The tour consisted of the O.B. Pier, Dog Beach, Sunset Cliffs, the Black (a head shop), and just a general drive around the area. That night we went to Margarita's Mexican restaurant for dinner and hit some of the local watering holes. I was most impressed. Not with the places or the general beauty of the ocean setting--but with the ambience, sense of community and diversity of the people that live here. I was hooked! My tour guides even located a rental and helped me move a large U-Haul truck's contents into my new "beach cottage".
As a general rule the people of O.B. are laid back, friendly sorts with plenty of idiosyncrasies. Ages run the gamut from retirees to the newborn sunning on the beach with a young mother. Professions vary as widely as the age groups. You're just as likely to meet an airline pilot or medical doctor as you are to encounter a unemployed bum, drug dealer, college student or surfer. Mostly the dress is so casual that one or the other looks pretty much the same. It's not unusual to see both exercising their dogs at Dog Beach running and chatting side by side.
There seem to be four major events that happen in Ocean Beach on an annual basis.
The Kite Festival is an event that is for children of all ages to get together on the beach and fly a kite. There are many home-made kites that express the individuality of these wind-pilots. The kites range from brightly colored works of art to the monstrously large Rube Goldberg concoctions. Some of these actually fly. The main purpose of this function seems to be for the community to get together with their neighbors, maybe a picnic on the beach and have fun.
The Fourth of July Fireworks celebrates this nation's independance. The display is staged from the end of the O.B. Pier and offers beach viewers a delight of color in the sky for about 45 minutes. The fireworks are supposed to be sychronized to music at one of the local radio stations but everybody at the beach has their boombox tuned to their own favorite station and it just doesn't seem to matter. Sometimes this event is obscured by low clouds or even slight fog but the whole city of San Diego seems to make a pilgramage to O.B. to "watch the fireworks over the Ocean". I have personally directed traffic after this event (not in any officical capacity, just because I thought it needed to be done) to ease the usual two to three hours traffic jam to get out of Ocean Beach and back home.
The O.B. Street Fair and Chili Cookoff is not to be missed by any local. It's a celebration for the people, by the people and to the people. Newport Avenue (our Main Street) is closed off and live bands (styles of music vary from the oldies to the most current) and dancing in the streets are prominent. Plenty of vendors selling their food and wares and of course Chili from the contestants that have entered the Chili Cookoff Event. Past winners of this event have been the Alligator Chili (don't know if it's made from real alligator meat but if you bite into it, it might bite back) and the 5 Alarm--You Gonna Die chili (no description necessary here).
The Christmas Parade is held just before Christmas and is a chance for the young ones to make any last minute requests to Santa before the big day arrives. Santa comes down Newport Avenue on the local firetruck and encourages the youngsters to be good, mind their parents and don't be naughty. This gala parade usually includes the famous Geriatric Surf Club marchers and their equally infamous Gidget Patrol, who gleefully carry replicas of seagulls on a string attached to a long pole complete with the fake white droppings that squirt on the unsuspecting parade watchers. Don't wear your good clothes.
I love this town. From its breathtaking views of the sunset from the Pier or Sunset Cliffs and the peacefullness of a walk on the beach (the sounds and motion of the waves are hynotic) to the laid-back friendliness of the residents (it's difficult for me to walk to the grocery store and not have several people honk and wave and offer a ride). The climate is beautiful (anything over 80 degrees is considered hellish and anything under 50 degrees is considered freezing). Don't get me wrong--we have our problems too, but on the whole it's as close to paradise as I've found. It reminds me of the small town (Okemah, Oklahoma) where I grew up as a child with all the advantages of a big city just a 15 minute bus ride away.
Links to OB-related sites:
Union/Tribute's
O.B. page San Diego's only paper
Oceanbeach.com.
lots of links here
Ocean Beach
Online a very good site about O.B.
Food Not Bombs
food for everyone
Dog Beach
walk and run your dog here
O.B. Dog Wash
where to take a dirty dog
O.B. Surf Shop
good surfing info and links
O.B.
lifeguard page from the City of San Diego.
O.B. Hostel on Newport
Ave welcomes travelers
