Art & Inspiration Traditional images that need no explanation.

Is your avatar an example of "tuck and roll" ?

 

1940s-50s PCH at Huntington Beach’s famous “Tin Can Beach.”
Note: This photo was a part of a collection of old photos. It was mislabeled as a Los Angeles beach area. But, even early photos of the Los Angeles coast line never had wide open spaces to the left or inland side of the highway running along the oceanfront. Plus, there is an obvious "Tin Can" in the photo! Ha!

The Gun Club plateau cliff next to the swampy area on the inland side shows up in the old photo. Also in the far background, the small hills of the inland side of Huntington Beach is also shown. The row of telephone poles on the sand ocean berm were usually next to the railroad tracks that ran from Long Beach to Newport Beach along the waterfront beaches. So, enjoy Huntington Beach’s old “Tin Can Beach” photo from the 40s-50s.



Hello,


It isn’t just three miles to the next form of civilization, but the hum of the motor, the solitude of the ride down the empty stretch of highway and the relaxation of warmth of the sun. At night, it is more, due to the anxious searching for clarity of the darkened, no light highway going down this empty stretch of beach sand on one side and a swampy lagoon on the other side. The headlights play games on any eyes let alone tired eyes. So, constant ideas and methods to stay awake pays off in dividends for longer life.

From the time we were little kids and our dad took us to the giant pipe stuck in the oceanfront sandy shoreline for family surf fishing days, we got used to the long drive down the empty stretch of a major coastal highway. Back then, there were portable encampments all up and down the long barren beach. 101 Pacific Coast Highway is the most used road in all of So Cal as it stretches from points North down the coast to the San Diego areas.

But, here in Huntington Beach, it was a place that was not patrolled or regulated. People slept on the beach in tents and cardboard houses. Some driftwood was also used to support the fencing around structures. We could not go barefoot due to the broken glass, wine bottles and what not sticking out of the sand or just thrown away on top. Early versions of a homeless camp circa 1949-1950s. The term, “Tin Can Beach” was an adequate description of the place. Today, it is cleaned up, regulated, patrolled and called Bolsa Chica Beach.


But, closer to home, we used the Coast Highway just past Seal Beach and those beach front communities, before the long white sand berms for the next three miles. It does not sound very far in miles, but when it is empty on both sides, day or night, it becomes its own highway in relative seclusion.

Jnaki

The girl in the sand that has blown on to the road, was a taking a well-deserved respite from being tired at the beach or from driving through traffic along the coastline. Locations from greater Long Beach, Seal Beach or anywhere the 101 PCH highway intersects along its route.

The berms of white sand are at the mercy of the ocean as the winds blow constantly from the water, inland, trying to cross the highway. The sand always fights back, but the strong winds usually blast it across the wide roadway. On strong windy on shore wind days, if one had a pristine paint job on your hot rod or family station wagon, it was advised not to drive on this stretch of road. The sand blew across the roadway as a sideways angle and anything in its way got… “sandblasted from mother nature.”

My wife’s poor 62 Corvair got stuck on the inland side of the highway headed North. The winds were blasting so strongly, that small pits were on the driver’s side windows and front windshield after being parked for an hour or so, until the tow truck could tow it home. The state of the situation is from the white sandy beach areas all along this long stretch a lonely highway. YRMV

Note 2: When the winds shift during the “Santana Winds” or offshore windy season, the white sands on the inland side of the highway are now the flying villain attacking the paint and windows of any car or truck. The flat area of this portion of the whole coast, goes back many miles inland. There is nothing to stop the flow of the strong winds coming off of the tall San Bernardino Mountains. Offshore winds make any wave look marvelous, but the winds + sand are devastating on glass and paint. YRMV

 

this pic would make a great jig saw puzzle!

 

Some splain'n to some, today, that's a fairly rare 57 Two-Ten 2 door hardtop, many would think it was just another BelAir.

 

What car?

 

What @lucky said. He he .

 

I don't know @DDDenny ..... if that's all you got out of that picture, it might be time for a vacation!