Why The Strand Is A More Fitting Term For Southern California’s Beaches
Southern California beaches have something every beach town should have: a concrete path running parallel to the sand that both a parade of pedestrians and a bike path.
They are the heartbeat of the beach towns, full of character and characters.
Where I lived for many years in Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach in the Los Angeles area, this path is known as The Strand. Here in San Diego, where I now live, is is called the Boardwalk.
However, I refuse to call it the Boardwalk. You know why? Too New Jersey-ish.
I mean come ON, we’re Southern California – too cool to use words they say in Jersey. After all, we don’t call our beaches the California Shore or say we’re “going to the shore” (thank goodness). We call them by they beach name like Pacific Beach and say we’re going to the beach.
Muscled guys don’t walk along water’s edge with giant boom boxes on their shoulders (I actually saw a couple of Jersey guys do this in the Greek Islands and it’s all the Europeans there could do to keep from bursting out laughing).
When we get hungry, we go for a pizza, not a tomato pie.
Plus, there are no boards on the San Diego beach paths anyway, so calling them the boardwalk is not even a proper use of the term.
The definition of boardwalk is “a wooden walkway across sand or marshy ground” or a promenade along a beach or waterfront, typically made of wood.”
Note that it states “made of wood.” Not concrete.
The definition is a strand, by the way, is “the shore of a sea, lake, or large river.” Or an ocean.
That’s much more of a California term than boardwalk.
Now, let’s go to the beach and cruise along The Strand!
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