On Tuesday morning before the booth opened, seven of us drove to Imperial Beach, the southernmost town on the Pacific coast of the United States. We ate breakfast at The Wave Cafe. As we drove through town, I noticed this statue of a surfer in a small plaza along the beach. As always, I eat faster than I should, so I had time to walk the few blocks to get this photo and be back before the others were ready to leave.
Imperial Beach has a surfing culture. Many of the world’s most famous surfers are from the area. The statue, The Spirit of Imperial Beach, was put up in 2008 in honor of the town’s heritage. Some surfers consider it good luck to touch it before heading out to sea. The base of the statue is a tribute to the annual Sand Castle Days.
After breakfast at The Wave Cafe, we wandered over to the pier. I had a great idea — go down under the pier, put the chair in the sand and take a photo as a wave washed around it, as you see below. What you don’t see is what happened two seconds later, as I rushed ankle-deep into the water to keep the chair from being washed out to sea. That’s why the photo is slightly blurry and not very well composed. And why my shoes, socks and pants were wet.
I am capable of learning from experience, so I set the chair a bit further up the beach and took another photo.
That’s a Western Gull standing under the pier. The Coronado Islands, owned by Mexico, are visible in the left distance.
If one were so inclined, it would be an easy thing to kick, step on or probably grab the Rock Doves on Imperial Beach Pier. I was only inclined to photograph them with a small red chair. They paid me very little attention.
Confession. I saw this done somewhere else — I don’t remember where — but without a chair. I had it in the back of my mind to try it the next time I saw words painted on pavement. It just happened to be on Elm Avenue, a side street on our way from the pier back to the car.
