West of Catalina Landing, which is west of Shoreline Park with the lighthouse, is Golden Shore Marine Biological Reserve Park. I had been told by several homeless people that they "camped" at Catalina Landing. Lots of hiding places, and evidence of homeless people, yet whenever I took a walk there, never found where my peers told me they slept at night.
I spotted Nicholas one evening as I was headed back downtown from Chavez Park, via cutting through the World Trade Center promenade. I hurried across Ocean Blvd. as much as one can hurry waiting upon the traffic light to change, trying to catch up with him. He had told me about his latest sleep spot, invited me there, gave directions, yet I was clueless to exactly where he meant. An empty fishing dock, perhaps. I kept my eye upon him, off in the distance and that was how I found Golden Shore Marine Biological Reserve Park. Nicholas disappeared into the night, but I found a new place to hide during the day.
A perk of being homeless is having the time to sit and observe the herons, seagulls and other birds flitting around or swooping to the water to catch dinner. I never tire of watching ducks take off or land . At the Birdcage area and Shoreline Park, often saw ducks that dove under the water, swimming away. I would try to guess where they would resurface. I often saw possum which should not have surprised me. I had seen raccoon in the city when I lived on Broadway.
Being a nature and outdoor lover, it was a little easier for me to be outside 24/7 then it would be for a city dweller that loathed camping.
There was a man sitting atop the single concrete picnic table, resting from bike riding, when I visited Golden Shore to get some pictures. Why a photo of steps when there are better views of the Ocean and L.A. river? The photo is for me; forgot all about them. I sometimes sat on the top step, dizzy, fearing I was about to fall down. Other days I could walk down them, sit on a rock at the jetty edge watching the water scenes.
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