Saturday Beach Zen

Whew!  What a week it has been...

Before I get started on my to-do list for Saturday, I am going to pretend that I am back here on Pescadero Beach enjoying my moment of Zen.

Wanna come?

Pesacadero.... a Not-So-Hidden Jewel just off of Highway 1

Gosh!  I am so sorry, have been neglecting all of you this week!  So much to write about, where do I start?

How about taking you all to Pescadero?  Downtown Pescadero is a one-street, 3 block town - population of around 2000, but in the summers (especially on the weekends!) the streets swell with visitors. Pescadero is about 15 miles south of Half Moon Bay, simply drive down Highway 1 and turn left at the beautiful sandy beaches and rocks of Pesadero State Park. Can't miss it! Discover the fabulous Arcangeli Grocery Store, The Made in Pescadero store, fun antique and specialty stores,  enjoy some live music, stop in at the famous Duarte's tavern, and then head back to the beach for a stroll.....

Just have to show you a one of my favorite things from the Made in Pescadero store!  Every piece of furniture  in this showroom is absolutely, beautifully handcrafted of exotic and  native woods, and can be custom made to your specifications.  Art, pottery, photography, pillows, and quilted art round out their gallery offerings. 

 I loved these gorgeous lamps with the seashell  pottery embedded into the base of the lamp, the shade is copper painted with cork layered on top - so pretty.

Acangeli Grocery Company, open since 1929.  I can honestly tell you that the last time we drove down to Pescadero, this destination was the reason why. Their shelves are filled with specialty foods, sauces, honey, jelly and fresh baked bread, local wine, local  and local produce. Where to start?? 

Beautiful local juicy black plums..

Pepper-Cot Sauce. We brought home Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce.  Oh Mi - had bbq'd chicken with this sauce lathered on top,  with a side of fresh corn on the cob this week;  thought we were in heaven!

Artichoke Pesto bread - $3.49!  How could anyone resist this?  We hoard it until every bite is consumed...

Fig, pear,raspberry, strawberry, peach, apple preserves.... so incredibly good!   

We brought home local sage yummy honey, the artichoke bread, the sauce and 

bleu-cheese stuffed olives (Tom's favorites with his martinis!).

Then we stumbled down the street to an antique shop that we had not been in before.  Of course, I was drawn inside, I cannot resist antiquing, you never know what you might find!  We met Judy Seyk, one of the owners of Vintage Collection, and simply had a great time visiting with her.

Look at these! Vintage oars stuck in a pottery crock accompanied by a vintage croquet set.

Fabulous!   REAL badminton shuttle cocks with real feathers.  I had never seen anything like these, Judy thought I was pretty silly for taking all of the pictures, but I could just not help myself!  Loved the badminton rackets too, brought back many happy memories of hot summer days in my grandmother's backyard.

This was my real find of the day though!  Perfectly nautical lantern, constructed of copper that is now all weathered and turned to that lovely shade of verdigris. Can you see the label on the top, "Masthead"?  Wait until it's all cleaned up and the light is working again!

Now back to walk on beach. Truly this is one of my favorites stops on Highway 1, we've even driven down here after work for a picnic. Yes, we do bring wine and plastic glasses to go along with our picnic dinner -

Looking North

Great shells and tiny pieces of driftwood to find.  These mussel shells are about 4 inches long

We didn't find this piece of glass here, but I do take a lot of sea glass and product photos on this beach.  The picture should give you an idea of how fine the sand is...

Sunset is simply marvelous to watch here!

Thanks for coming with me! 

Meet the Elephant Seals at Año Nuevo State Reserve -

Going to the Año Nuevo State Reserve was absolutely the highlight of my trip last week to the Bay Area- so totally unexpected! On Wednesday when I went to visit the Marine Mammal Center in the Marin Headlands, I met an interesting gal in the gift shop who told me about the annual elephant seal event at Año Nuevo State Park. I had no idea how fascinating these creatures were until I was able to actually see them up close and personal - I wasn't even sure what an elephant seal was, except that they are HUGE!



So on Thursday, I hopped in the car with my brown-bag lunch (pb and j + fuji apple), and headed south down Hwy 1 towards Santa Cruz. The reserve is south of Half Moon Bay on Hwy 1, but before Santa Cruz. 



This is one of my favorite drives - doesn't matter if it's rain or shine, I always find something to stop and look at. Pigeon Point Lighthouse was my first stop; a vintage, tumbling down lighthouse perched on a cliff surrounded by pounding waves. There's a cat-walk the runs in front of the lighthouse out across the rocks, a little rickety, be very careful if you decide to walk out to the edge. Priceless view of surf pouring in-between the rocks and pelicans dodging waves, playing in the wind!

Not too much father down the road is the State Reserve at Ano Nuevo. This reserve is set up to protect marine mammals and marine plants on the California Coast - and is possibly the largest breeding colony for elephant seals. The breeding season begins in December and goes through March; we were told that at the height of the season there can be as many as 4000-6000 elephant seals on the beaches at the Reserve!



The only way to see the elephant seals is by guided volunteer tours down to the beach. If you do plan on visiting, I would recommend calling ahead of time to schedule your free tour - sometimes booked up for months in advance! (I just got lucky!) As the walk is over 3 miles round-trip, I would also recommend that you dress in layers, bring binoculars,a good camera, and wear good shoes. The walk is not difficult, you just might have to walk in mud puddles and sand.



Male elephant seals can weigh as much a 4000 pounds - females around 1400 pounds, babies begin their life at 75 pounds, but will grow up to 600 pounds just in the first few months! The day that I was at the Reserve there were 1400 + females, 600 males and countless babies - more being born every minute. We actually got to see a few babies being born!


Fascinating to learn about these incredible animals - although they are mammals, they can stay underwater for up to an hour, and migrate approximately 8000 miles per year!

Breeding season is really the only time that they come ashore for any length of time, spending most of the year at sea . Elephant seals do not eat during this period of time, resulting in a weight loss for the males of up to 50% of their total body weight.

Females group in "harems" with one large bull male protecting and impregnating them... wild to watch! Bull males fight over the females, most of the time the leader is able to scare off other males by simply making a lot of noise. Amazed at how fast they could move on the sand when they were challenged - also a good reminder that they really are wild animals, and can be dangerous.

In December when the females begin arriving, they start having their pups almost as soon as they arrive on the beach, feeding them until March. Then the moms return to sea leaving the pups to fend for themselves. Nature seems sort of cruel, but the babies are weaned by that time, they somehow figure out how to start swimming and finding food for themselves. The males are the last to leave - hoping to impregnate every last female that they can. Isn't nature grand?

This big male was enjoying a bit of sunshine and a nap! Our guide told us that these males that were laying back in the dunes were the "losers", the girl seals weren't interested... I thought he was kinda cute!

This mom found herself with 3 pups - 2 that were not hers,

they were just greedy!

Weaner pups back in the dunes - way too cute for words!

I am not the greatest video person on the planet, but at least you can get an idea of how many elephant seals were on the beach and how noisy they are!

I really hope that you get a chance to experience this opportunity to walk among the elephant seals at Ano Nuevo. This is an incredible reminder of how precious the life in our seas is, and how little we really know about our oceans.