The Ocean View-San Diego's Beach Culture

Few things offer more tranquility than the blue ocean front and summer warm beaches. San Diego has some of the world's best beaches where Tommy Bahama umbrellas and sandals are part of the natural landscape. La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, and Imperial Beach offers distinct feel and vibe. Each has their own community built up around the beach culture.

What is the beach culture? Beach culture is very laid back where few things in life seem to matter. Time stops for those in it. Many adherents spend hours in the beaches and parks sitting on the tables, spread out on a blanket, surfing, and eating in many of the local restaurants. It is a culture where one lives in the moment and cares little for the normal motivations in life.

If you spend some time in these communities you come to find that they have distinct groupings of people in the beach enclaves where they live. They often know each other by name and see the same faces beyond 5:00pm when most of the outside beach goes go back home. The locals have their places to eat, bars, and social gatherings that create a beach community.

The majority of beach areas are not particularly fancy and can be a little run down. Old cars, rusty railings, simple housing, counter culture cafes, and whiskey bars. People feel more comfortable in shorts, t-shirts and second hand attire than anything elegant. The streets are lined with VW buses and sun faded Ford escorts. Bikes are locked onto fencing and street signs; an easier mode of transportation.

People flock to these beaches to escape the normal fears and worries of life. As a popular vacation destination San Diego draws approximately 34 million visitors a year (1).  For those people I know in Michigan, San Diego is a vacation mecca they dream about visiting on a regular basis. Attracting a fascination of locals and visitors San Diego beaches are likely to draw visitors for a long time.

Beautiful Beaches Raise San Diego’s Digital Profile as a Vacation Destination

San Diego Beaches are some of the most beautiful in the country. According to Trip Advisor the beaches of La Jolla, Coronado and Carlsbad made their way into the nation’s top 25 (McVicker, 2014). As a local attraction beaches are a clear draw for people and a way people envision San Diego. The right kind of images can raise the status of an area.

If you doubt the brand of San Diego as associated with sunny beaches go ahead and ask someone from any place in the country what the first thing they think of when the city is mentioned. Most likely they will say something about the weather, ocean, beaches, restaurants and military. San Diego is seen as a destination place for vacation and fun.

Having positive reviews of San Diego in the news, vacation sites, and in general on cybersphere helps to raise the status of the area. The more times it is mentioned in various information channels and media the higher the association of the image in people’s minds. This can help the area become a greater destination place that reaps the financial rewards.

Consider how people find information today for trips and vacations. They search online using key terms such as “best U.S. vacation places”, “vacation places with beaches”, etc… The frequency of terms used to describe the city, or any city, will impact the which localities will be recalled for people to consider in their choices.

Trip Adviser is one popular site that impacts the amount of people who will eventually visit the area and spend their money. Like the marketing of any company the more people who see positive information about the city the more likely they will choose to vacation here.  The money people spend is converted to profits, wages, taxes, and investments.

Beaches may not seem like much but they are a major draw for vacationers. Other factors that attract people are the types of jobs in the area, the recreational activities, the social life, and the type of city governance. When people are deciding where to visit and spend they will naturally gravitate where their interests lay. Where and how they find that information is becoming increasingly digitized.

McVicker, L. (Feb 18, 2014). 3 San Diego Beaches Ranked in Top 25 in US. http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/3-San-Diego-Beaches-Ranked-in-Top-25-in-US-292477631.html#ixzz3UrohZTHj

Trash isn’t Sunken Treasure-Keeping the Ocean Clean

The ocean is a precious resource that shouldn’t be wasted on poor habits.  For those living on the coast and in the coastal lifestyle you know how important the ocean is to your way of life and the recreational activities you enjoy. Sailing, surfboarding, diving, snorkeling, and kayaking are just some of the fun activities in the San Diego area.  Pollution and waste damage the environment for everyone and with a little care our beaches can be cleaned and improved.

Last weekend I decided to take my snorkel and Nexus phone to La Jolla Cove in an attempt to see some of the ocean wildlife. Paddling along the ocean top and diving for interesting objects on the bottom I came across a lady’s sandal. A fairly expensive one at that so I’m sure she didn’t intentionally part with it!

I didn't know Nemo was doing retail?

It didn’t take much to clean up the mishap. I just dived down, grabbed it and came back up to the surface, swam near the shore and flung it onto the beach thinking I would make my way back later.  I was pleasantly surprised that someone obviously saw the relay pitch and picked up the sandal and threw it away. Teamwork among strangers.

A lost sandal is likely to be a tide accident where the water creeps up to a beachgoers gear and snags something to bring to the bottom.  Waves are a little like squirrels in this regard. However, the sandal wasn’t the only thing on the bottom. Plastic bags, cans, and other items do make their way into the ocean floor and add to the collection of growing debris.

There is an estimated 6.4 million tonnes of garbage that enter the oceans every year (Karpus, 2012). Discarded items make their way through the food chain and back onto our dinner plates. Yum! Would you like a side order of silicone with your shell fish? Few things occur in our environment that doesn’t eventually impact us in one way or another. 

Much nicer without the shoe.

The amount of garbage has accumulated to the point that it is changing the ecosystem. According to a study conducted by the Ocean Voyages Institute in Sausalito California there is a floating patch of garbage that adjusts seasonally off the coast of California (1). It moves around in a huge circular pattern being pushed around by ocean currents while fish swim and eat among it.

Not all is lost. Organizations like the San Diego Port Tenant Association conduct dives to collect trash. Coming up on August 24th Operation Clean Sweep that will remove large and small debris from the ocean floor. In 2012 they gathered over 50,000 pounds of junk. If you are a diver and interested you may want to visit their site at http://www.sdpta.com/cleansweep.php

A few tips can be helpful:

-Keep your gear bundled together and away from potential tides.

-Throw away your garbage in the plentiful garbage cans in the area.

-If you see trash, pick it up and throw it in the garbage can.

-Support organizations that focus on clean-up operations.

-Tell your friends not to throw their trash.

-Teach your kinds to respect the environment.

-I understand the water is cold but go fetch your sandal! jk.

Karpus, L. (2012). Plastic in our oceans.  Alive: Canada’s Natural Health & Wellness Magazine, 355.

Just South of La Jolla Cove and Beyond the Sandy Beach Pictures

Just down the coast from La Jolla Cove is another beach that attracts local and out of town visitors. Walking along the slippery ocean covered rocks you will come to a few enclaves that contain the tide’s residue of sea life and wonders. The sun sparkles off of the ripples of small wading pools while sea creatures wait for their return home. 

Clams huddle together and starfish kiss the rocks. Nature’s handiwork creates smooth stones that resemble water washed deserts. As the ocean waves assault the coast a few visitors have traversed hopping stones to make their way to new sites by anyone but locals. 

Enjoy the pictures