/their kids & spend several hours on the beach.There are two lots and some on-street parking at the beach access. I checked only one lot on my arrival. When I left, there were 8 vehicles in the first lot, 10 vehicles in the second lot, and maybe 4-5 vehicles parked on the street. Towards the south end of the mile, the sound of the surf was overridden by the noise of traffic on the highway. No noisy small aircraft overflights today or the aircraft was flying high enough to be not intrusively noisy.I saw 3 big white onions & a banana in the driftline, all w/in about 40 feet and all relatively fresh looking. Part of a picnic? Part of a picnic that went overboard? Or maybe people just tossing overboard or onto the beach whatever they don't want. The sun came out as I walked the mile--it was close to muggy--I could see some fog/clouds just to the east and a fog bank sitting several miles offshore. Not even a breeze except right down by the water.I've attached photos of: general view of mile from near top of access stairs; a few views of the ocean bottom and how the water flowing over the beach & retreating tides shape it, and continued bluff erosion (physical erosion/water & air/gravity). This beach was pretty clean, I picked up a medium-sized piece of styrofoam and a plastic bottle (that was near an area that looked like people had been picnicking/partying). When I was back at the parking lot, heading towards the trash cans, a woman walking nearby made a comment something like: Oh, I see you picked up the biggest piece of styrofoam. I was in a hurry so I didn't stop to ask her what she meant but it sure sounded like she & perhaps the person w/her had also picked up some litter they found on the beach. If so, it's good news.