Pacifica Pier

One day of our trip, Olaya and I ventured over to the Pacifica Pier.  This was quite a fun place to spend the day and not just because there was the cutest little book store two blocks away.  The pier extends a quarter mile into the ocean and you don't need a license to crab or fish from it.  Not having the necessary items to fish and crab, Olaya and I watched others and made friends with a fun Russian family with the cutest three year old grand-daughter.

For the most part we people watched (one of my absolute favorite activities) and critter watched.  I did purchase Girl With The Dragon Tattoo at the cute bookstore but so much activity on the pier, I never even got it opened.   

This is the type of crab (although measured to small to keep) that was in season to catch.

Although not is season, this type kept coming up in the nets in abundance.

Sad the little guys had to be thrown back.

As the afternoon went on, a Russian family next to me became our entertainment.  I loved listening to the grandmother speak in Russian to her granddaughter.  I am not really a fan of the way Russian sounds (compared to romantic Spanish) but watching this rather large (you can see her in the top left of the photo beneath) grandma made me laugh.  Her three year old granddaughter Elizabeth "Liza" was born in the United States but they did not start speaking English with her until a few monhs ago when she turned three.  It was the most adorable thing as she and I named colors, counted to ten and we made a game of her pointing to things and I would name them for her.  She spent quite a bit of time asking my name over and over and asking me to touch the fish her dad caught. I passed on that one. 

They told me that she has been coming to the pier every few weeks since she could walk.  Little Liza had no fear of handling the anchovies used as bait for the crab traps and she chased the crabs up and down the pier before they found their way back to the ocean.

The day was completely perfect.  One man mentioned this was the nicest day in San Francisco in over three months.  No major clouds.  The sun was out.  The wind was low. I had to agree.  Olaya and I sure enjoyed our time taking it all in.