Tide Pools for Mother's Day

On Mother's Day we did one of the things that Corrie had mentioned wanting to do. Early in the day, after we'd all had breakfast (and I mention it because we have a houseguest visiting), when prompted Corrie had said she'd like to go either on a hike, or to the beach. I suggested one of the RPV peninsula nature hikes, as they're not too rigorous (our youngest hiker is a few months past 2 years old), and they're in that so-close-yet-so-exotic range of travel for our non-Californian guest.

So we combined the two: we went to the tide pools at the end of Western Ave in San Pedro. It was a hike, and it was the beach, and it was a flashback to when we lived in SLO and the first time I got to meet Joey, our houseguest.

Driving down Western (this street runs from north of I-10 all the way south, for nearly 30 miles, to San Pedro and the ocean) is pretty cool, and almost transports a driver to SLO County. One big bend in the road, then another as the street starts to tilt downwards, and all of a sudden the ocean appears and it feels like you could slide down into it.

Last time we came here we weno to what seems like the main attraction, but this time we headed the other direction, as a walking path appeared and the crowds thinned out:

Eventually we headed to the water itself, and the tide pools, and while the wind was relentless, we had a good time peeping hermit crabs and regular crabs alike, along with anemones and mussels. Alas, we didn't see any sea stars.

The tide pools were created by the fracturing and uplifting of the rock here, with essentially no sand at this beach section. It looks remarkably similar to the pools at Montana de Oro, south of the Morro Beach strand:

After returning to the path and having a water and snack break, Cass pointed over to a path that wound up away from us into the brush on the hillside. "Where does that go?" he asked.

"Let's go find out," I answered, and up we wound for a few minutes, until it got smaller and less kept. I got the sense that it went up to a park, or someone's cliffside house, and the decision to turn back was made easier by Camille, having seen us walk off up the hillside started to chase after, making to our little expedition. I turned and took a picture of the path, a small sandy beach, one of the more "main" attraction parts, and even the driveway down from the topside end of Western Ave:

We park on the street and walk down the hill. Driving down costs only eight bucks, and we would do that in certain circumstances. 

Mother's Day, spent out at the ocean, and then at the playground up top at the parking area, was a wonderful way to spend the morning.