A reminder of an old but still current dream: A beach side bar...

Hey Everyone,

 

It's not that we haven't seen some beachfront bars on our journey yet.  We have, but they have been very few.  There have been plenty of bars within a block of two of the beach, but anything that is not right on the ocean typically takes on the atmosphere of any other bar.  It's the beachside cantinas which have always held a place in my heart.  Some beach resorts have their tiki huts sitting out oceanside, but they just cater to the guests of the hotel.  In Floripa, Praia Mole had some little bars along its dunes.  These were pleasant enough although many were not much more than a shack to serve some cold refreshments- which I didn't mind since the rest of the beach was undeveloped.  The shacks fit with the character of the beach.  I had such high hopes for The Wave House when it first opened in Mission Beach, San Diego.  I thought I was going to ride my bike each Saturday afternoon to Mission Beach and sip the sunshine away at this beachside bar with gas fire pits, hammocks, and relaxed ambience.  Unfortunately, all those ideas were dashed when I showed up for the first time and they were charging $10 just to get inside.  Charging a cover charge to enter a beachside bar is just so blasphemous and antithetical to my personalized view of what a beachside bar should be that I never went back to the Wave House in the four years since.  I have come across very few beachside bars which match with the romanticized goal I have had since I was in college (in fact, it is even mentioned in the "About the Author" section of my masters thesis)...  To own a beachside bar where the patrons could swap stories, play cards, drink beer, and otherwise gain wisdom from the grizzled, gray haired, weathered man at the end of the bar if you bought him a beer.  (Ideally, the grizzled, gray haired, weathered man at the end of the bar would be me. Lol).

 

Well, as Ozell and I were walking along the 4km stretch of beach from Arraial D'Ajuda to the ferry, we happened upon a place that reminded me of my dream.  It was just a comfortable wooden deck with some open air, thatched huts for shade, simple but yet comfortable furniture, and some good house/lounge music playing through the speakers.  It was not exactly what I want for my ideal bar, but it was the close enough to trigger the feel good and relaxing vibes that a beach bar should have.  I wish I had some better pictures, but I don't because I wasn't really thinking about taking any.  They are under the Arraial D'Ajuda photo album at the end.

 

The one attached to this post is just a self-portrait of me being sublimely happy- which is happening on this trip a few times without the assistance of good weed!  Lol

 

Sean  :)