Miguel R.
Yelp
This place, on a clear summer day, is a path of light on wood. Being there allows you to see the blue water that stretches farther than the eye can see, and feel the warmth of sun, as you enjoy the fresh breeze of the sea. Moreover, one can enjoy the common sights of the beach at this pier, which include birds flying in a V-neck pattern, a variety of beach visitors that is as assorted as what you can find under the sea and a sky so blue that it almost makes you forget that smog happens. It has a small aquarium at the end. And when I say small, imagine an aquarium that is housed within a cottage of space, do not imagine small like compact but still with plenty of elbow room. The elbow room is almost not existence in this place but it is still worth an hour's visit. Oh, and course this pier does not have a ferris wheel, or a hot dog stand or a cartoonist doing Dali-esque portraits, but it is connected to downtown Manhattan which has shops and eateries to appease most. If one cannot find something to entertain their fancy or satisfy their thirst or hunger near the pier than they are perhaps they are the type of person that cannot find anything to read in New York's biggest library. But enough about the top of the Pier, what I found most intriguing and delightful about my trip hear was what underneath the pier--- its underbelly.
Before my trip to the pier I had visited a nearby eatery. I came to the pier with leftovers that were worthy and ready for travel: a sandwich in a box, inside a bag. The sandwich was meant for my brother who might enjoy the heat of the sandwich. The heat of the sandwich for me was too much, but the sandwich itself was great, terrific, even splendid. The sandwich came to the bottom of the pier with me but it not leave with me. Here is how I lost the sandwich amidst the cool and beauty of the pier's below.
I entered the area below the pier and I was immediately greeted by shade. And the shade was the type that shields you from by sunlight that was once welcome and pleasurable. Thus, I found shade at the beach to protect me from the common hazards and inconveniences of the sun, and I did not bring a big umbrella to stake into the sand. Then I saw the pillars of the pier. They were not straight wood, instead they were thick and wide pillars of rock? I saw a palace corridor that led to a private beach that I called the Rolling Turquoise. I tried to clip a path to capture my imagination's production, but I might have only shot pillars, blue, sand, people, and water crashing on shore. I did not capture the charm that transformed the tides to royal blue water. I walked the path and passed people playing a volley game. I said, I am sorry as I crossed their path and they said it was ok. Later in the day I walked behind people playing volleyball, while the other side waited to hit the ball. And one of the player's game me a face like my path was a walk of shame for delaying their game. I apologized but I never knew that volley ball had rules for visitors. But to the other's point, I did not enough to not walk behind people when they are busy with a task.
I reach the front of the pier's below and saw a window into the edge of the ocean. It allowed me to see crashing water,Seeing the pictures allowed me to smell the salt of the sea and feel the cooling breeze anew. I offered to take pictures of a family. I clipped several pictures, as they enjoyed the ocean behind them. And then the shore came in aggressively. The stray water reached my bag that held the box that held my sandwich. I heard members of the family say "I am sorry about that." But it was not their fault. Mother Nature had interrupted my plans. And perhaps for good reason. I was going to walk for another hour or so, and then drive for about 40 minutes. Would my brother still like a sandwich that spend a few hours at the beach before it arrived to his front? Probably not. So Mother Nature maybe did me a solid because I walked the beach and its sand after without carrying the box, which made me feel lighter, in a place that did the same.
I can see myself taking a beach towel and escaping the heat under the boardwalk which is truly a fresh way to appreciate the pier.
