What we found was a lot of people fishing on the pier, people surfing in the water below, birds everywhere and unexpectedly, memories and moments carved into the boards of the pier itself. At first, they seemed to have a depressing connotation, and be almost solely about death and love cut short, but as you wander and continue to read, there are proposals, birthdays and a deep sense of poignancy I have not encountered before. Literally everything from "goodbyes" to "I love yous" to personal messages about fishing and surfing and sunshine and the pier itself. My sister and I have discussed going back there just to read them. My dad would go back in heartbeat...to fish. But to me, it doesn't matter what you do there, the feeling of peace is undeniable, and I would go back just for that.
I am not an emotional person. At all. Ever. My sister jokes (at least I think she's joking) that I don't have a heart. Of course, that's coming from someone who cries at literally anything and everything... But I found myself getting emotional while reading these carvings; sometimes laughing, sometimes getting a little teary eyed. Especially at this one:
The fact that it says "keep on truckin'" really gets to me. My grandfather drove semis almost all his life, and being there I was forced to think of him and the other people who have passed away. But him especially. He always surfaces in my mind whenever I find myself in a situation like that. Always. And I couldn't help but feel like he would have really liked that pier.
