Skateboarders and Sea Critters

We walked along the San Francisco waterfront on a grey Saturday last week...

...and kept running into daring young skateboarders.

Though bicyclists and scooter riders on pedestrian sidewalks drive me nuts, skateboarders don't bother me.

For one thing, you can hear them when they are approaching, and they tend to be attentive and skillful. Instead of rolling along with a bicyclist's air of moral superiority, they also exude a bad boy aura while harming nobody but themselves and some concrete.

Speaking of bad boys, we stopped by Pier 39...

...to watch sea lions playing at their version of king of the hill...

...though half the time they look like they are about to kiss.

From Pier 39 we walked to our favorite secret outdoor pub...

...where we drank cheap German beer under the curious gaze of the seagull above.

For a moment, the beauty of the world was overwhelming.