Coast Lines: Beware that Bird!

Make sure to keep a look out above when walking around John’s Pass. You might just find a hungry feathered thief ready to steal your food.

I recently took my wife, Candy, and two stepsons, Leo and Ollie, out to John’s Pass for a date night that consisted of glow-in-the-dark mini golf and some ice cream.

The mini-golf went extremely well at the . My stepsons particularly liked what they called the “wheel of doom,” a wheel set up before some holes that left me putting with my eyes closed and my wife standing on one leg.

Getting back out into the sunlight, we all decided that it would be good time to get some ice cream. The sun was setting and John’s Pass was getting ready to transform into a more adult-oriented district.

We found the closest ice cream shop to where we parked, . I ordered up the cones for my wife and kids and we walked back towards our car.

Halfway across the crosswalk, I heard Candy shriek. I turned around quickly and saw my wife with a look of shock across her face.

Apparently, a gull had come down off of the rooftop of one of the shops and flew right by her face. Upon further inspection, she noticed a perfect beak mark in her ice cream cone.

We quickly went across the street to avoid any further attacks. Unfortunately for Leo, my 15-year-old stepson, the same gull managed to grab a bite of his cone as well on a second pass through.

When we found our way to the other side of the street (thankfully, underneath an overhang that provided us with some protection from the threat above), Candy debated what to do about their marred treat. They eventually decided to chuck off the part that had been nibbled on by the bird and eat the rest of it since the ice cream was extremely delicious.

While my family was finishing off the ice cream in our safe area, we literally saw the same bird perform the same routine on nearly everyone walking away from the ice cream stand. Some people had the same shocked reaction of my wife, while others found the humor in the situation and laughed about it.

When I went and talked to a woman who got their ice cream nibbled on and explained the same thing happened to us, she told me that the birds do it all the time and it’s something to keep a look out for.

Leo and Ollie decided to name the bird “Scoop” because of his method of thievery.

While John’s Pass has lots of delicious treats that are great for walking and eating, I’ve learned now to keep an eye to the skies and a hand over my food.