High tide and high surf coincided once again in Oceanside, but this time the Strand had to be closed to cars. Never before had I seen waves breaking into the parking lot just South of the pier, but there is a first for everything.
As I was snapping pictures, a lifeguard drove up, got out of his truck, and stood next to me. I thought I was busted because he knew I had been writing this blog and they didn't want bad press or something. Nope, he wanted to take some photos himself. I commented, "so its pretty unusual to have the waves breaking on the road this far north on the Strand, huh?" He replied ,"I've never seen anything like it."
This morning I went back to see how things were and the road is once again so covered in cobbles and sand that its hard to tell where the beach ends and the street begins. The swingset is once again unearthed and a few palm trees are dangerously close to toppling over.
I am glad to know that the lifeguards realize that the dynamic coast is shifting. I'm sure they realize that structures previously thought to be out of the danger zone are now getting closer and closer to the high tide line. What I hope comes from all of this is a meaningful discussion about planned retreat, to remove development west of the bluff. We will see.
It's an El Nino Beach. In the Northeast ( So. Jersey coastal ) where I live were having a winter with Nor'easters one after another and consequently a much narrower beach as well.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how far that water traveled!
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