There are plenty of reasons to avoid King Harbor but you won't see any of them here. Instead, I prefer to focus on the reasons why I spend so much time there.
I was there this morning from about 7:45 to 8:15. I was riding on the bike path. I can't remember the last time I rolled out of bed and got on my bike but last night when the urge hit me, I knew that was what I wanted to do.
My strand bike rides usually begin at Pier Avenue in Hermosa or 190th Street. I usually ride north to El Segundo.
As I've mentioned previously, I like boats. I like going places on them. I like just being around them. I (usually) like the people I meet on them. I even like taking care of them although that has to go to the bottom of the list.
So I had the notion it might be fun to ride south, through King Harbor and I was right. The first thing that should be pointed out is that if you bring music on an iPod as I did, you need to crank up the volume when you're on the street. There are a lot of cars and trucks around at that time of day.
I must have missed the sounds of the surf in the horseshoe and the seabirds but Jimmy Buffet was a satisfying substitute. Once I got out of traffic, the air was clear with the subtle scent of ocean. Even though the sun was low in the sky, it warmed the land and water with a kind of orange glow that turned to a radiant gold right before my eyes.
The wind wasn't up yet so the water in the marina and the ocean beyond
shimmered and reflected the occasional sharp speck of sunshine.Crews on the fishing boats were getting ready to head out to sea. Cleaners opened restaurant doors then locked quickly them so they could get to work preparing for today's lunch and dinner guests.
One of the things I like about the Pier/Harbor area is that it's completely different at different times of the day. 7:45 to 8:15 was a treat. Maybe tomorrow I'll check out 7:15 to 7:45. Maybe I'll see you there.
