The beach is known for its hippies, and and the way it looked in the twenties. The tourists have not found it yet, so it has a natural home flavor to me. I call it my organic city - away from the contrived touristy traps of other beaches.
It was cold and foggy but like the seagulls, I didn't mind. I walked up Newton and made a left towards the mile long pier. A lone fisherman loomed ahead. My backpack felt soft on the way to the Wow Cafe. It was early so I took up a perch at the end of the pier - since the cafe opened a bit later.
There was little sea breeze to go with too much early fog. . A China man followed me. He led a wheeled basket that carried a bucket with two small fishing poles fixed to it. He looked to be in his eighties and as light as a feather. He pulled the cart to the end of the longest pier in California and made a right turn. A few seagulls perched on the pier's railings waiting for his spoils. spoils. Two walkers were doing their rounds to keep fit.
I sat against a board to ward off the northwest cold breeze. boards at the end of the pier. A gal took my picture just as the fog began to lift. The Wow Cafe's doors were now open. A worker was taking the umbrellas outside. I needed to get warm to I ordered a defroster - a hot chocolate. This time I will allow it. But in the future no coffee drinking on the bus."
After my hot chocolate, I walked back on the pier. Breakers were thundering on the rocks ahead and a two heroic surfers were having a it. The sets must have been bigger yesterday. Yet there still were a few good breakers. I turned up Cable Street again and waited for my #235 Ocean Beach bus. The ride back to my car was uneventful..."What was that?" A loud mouth man sat up front. He called me "handsome" and a gal a "hot sexy dame." Richard reminded him.
"Don't speak or I will have to ask you to leave." He wore a flower on his cap and told everyone he was on something called 'Oxycontin' He spoke loud and clear and was harmless. I just kept my mouth shut and tried to ignore him. I thought about asking my Doctor for the same drug.
I made one last stop at the organic market on Sunset Cliff and Voltaire. Inside a large market farmers sold their organic vegetables and fruits. I don't buy it unless it states organic. I picked up my car at the Express Auto shop and left for the Balboa Park Seniors dance.
The day had begun in the early morning hours at the auto shop. I ran to catch the #235 going to OB or Ocean Beach. I climbed aboard with my complimentary coffee. "Sorry Mr. Bus Driver. Will never happen again...Are all of these domestics going to work?" Richard, I found out his name later, nodded.
Not-a-one new what the term domestics meant, or almost none. A lone Mexican in the back had a laughing fit. At least fifteen female Latinos sat on the bus. Not a sole talked, their eyes marched ahead to their destination. Some would work at a Ramada and others at cafes or homes.
The bus swung around to the left and entered Point Loma West Blvd. Only a few were left on the bus. We passed a marina and then a tennis camp. Old bungalows smiled at me as the bus trudged on to Ocean Beach. I told the driver I would soon be packing and driving my car to Portland Oregon.
"You are nuts to drive all the way to Portland, Oregon. Why for about two hundred, you can rent a car from Advance Car Rental. They buy their cars from Hertz so they have low millage. I have found this car company attentive to my needs."
"Where are they located.?
"They are on Kettner in Little Italy close to Enterprise. My Dad and I used them for our vacation to Portland. The car broke down in Merced and in a few minutes, they had it towed and fixed. They gave us two free days for our inconvenience." By then the bus Pt. Loma West turned to cable and it dropped me off on Newton. (Not edited yet.)
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