Ocean View

I spent a great deal of time in the area around Pismo and Shell Beach as a child. when I started 1st grade we moved to the area from Michigan. My father went to work as a civilian missile inspector at Vandenberg Air Base. He loved to fish and one of his favorite spots was what was then known as the Dinosaur Cliffs at Shell Beach. It was called that by the locals because sometime around 1950 an enterprising gentleman with a dream of exploiting the area by creating life-sized dinosaurs as an attraction built one there. Unfortunately, he ran out of money before he managed to get more than one of them (a blue painted brontosaurus) built. It was a local landmark in the 1960’s. Even in my day, it was dangerous to attempt to go up the stairs located in one of the legs to the platform in the head although the view was fabulous. Unfortunately in the interest of public safety, the city fathers dismantled the life-size brontosaurus, and created a plebian park with small (and safe) replicas of dinosaurs for children to climb on.
I often accompanied my father there on his fishing trips, and although I was a poor fisherman, I learned to love the ocean. Much has changed since I was a child playing in the shallows created by low tides. Because of the nesting pelicans, the huge rocks where my father fished have been made off limits. However, the scenery is still beautiful and it still smells of seaweed kelp and salt air, and exploring the tide pools during low tides you can find many odd sea creatures. I just wish I could find a photo of that life-sized brontosaurus!

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