We had been watching the weather forecasts while we were in California, too, and we saw that Wednesday the first of March was looking windy and wet. It wasn't the most ideal day for seeing the sea lions and seals and tide pools in La Jolla, but it was definitely looking like a worse day to attempt LEGOland (which was our main point of this entire trip, actually, so we wanted to nail the timing and maximize memories) so we went for the wildlife viewing despite the less than ideal conditions.
First we hung out in the hotel until the sheets of rain stopped. Then we made our way south, stopping again (for just a minute because the wind was SO strong and we couldn't last much longer) at South Ponto Beach. When we got to La Jolla Cove the wind was still windy, but the rain wasn't as rainy. We parked and walked down the sidewalk to spot the sea lions, but on the way we passed a TON of nesting cormorants and brown pelicans below the sidewalk on the cliffs. So many (stinky) birds!
We spotted a few noisy sea lions down below us on the beach and got really excited to see them. Such funny creatures. Then we continued on the path around a bend and bam! Hundreds of sea lions in a giant pile down below. So loud and so stinky and so cool!
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| Cal and Gregg braved the storm at South Ponto Beach for about 3 minutes. |
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| Plenty of pelicans at La Jolla Cove. |
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| I spy a few sea lions on the rocks! |
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| Holy moley that's a lot of sea lions! |
A little further down the sidewalk, we came to Children's Pool, where the harbor seals like to hang out. There weren't as many of them to watch as the sea lions, but they were so fun and funny and adorable in their own way. We liked the Children's Pool area since it was a bit protected from the wind. (Maybe that's why the seals like it, too?) We even saw some fuzzy babies that were so cute!
bonus videos!
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| I had seen these flowering agave-like plants around and had to get a pic because they are insane! |
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| Pretty blossoms. |
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| Here's the tide pool area just next to Children's Pool. |
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| Still smiling, even though we're windblown and wet. |
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| Walking back up to the car and passing the sea lions again. |
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| Oh look! It's those triangular leaved plants again - with a flower! |
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| Sam called these birds (I think they're terns?) army birds because they were lined up all facing the same direction into the wind and had very serious looking faces. |
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| We walked down onto the beach at the cove and explored in the cave down there a bit. |
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| Hard to see, but there were a couple of sea lions swimming out in the water. |
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| There are the cormorants. |
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| Check out those heads on the pelicans! I'm so used to seeing the white pelicans on our lake that I was really intrigued by these guys. |
There were supposed to be tide pools next to Children's pool that would be visible at low tide midday, but the wind and the waves were so strong that we didn't have high hopes for being able to explore them. We decided to eat lunch first and see what would happen. I was trying to keep my hopes down, but I really was looking forward to tide pooling - it was one of my favorite memories from our Redwoods trip a couple years ago and I wanted to relive it.
Alas, the wind was only getting stronger. We ate in our car in the parking lot at a beach where we could access other tide pools I had read about. A giant chunk of a palm tree came crashing down right behind us while we were eating! We gave it a good college try, though, and walked out to the sand to head toward the pools. The sand whipped into our eyes and mouths in seconds and we headed back to the car, defeated. Drat.
But wait! Looking at the map again, it appeared we could access the pools through a neighborhood instead of walking along the beach. We found the opening between the homes/restaurants that said Public Beach Access and Cal and I hustled down the sidewalk. I left my boots in the car, thinking that since this was low tide I'd be able to walk out to the rocks. Nope. In one minute our shoes were soaked through and the waves were rolling in. We waved the white flag and called it a day.
Gregg and the kids hopped in the hot tub despite the whipping wind and we found a yummy seafood spot close to the hotel for dinner. The day wasn't what I had dreamed of, but it was still good. And we knew that tomorrow would be even better.
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| In the short time Cal and I were attempting the tide pool and got our feet soaked she found a sand dollar. Of course she did! |
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| I did not fancy the idea of getting out of a hot tub soaking wet in the strong wind, so I sat bundled in my coat and watched this time. (4 swims in 4 days.) |
bonus video!
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