Sunday, January 16, 2022

La Jolla and Low Tide

San Diego Metro KOA

Chula Vista, CA

January 15, 2022
















Tide pooling is my favorite beach activity.  I've been sitting on "go" since we arrived just waiting for a negative low tide.  Finally last Friday, it was a -0.4 tide at 2:00 pm and we were out the door headed for La Jolla shortly after noon.  From the moment we park, my heart beats a little faster !  La Jolla is such a picturesque and camera fun place to visit.  

This time of year, the seals are in the Children's Pool.  They have the sweetest faces and even though they don't move around much, their playful antics are amusing.  







   














La Jolla and colorful flowers just go together.



























































And where there are colorful flowers, you might just see some busy critters.



















































I began exploring tide pools right here in San Diego in March 2013 at Point Loma.  Through the years I have been fortunate to see a variety of star fish, mussels, crabs, hermit crabs, and even a lobster.  I'm not disappointed in Friday's pooling, but was surprised at the lack of variety.  




There were lots of anemones, hermit crabs, mussels and the sea grasses were especially pretty, but that was about it.  

The anemone's mouth is in the center surrounded by tentacles that gather food.  This anemone was completely submerged.











I'm always fascinated by nature.  Frequently, an anemone will cover itself with bits of shells when it is out of the water.  The bits of debris reflect light to keep it cooler and reduce water loss. 














These tiny long-clawed hermit crabs were hard to capture with my phone.  I didn't have the underwater camera.  It was fun watching shells scooting in all directions. 


Joe was "in charge" of the camera while Carol and I were exploring. He got a few photos as well.














  




One thing I missed at La Jolla was the brown pelicans.  They are magnificent birds and I am on a mission to photograph them...that might just mean another trip to La Jolla.    Well, somebody has to do it, right? 

We are officially half way into our month here.  The change of scenery has been nice.  The weather has been a little cooler than we like, but tolerable and mostly sunny.  The long range forecast looks to be warmer with highs in the mid 70s...pretty close to perfect beach weather for us.  We are looking forward to a few more adventures before heading home.  


























































Until next time, 

HAPPY TRAILS !

10 comments:

  1. A great choice for a fun day at the beach!

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  2. Gee, you really made me wish we had made it to Mission Beach. Definitely next year. Hitting low tide during the day is hitting the jackpot. Wonderful, wonderful photos. Love La-jolla!

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    1. Thank you Pam. I wish we could stay at Mission Beach, but the pups just enjoy their time so much more with safe places to run and play at the KOA. We miss the sunsets here!

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  3. I too love the beach best at low tide and I've decided I much prefer the rocky coastlines to just sand. Your photos are great! Enjoy the rest of your month--I'm loving these frequent updates!

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    1. Thank you! Totally agree Janna…it’s so different here from the beaches in the gulf (Destin & Galveston) or even on the Atlantic (Wilmington & Cape Hatteras…my two favorites on the east coast). It was love at first sight for me.

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  4. I love beaches many faces...sand, rocks, tide pools, huge crashing waves or mirror smooth surfaces. LaJolla is always a favorite spot to wander, the seals are fun to watch and the flowers never disappoint. Once we even saw a very classy looking lady walking a very large pig through one of the nice neighborhoods! Thanks for taking me there while I'm sitting here in the desert....ain't the internet grand?

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    1. The internet is such a great way to stay in touch and I often wonder how we survived without it. We, too, love the beach...any beach, but were just saying this morning with coffee in hand how we miss the desert view from our patio. Isn’t is so wonderful to have choices?

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  5. This is such a fun post!! Great flowers and tidepool treasures. Joe some really great pics of your explorations :-)

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    1. Thank you Jodee! The flowers are truly amazingly beautiful!

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