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Enjoy Low-Tide Weekend in Manhattan Beach

Aug 28, 2021 07:14AM ● By Jefferson Graham

Photo credit: Jefferson Graham

One of the joys of living in Manhattan Beach is a nice morning walk, when it’s just you, the
birds and the ocean waves.

Do you think the folks in Duluth and Springfield get this?

For many folks, this is walking up and down the Strand, the paved walkway that extends
from El Porto to the north to Hermosa Beach, before taking a break and then extending to
Torrance Beach.

Many mornings walking on the beach sand itself is an inviting, but challenging pastime, as
the waves get incredibly more aggressive with each passing a.m. minute, making it hard to
walk a steady beat on the hardened sand without getting yourself wet from the waves.

So take advantage of the late August/mid-September ritual of low tide. Early risers have
Saturday (7 a.m.) and Sunday (7:19) to enjoy and relish on the long stretches of hardened
sand, which as any beach veteran knows, is a lot easier to walk on.

Things will revert to morning high tides on Monday, and then return briefly on September 9
(5:11) and continue through the 13th, before growing late on the 15th at 12:15 p.m. and the
16th at 1:11 p.m.

That’s how it will be for much of the year.

Walking on the Strand is a great experience, a chance, at least in the Manhattan Beach
portion, of not having to dodge cars, cyclists and other wheeled devices (when people are
paying attention to the rules) having flat surface to walk on and the possibility of running into
your neighbors and saying hi.

But beach walking is a way different experience, everything our friends who live in other
places dream of. You’ve got the sights, smells and drama of the dynamic ocean, the local
birds who put on their unique show for us every morning, running back and forth in search of
breakfast, and if you get up early, like I do, amazing colors, as you watch the night turn to
morning.

It’s photography central, and you don’t need a fancy camera to capture it. The photos that
accompany this piece were all taken on an iPhone. Pro tip: get up early and you will see
some amazing reflections in the water that you wouldn’t see at any other time of the day.
Low tide beach walking: It’s you, the birds, surfers and an occasional neighbor. This is why
we moved to Manhattan Beach, folks. I’ll see you out there this weekend.

Jefferson Graham is a Manhattan Beach based writer-photographer, the host of the
streaming travel photography TV series Photowalks, which is seen on Tubi and a jazz
guitarist. Subscribe to his Photowalks newsletter here: http://jeffersongraham.substack.com


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