San Diego. A place where the weather treats you right—well, most of the time. Among all the incredible features that San Diego has to offer, the most impressive is the miles and miles of endless beaches. You can stand on the beach, look to your left or right, and just see stretches of endless sand. You feel as if you could walk forever, watching the waves of the ocean slowly creep their way towards the shore, leaving those lovely shells on the sandy floor.
On particularly hot days, everyone flocks to the beach ready to catch that next wave or achieve that perfect tan. Before I can do any of those amusing activities, I must find that parking space which seems to elude me every single time. I sometimes wonder if getting into college was slightly easier.
After about five tries at parallel parking, I finally manage to park in a somewhat decent manner and make my way to the shore. I find the perfect spot, drop off my towel and bag, and walk to the water that happily greets me. I’m having fun, enjoying the coolness of the ocean, collecting seashells, when all of a sudden, I find myself grabbing floating plastic bags. Next thing I know, I’m using those plastic bags to collect other trash that floated to shore. I pick up an orange peel, two ChapSticks, a plastic container, a Starbucks coffee cup, and a surprising number of Capri Sun juice packets.
It’s quite possible that the wind might have carried some of the trash towards the shore without people knowing, but it does result in a continual pattern of me suddenly becoming the trash patrol and I know I’m not the only one. Fortunately, I tend to see several people picking up mundane items off the beach and walking to the nearest trashcan to dispose of them. It’s a great thing that people do this and continue to create events like beach cleanups to help our beaches as much as possible. One doesn’t even have to participate in an organized beach cleanup to make a difference. All it takes is a certain amount of care for our environment and just an extra minute out of your time to travel to a recycling bin. Trash belongs in a trashcan, not on a sandy shore.
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