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Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf with restaurants |
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Just as the sun began to set, a pelican
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The wharf was build of wood. One of the horizontal beams used
for structural support jutted out from the side. A pigeon
stood on it while surf crashed below.
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During the winter months the rental of fishing boats was
suspended. These boats were stacked against the rail on the
left side of the wharf facing out. Notice they were chained
to the rail. This rental company closed the sidewalk on that
side, thereby requiring pedestrians to cross to the sidewalk on the other side.
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The view beyond the railing was of the Beach Boardwalk.
The sign stenciled on the side read, "No Fishing or Crabbing."
Basically, although the sign did not say it, fishing was only
allowed at the end of the wharf.
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The wharf runs (roughly) from the north-west to the south-east
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The easterly side of the wharf looking outward into Monterey Bay.
Notice how the wharf widened at its end. All the restaurants and shops
were at the wide end out in the bay.
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Noland's beach fashion store
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The end of the wharf with its restaurants and fishing. Again notice the resemblance
of this wharf to a parking lot.
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Even at its widest part, the wharf was just a parking lot.
Here, a thin sidewalk was to the right and stores and restaurants were to the left.
Although this was on a wharf in the bay, the feeling was that of a one-street
town in the mid-west
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Cruise boats loaded from below the wharf's main deck.
This was one of the closed walkways used to access
the boarding area.
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Fishing was only allowed at the furthest end of the wharf. There
were sinks available for cleaning the fish, and a fresh seafood
store was also there for those that failed to catch their own fish.
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This was one of (sometimes over a hundred) sea lions that
slept on horizontal wooden runners under the wharf.
On this day there were only a dozen or so sea lions there.
On a prior visit, almost a hundred were crowed on the runners below
the wharf.
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Below the wharf were wooden pilings held vertical with bolted wooden
runners and diagonal braces. The bolts were large but corrosion was already
well underway.
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This shot showed the distance a sea lion would have to leap
to get up onto one of those horizontal runners.
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Entry to the wharf featured a two-lane road down the middle and narrow
sidewalks along the sides. Fortunately the wharf was not a high traffic
area so the entry surface could be used for walking, which thereby made it
the promenade it ought to be.
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The pelican flew low just behind the fishermen toward a better place
to perch. The fishermen didn't notice, but others watching from behind the camera were captivated
by how close the pelican flew.
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The pelican flew behind the fishermen and landed on a bench among them.
Notice the abandoned pole leaning on the railing.
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The pelican faced a young boy who sat on the same bench
but at the other end. Here the boy had just slipped off
the bench and was about to move away. Rest assured that
pelicans eat fish, not boys.
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The pelican prepared to move again. This time back up onto
the railing. It should be noted that not everyone was excited by
this bird. Perhaps it visited the wharf often and had become commonplace
to others fishing there.
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Normally pelicans do not associate with humans. So people were
understandably excited to view a pelican up close. People were correct
to be leery of a pelican, not because it was vicious but because its
long beak can poke an eye.
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Here the pelican is shown in context. Its location
was at the end of the wharf. Notice that many of the fisher-persons
continued to fish despite the close presence of a pelican.
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A small fresh fish store was at the end of the pier.
The usual wharf stuff was there, including shrimp and crab.
In addition there were locally caught fish, such as the catfish
shown here.
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Behind the restaurants on the westerly side was the only real promenade.
On a late winter afternoon there were few people present.
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The promenade at the end of the Wharf was a fine place to watch the sunset.
Because it was cold that day, watching the sunset from inside
a restaurant turned out to be even more fine.
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An hour later the setting sun was reflected in the bay.
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The lights were lit on the wharf after the sun had set.
Here was the neon light of the Ideal Bar & Grill.
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