Keeping the beach clean is a daily routine

Robert San Miguel never comes to the beach “just to relax,” though he visits the Corona del Mar shoreline on a daily basis.

Walking the one-third mile stretch of Corona del Mar State Beach seven times each morning is part of 74-year-old San Miguel’s exercise routine. It’s also an opportunity to do a little socializing and, most notably, tidy up a bit.

“I’ve been walking this beach for over 50 years,” said San Miguel, who lives five blocks away on Newport Harbor. “About 10 years ago, I picked up a piece of glass, then a few, and soon I found my hands were full.”

So the retired vice president of paper packaging supplier Kent H. Landsberg Co. started toting two empty bags — formerly the packaging of his two morning papers — and picking up any trash he found along his route. He concentrates on plastic, glass and metal, though he will snatch anything but cigarette butts and a few unmentionables.

But San Miguel insists he’s no “greeny” and has never thought of joining Surfrider Foundation or other environmental organizations for their regular beach cleanups.

“I enjoy the beach, so I might as well do something constructive and take care of it,” he said Thursday morning, bending over to pick up a bright yellow piece of plastic which he tossed back into the sand upon realizing it was an abandoned sand toy.

“I have a contract with the guy upstairs: If I do my job today, he lets me come back tomorrow.”

Over the years, San Miguel has made several friends, many of whom greet him by name as they pass, occasionally stopping to ask for a little fatherly advice. He has inadvertently become somewhat of a bird-watcher as well, recognizing several species that frequent the seashore, such as the marbled godwit, willet and the occasional curlew.

The former runner couldn’t recall anything particularly interesting that he has found, though he is $11 richer thanks to his efforts, unearthing one $5 bill and several quarters in the last 10 years.

However his real incentive is the soothing sound of the waves and the fresh aroma of the outdoors.

“This is my reward,” he said gesturing to the ocean. “Just walking the beach and listening to the surf.”

That and good health. His beach stroll is the final phase of a daily regimen that includes a brisk 1 1/2 -hour walk around the neighborhood and a 2 1/2 -mile saunter on the treadmill alongside his wife.

“Everything you read today talks about how important exercise is, no matter what it is,” he said, bashfully admitting that he occasionally uses the time to check up on his stocks by calling an automated toll-free number.

As long as San Miguel is in town, chances are he is starting his routine at the east jetty by 10 a.m. Though he and his wife have traveled fairly extensively through Western Europe, Canada and Mexico, and are planning a trip to China next year, San Miguel insists there’s no place like home.

“I always miss home when I am away,” he said. “Other than traveling, if I miss a day [at the beach], it’s either raining or … well, I guess that’s it.”