Daily Photo: And my city was gone

This is the picture I went down to Huntington Beach today to get–I love these Lifeguard Stations.

After I knew I had a good shot, I wandered around downtown. As I cruised the streets of my hometown I started to get an overwhelming feeling of sadness. The big orange buildings, dirty sidewalks, and trashy stores made me wish they never tried to “revitalize” the area.

Perfect example:

Yes, funny. But, very disheartening for someone from Huntington Beach. (See poster of our pier behind freaky, faded, t-shirt kids?)

I remember when they tore down the Golden Bear and shut down Safari Sam’s because the city wanted to “clean up” downtown. As I walked around today I kept thinking: “For this?” I was bluer than blue. Feeling disconnected from my past.

Then I spotted this on my way back to the car:

I was happy again. These are the tracks left by some random surfer. He walked straight down the middle of the parking lot and was long gone by the time I got there. I could picture him. Dripping wet. Bare chested, with his wetsuit pulled down to his waist. Shaking his hair dry as his sandy feet made their way.

I was reconnected!