Santa Monica Beach at Sunset
I will be the first to admit I was not the biggest fan of Southern California, but recently I decided to visit, despite my over-arching prejudice for everything LA. I couldn't exactly tell you why I didn't like LA, I hadn't been to the area since I was in 7th grade, so it was mostly tied to my interaction with a few individuals who are real A-holes. So I decided to not let the actions of a couple of idiots rule my life, and made a trip to the west coast. I envisioned the beach community of Santa Monica to be akin to Baywatch, The OC, or every other cliche California TV show.
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| Quintessential California... |
I went with an open mind but I didn't leave all of my preconceived notions behind, I knew traffic would suck and that there would be a whole boat load of crazies. We didn't see much traffic, but we saw a whole ton of crazy. Brunch on the Santa Monica / Venice boardwalk (which is concrete and not one board) was an experience, all manner of people; sane, crazy, or just plain weird; walked, biked, skated by us while we shared our table with some scruffy pigeons (who were remarkable bold even for a stupid bird) So needless to say after brunch and subsequent walk down the "board"walk into Venice my view of California was altered very little. Weird people selling weird things, people begging for weed, folks charging a dollar for "Shitty Advice", a clearly drugged dog lying on its back wearing a bikini with dollars shoved in it like a stripper and a group of rappers trying to give away their newest CD (yeah.. if I say no to one CD, its not because I don't like the cover art, it's because I don't have time to listen to your shitty remake of every Jay-Z song) Later we had some great beers at a local Ale house including a great one from Ballast Point a Thai Chili Ginger Wheat beer that was off the charts! Other than that we had some decent seafood (for the cost is should have been better). I can get decent seafood in Michigan, and I live three minutes from a great innovative brewery called Dark Horse Brewing Company So suffice to say my first day in So Cal really did little to change my pre-conceived notions of an overpriced place where both the crazy poor and the crazy rich abound.
The next stage in my journey involved a Limo (big fan) and wine (also a big fan) so I was on board for a good day. My lovely friend Taylor and some of her friends had made arrangements for the limo and to go to three or four wine tastings and I could not have been more happy with how it went! The drive up the coast to Malibu was awesome and getting into the Santa Monica mountains I really started to see some of the natural beauty this place has to offer, plus there is booze and limo's , you cant really go wrong there.
Some Views from the Malibu Family Wine's, I got a 'Taylor'made tasting with some really great Cabernet Sauvignon
Taylor and I enjoying some great wine at Rosenthal Wine Tasting Room
Some nice chardonnay grapes growing in the rocky sandy soil which apparently they love.
I learned a lot about wine, and even found out that I do like some white wine (which before this trip I had been very hesitant to drink, due to the fact that everybody I know who drinks white wine likes insanely sweet whites like Riesling, and Muscato) Blech... you might as well just put cheap vodka in grape juice for the same effect.
Saturday night called for a walk on the Santa Monica Pier and a nice dinner with my awesome cousin Lissa and her husband Chris. The Pier was really cool, like a carnival is cool, great to visit, but not for too long. Also the Pier is home to the largest solar powered Ferris wheel in the world (random fact number 1 for this blog post) Dinner at Lobsters didn't disappoint, great conversation, food and the view was amazing! I really regret not getting a pic with Lissa and Chris but, I have the memory !!
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| Solar powered Ferris Wheel |
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| Lobsters |
Saturday was the a "first date" kinda of feel for me and California, you know that feeling that you see something that you want to explore a little more, and it feels right. That's the way I felt after a great day of wine, and close friends and great food. I was left wanting more and for me that 'more' was nature... I hadn't seen much up to that point other than some spectacular mountain view from a backward facing limo seat (again not complaining, but not the best way to experience the view) I love exploring and taking my own sweet time to poke around and take pictures and see what an area has to offer. Sunday I got my chance, while left to my own devices for a few hours I went to see this wetland reclamation project called the Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve , it is an old oil well site that has been returned to nature in spectacular fashion, more sea birds than I have ever seen in one place, and some great trails for an leisurely stroll.
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| Snowy Egret hunting |
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| Spiny Rush (Jucus acutus) |
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| Saltgrass ( Distichlis spicata) you can actually see the excess salt it absorbs being exuded on its leaf blades |
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| Random unidentified snail |
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| Same snail but a front view , I love the detail in the small bubbles |
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| Somebody had a crab lunch, (these are relatives of the dungeness crabs), Mmmmm |
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| A huge flock of black skimmers |
Crystaline Ice Plant ( Mesembryanthemum crystallinum), a non-native plant, but the detail in the shot makes it look like it is made of gumdrops and who doesn't like candy....
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| Western, and California gulls |
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| The trail serves a duel purpose, a path and a levee |
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| close up shot of a black skimmer |
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| More birds, skimmers, gulls, brown pelicans (endangered in Southern California), pelagic and double breasted cormorants, and many others I couldn't ID at this distance |
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| Birds all over the place |
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| Beach evening primrose ( Camissonia cheiranthifolia) |
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| As yet unidentified flower, but I'm still looking |
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| Black Phoebe |
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| Panorama of the wetland vegetation and its amazing colors |
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| Juvenile Great Blue Heron (he has the punk rock phase still happening) |
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| MULLET... not the haircut.... |
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| some giant spiny rush, almost 2m tall!!! |
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| Beach Sand Verbena ( Abronia umbellata) |
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| Pied-billed grebe and an American Coot |
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| Great egret hunting |
The hike around the Bolsa Chica Wetland was really great, an unexpected find in the midst of a surfing competition in Huntington Beach, and Sunday Funday beach goer's. My real goal for Sunday was to visit one of the few rocky kelp forest coastal areas left around LA. A place called Abalone Cove Shoreline Park in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. it is off the beaten path (which by the way has two very different definitions to people in Southern California and to people from the Mid-west. In the mid-west off the beaten path means, gravel / dirt roads lightly travelled, in California off the beaten path means it is more than 5 minutes away from an interstate highway , haha!!) So "off the beaten path" we went, cruising northwest up the coast from Long Beach, to PV as the locals call it. As we arrived there was a chain across the drive into the park, and a big sign with Severe Tire damage and spikes on the exit drive, yet 25-30 cars still remained in the lot for the park, which really made no sense, but apparently the park closes at 4PM but you are not required to leave until dusk, I guess they just don't want anyone else to come in after 4, but after looking forward to this all day, I wasn't about to let this "closure" ruin my day, so we found a semi-legal parking space outside of the park and walked down to the beach. Ill let the photos tell the rest of the story....
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| View from the bluff above the beach |
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| Down Closer to the beach, but still on a 10 foot high cliff over the rocks below |
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| Western Gulls |
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| Gooseneck barnacles and pacific mussels with some algae , love the multi colored rocks! |
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| Striped Shore Crab trying to hide from the camera |
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| Solitary Green Anemone, love the colors and detail, this guy is only about 2 inches across |
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| Knobby star (they come in purple,black and orange) this guy was stuck to the side of a rock out of the water |
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| Knobby star and a purple sea urchin |
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| Purple urchins and an Anemone ( say those last three words fast) |
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| Knobby stars, urchins and anemones, the whole tide pool gang! |
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| T and Me exploring the tide pools, well mostly me, because someone had inappropriate footwear ;) |
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| Limpets and more limpets |
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| Waves go out..... |
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| Waves come in... |
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| Look between the anemones, and you can see a brightly colored striped shore crab hiding |
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| A VERY well camo'd tidepool sculpin, these guys blend in so well it was hard to get a photo |
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| Dang...Plans are ruined! |
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| a panoramic look up the beach from the tidepools |
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| limpets staying out of the direct sun, (these guys are related to snails and can keep themselves hydrated by storing water inside their shells while exposed on the rocks |
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| Cool fly-by of a biplane |
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| Freshwater wetlands at Ballona |
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| hey buddy, don't you know you are a California ground squirrel, not a California TREE squirrel ??? |
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| Western sunflower |
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| Condo's and LAX in the distance, but behind the shrubs, civilization seems miles away |
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| Indian Blanket Flower |
Always remember: Its not the destination that matters, it's the journey !!!
Safe Travels through life my friends!!
-Bernie
