So there I was at Surf Beach. What a beautiful place! This is probably one of the few beaches in California where a person can stand and look in either direction, as far as you can see, and find only a handful of people.

It’s March and the rolling, churning, crashing surf was very active. The cool wind is blowing stoutly and rain clouds are on the horizon. Seabirds circled looking for goodies to be stirred up from the tidal sands. The mist rose from the crest of the waves and shorebirds ran to and fro hoping for some tasty treats.

As I watch the ocean it seems to change every few minutes. What was once a wild and restless surf is suddenly a peaceful ocean with only a few low waves to remind you that the water is forever active. This year the fishing hole has shifted south for the summer. Each year it moves up and down the area in front of the Amtrak Station and some years there are more than one place to catch the prized barred perch.

People have been traveling to Surf and nearby Ocean Park for over 100-years to play and fish on the beach. Hundreds of people visit each week to breath in the salty sea air, scamper on the sand, fish and watch the dolphins play in the breaking waves.

There was once a small summer village and a racetrack at Ocean Park. Railroad employees actually lived near the Surf Station. Many locals learned how to water-ski in the estuary of the Santa Ynez River. All of those improvements are long gone because the military acquired the beach and 150 square miles of ranchland in the 1940’s for a military training base (Camp Cooke and Arguello Naval Air Station) and Bradley Dam blocked the flow of the river, drying up the estuary and ending the water skiing adventures.

Prior to 2000 I had only been to this beach a half-dozen times, now I seem to be a more frequent visitor. What changed my habits? I became a Docent for the Surf Ocean Beach Commission. Why, because the US Fish and Wildlife Service declared that the “Pacific Coast Population” of the Western Snowy Plover might somehow be threatened with extinction.

There is a very long story associated with the plover, but that isn’t the focus of this story.

This is about my observations during two seasons at the beach each week for three hours. The people I met and things I saw were wonderful.

People come from every state in the United States and many foreign countries. Some are lost, looking for the Pacific Coast Highway, but the majority has come to Surf Beach on purpose.

Railroad buffs are always stopping by to watch the trains. This used to be the mainline of the Southern Pacific railroad until a tunnel fire near San Luis Obispo closed it for a couple of weeks several years ago. The railroad crossed the Santa Ynez River in 1901, completing the coastal route and connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles.

The tunnels on the Cuesta Summit are made of wood and one day some hot material dropped from a train set one of them on fire. The line was closed until the fire was finally put out and the tunnel repaired. The railroad has a special tank car fitted with a large pump and sprinkler system that they push into the tunnel with several cars and an engine. This is a very effective way to put the fire out.

Anyway the fire was finally put out and the tunnel repaired, but in the process the SP learned that there was a better way to do business. It seems that they diverted all their traffic to the line that goes through Mojave, Palmdale and into Los Angeles. They found that it saved several miles/minutes and cost less than coming by way of Surf.

The Union Pacific owns the tracks now and the only trains that come by are the Amtrak and a few switchers with a string of freight cars. But the rail buffs seem to enjoy waiting and watching. Our docent handbook has pictures of the old station and talks about the 30,000 soldiers a month that came through the USO there in World War II.

Fishermen from all over southern California visit and cast their lines for barred perch. This is the favored fish in this part of the world. When Los Angeles and Orange County fishermen are asked why they travel so far to fish in the ocean they always reply: “because the water is clean here”.

Surfers are always looking for the right curl. Sometimes they stand at the gate a stare for several minutes at the waves and then leave. Other times the stare and then put their wet suits on grab their boards and head for the water. There they join the dolphins that are jumping in and out of the surf.

Little children are the best beach goers! They are so excited when they get to the beach with their buckets and shovels. They seem intent on a search for seashells and other treasures of the beach. From the top of the ramp they look like little birds with their parents herding them to and fro as they screech with delight.

The kids don’t notice the steep climb back from the beach, but their parents and grandparents do! The sand is illusive – it looks so easy going down to the surf line. But, the climb back up the hill is in loose sand and rises about 100-feet in about 100 yards.

The people who visit the beach are very friendly. Most are on vacation or just want to escape from their daily routine. The vacationers are the best – they always have time to listen as the docent patiently discusses the history and sights of the area. As the year goes on people want to know where the flower fields are (of course they passed them on the way to the beach).

If you are ever out in California and find yourself in Lompoc, plan to visit the beach! Just drive to Ocean Avenue and turn west. Drive until you run out of road and you’re at Surf Beach.