Pacific Beach Wildlife

Drunks: Two guys sitting on the seawall where my street intersects the paved beach path. They were already – or still – drunk at 7:30 in the morning. The one with the most bloodshot eyes said he liked my clownfish surfboard, which was strapped into the side rack on my blue Electra Townie. "An' not many people know thiss," he slurred, "but I can sleep wi' th' anemones. Lay right down on 'em an' they don' sting me." I gave a polite nod as I tried to check the surf behind him. "There's a good wave on th' other side-a th' pier," he told me. "That's where I'm going," I replied as I pedaled away north.

Tuna crabs: Ev-er-y-where. Dead ones smashed into the dry sand by human feet. Some feeding near the waterline, moving tiny claws into tiny mouths amidst piles of their dead and dying kin. Others swimming in the shallows, past a few floating belly-up. I moved quickly to get through the gauntlet of beady-eyed crustaceans.

Yesterday

Frog: David the sponger, out with Brian next to the pier. They're both always ready with a cheery smile.

Whale? Maybe .... I caught a glimpse of a large creature outside of the lineup. David saw something big out there too. Then it was gone.

Snake: That dude who takes every wave he wants. He'd cut his hair shorter, like I just did, but it was definitely him. I let myself drift north because he sucks all the joy from the peak, which was getting crowded with strangers anyway. Later I saw him blatantly drop in on a guy who was up and riding. What a dick.

Dolphins! Second-row seat for a great show. A pod of five or six swam through the lineup chasing fish. They were leaping out of the water, twisting and spinning. One dove right under the board of the guy closest to me. I thought hard at them, Come over here! One passed by about 20 feet away as they settled down to glide pierwards, pffting as they surfaced for air.

Fish: Nemo, of course. The waves were bigger than Surfline reported and a little more closed out and steep than I'd have liked, but I rode a few funish ones.