A ride along with the San Diego Police.

Posted on by Thor

Debbie and Paul Andreen‘s son, Kevin has joined the San Diego Police Department. He was kind enough to suggest I join him for a ride along as he cruised the neighborhoods just North of Mission Beach. When I first got in the police cruiser, he said I should seek cover and immediately use the cruiser radio to call the dispatch if shot were fired. He also wanted me to exit the cruiser any time he did. Much of the morning went by without incident. He pointed out several homeless men that he knew by name. Several weeks ago, a homeless man had died from an injury. He would have lived if any of his buddy’s had thought to bring him to an ER.

After a long time of driving without incident, Kevin parked the cruiser near an intersection that had stop signs. He explained that the road, heading towards the beach had a stop sign at every intersection. By the time drivers got this far they started rolling through the stops.  The law is that you have to come to a complete stop behind the white line. Within minutes, a woman approached the intersection and rolled past the line. He quickly followed and pulled her over a block away. He approached her drivers side door to get her license and write up the ticket. I waited outside the cruiser. The ticketing process took longer than I expected, I probably could have done a small sketch. Kevin wrote down some notes after the traffic stop, because months from now he would have to appear in court. Without documentation it would be hard to recall the details of every traffic stop. He returned to the intersection to check that the stop sign wasn’t obstructed or the line worn away.

Twice the dispatch sent Kevin to homes to check on people. Relatives had tried to contact the people living in the homes and they were concerned that they couldn’t get in touch. While waiting outside the first home, I felt uneasy. A friend had recently committed suicide and this must have been what it was like when police first arrived on the scene and found the body. In both cases, the person was home and in fine condition. Kevin would diplomatically ask questions to make sure the person was safe. It was a bit odd to follow the police into peoples homes. At one point I kicked over a cat toy by mistake. The resident asked who I was since I wasn’t in uniform, and Kevin would explain that I was a ride along. She had a history of depression and Kevin needed to confirm that she was taking her medications.

One call was from an angry woman who was sure that construction workers who were jack hammering up a driveway, had dented her car. The construction workers denied damaging the car. Kevin just wanted to get their contact information.  We looked at the car and I didn’t notice any damage. When talking to the woman in her yard, Kevin explained that this wasn’t a police matter but an issue for insurance companies. He gave her the construction company’s information and told her to contact her insurance company. She seemed relieved just to be able to air her grievances. Before being a police officer, Kevin had been a teacher and that must have given him experience in being diplomatic. The beat puts him in contact with a wide variety of people, from beach bums to the ultra rich. Interacting with so many people certainly makes police work interesting.

Top 10 wipe outs on the Mission Beach Flow Rider..

Posted on by Thor

Mission Beaches Belmont Park  in San Diego has a large flow rider wave that curls into a tube. Our intrepid group sat for several hours at dusk watching beginners and experts tackle the wave. It is most fun watching beginners attempt the wave. They are let out holding a tether to keep their balance. As soon as the life guard asks them to let go of the life line, they wipe out and are thrown over the top of the wave. The perpetual wave is created by jets of water that flow up a plastic ramp. One experienced surfer wore Groucho Marx glasses as he surfed the wave. His every move was relaxed and confident. He would disappear inside the tube and then burst out in a flash of spray just when you started to wonder if he had wiped out. It is possible to lie back on the wave and bounce back upright since the wave has a solid base.

Watching the flow riders is an infinitely entertaining way to spend an afternoon.  It became even more relaxing as we sipped margaritas. When we had our fill we walked back down the beach to our apartment where we played card games to pass the time. Up until I was ten years old, my family always rented a bungalow at the Jersey shore. Spending this much time at the beach brought those childhood memories back. My family would play Monopoly late into the night and I remember creating my own boogie board out of plywood. I never graduated to surfing unfortunately. The little kids that rode the flow rider wave always seemed to learn quickly since their center of gravity is already low.

Belmont Park In San Diego is always bustling.

Posted on by Thor

On the evening that Terry, Debbie and Paul Andreen went to their high school reunion, I walked down the Mission Beach boardwalk to Belmont Park to sketch the Merry-go-round. Of course choosing to spin something that is always spinning like a top is a bit insane, but I sketched in the calm moments as children clamored on board and saddled up. I found a nice bench where parents often sat while waiting for their children. The roller coaster loomed in the background and screams periodically overcame the Merry-go-rounds pipe organ music.

The Little Dipper ice cream booth had a constant stream of patrons. There was a fence around the Merry-go-round but I felt it cluttered the view, so I left it out. As I sketched dusk turned to night, so I kept darkening the watercolor washed. Sketching at sunset makes sense since the whole process of applying washes to a sketch involves building in the colors from light to dark.

When this sketch was done, I probably had time to do another sketch in one of the arcades. Sketching in such a loud crowded setting is exhausting however so I walked back to the beach front apartment. There I relaxed on the patio and watched the stars. Fire pits ignited all along the beach every 100 yards or so. It was several hours before everyone got back to tell me about what I had missed. The reunion venue overlooked the pro baseball stadium. It sounded like a great sketch opportunity, but that is why I wasn’t invited, I can’t put the sketchbook down.

Mission Beach turns orange at sunset.

Posted on by Thor

Terry and I rented a beach front apartment for a week along with Terry’s high school friends Debbie and Paul Andreen in Mission Beach, San Diego. There was one bedroom that went unused which was a shame. We should have invited another couple. Anyway, every evening we would gather on the beach at a life guard station to watch the sun set. As usual, I was looking the opposite way back at the apartment. Our place is the one with the blue canopy set up in front.

Volleyball players keep playing until there isn’t enough light to see the ball. Debbie and Terry are on the right side of the sketch having an intimate conversation. Paul was exceptionally nice to me offering to take me someplace each day to sketch. This was such a pleasure because he was content to hang out and chat with people as I sketched. It was like having an intrepid reporter who knew what questions to ask to get at the heart of any story.

The rollercoaster is the heart of Mission Beach.

Posted on by Thor

 The beach around the Belmont Park Giant Dipper roller coaster gets really crowded on weekends at Mission Beach in San Diego. A competition was held to celebrate the coasters 100 year anniversary. Contestants rode the coaster constantly, only getting toilet and eating breaks. The final contestants stayed on the coaster so long that the final prize had to be divided up among the crazy few who refused to give up. Our beach side apartment was just four blocks from the park. This was just far enough so that we were removed from the shouts and screams.

In the mornings, life guards drove along the beach putting out cones to mark their driving lane and warning signs for any rip tides. A group of children gathered on the beach for surfing workshops. Then the volleyball players would arrive and competitions would happen all day long. We relaxed under a beach umbrella and watched life stream by on the boardwalk. It seemed like everyone was fit, trim and beautiful in California.

Mission Beach is always active.

Posted on by Thor

We spent most of our time at Mission Beach in San Diego California sitting in front of the beachfront apartment watching life stream by on the boardwalk. A sign on the beachfront wall pointed out that the speed limit was 8mph, but I’m sure some bicyclists exceeded that limit. Everyone was out for a walk, jog or bike ride. Every day volleyball players would compete at the nets on the beach. They were serious competitors knowing how to set the ball after 3 hits. Sweaty and covered with sand, they would use a water spigot at our place to rinse off after the game.

Every day the smiley face parachute would rise above the water taking parasailors up for a ride above the waves. I only dipped my toes in the water which was freezing cold. When it came time for Terry’s reunion I found out I wasn’t invited. That night I watched fireworks explode behind the beach from the nightly show at Sea World and then I walked down the boardwalk to sketch at the Mission Beach amusement park.