Catalina at last!

Sorry, no picture, but when we were coming home on the freeway this afternoon my son noticed that he could see Catalina, so we drove up to the top of Signal Hill and thar she blows! We said hooray, waved hello, then headed on home.

Summer day trip to Catalina coming soon!

Best shell day ever!

Silly Old Pier!

It's really more sad than silly. The building at the end of the Seal Beach Pier used to be a Ruby's Diner. Burgers, sandwiches, salads, sort of a 50's motif with red booths, black & white checkerboard floors, etc. Bustling. Family friendly. Not a bad place at all.

At the end of 2012, Ruby's and the city of Seal Beach were unable to reach an agreement and so, after 25 years, the Seal Beach Ruby's is no more.

And so now, in the touristy midst of summer, after months of continuing arguments, lawsuits, new proposals (and lack thereof), and legal wrangling, the old building still sits empty at the end of the pier. It sits there like nothing but an eyesore. It's such a sad sight, and so unnecessary. The city claims that Ruby's didn't do some agreed upon repairs & Ruby's claims it did. The city set a deadline for new business proposals & the only company that made a proposal was the company that owns Ruby's. The city extended the deadline & Ruby's withdrew its proposal.

A few months ago, back when I was still walking on the pier, I watched as a construction crew removed all the booths and appliances from inside and basically left nothing but an empty shell. A few weeks ago the city declared the building a public nuisance. The end of the pier - the best part! - which used to be so wonderful, filled with families and friends and lovers and fishermen and walkers, has been closed off by a chain link fence for months. Perhaps most of the happy people enjoying the beach don't really care but to me (and undoubtedly to many others) it just seems like such a shame.

I love you Seal Beach, but you really dropped the ball on this one. No matter the truth of your arguments, you've let your treasure fade because that pier - that beautiful, long wooden pier - is the crown of your city, and the building/restaurant/whatever you like at the end of that pier is the crowning jewel. Or was, I mean.

Get it together folks!