East coast beach, north: Waves, nice water, very cold. Tons of traffic, seafood. Cape Cod.
East coast beach: less north: Baby waves, gigantic parking lots, where's the food? Rhode Island.
East coast beach: mid-atlantic: Boardwalk, water is nice to look at (northern NJ), and amazing to go in (LBI).
WEST COAST BEACH: Waves! Chilly! Fish! Sand! Relaxing! Free!
I completely expected my first west coast dip to be chilly, but I didn't think the water was going to be so clear. When the waves were coming, I could actually see fish swimming in them, and one more than one occasion, they leapt out in front of me. Amazing.
I did not expect there to be a surfing competition on one side, and I didn't expect the beach to be so accessible given it was an 87 degree day in late October. Parking was a breeze, comparatively (to what it costs at home) inexpensive, and there were spots available all day. The sand was amazing, and there were plenty of places to plant ourselves.
I suppose that's a big takeaway when comparing beaches on the coasts - here, it's a culture. At home, it's something you race to do three, maybe four months out of the year. It becomes an entire day. What are you doing today? Going to the beach - battling traffic to both get there and to get home. Don't forget anything, because there's no moving the car.
But here...it's just an agenda item on the list of things to do for the day - it just seemed extremely calm the whole time we were there, and I could have hopped on the 101 at any time and come back at any point without consequence.
Seaside Beach is one of many many (many many) beaches in California, and west coast beach culture was decidedly easy to assimilate into.
Come to the beach. Park super close. Lounge in amazing sand. Ride some waves any style you like...then go get fish tacos. read more