Half Moon Bay to Point Lobos

It was a wonderfully rainy day yesterday.  It was the kind of rainy day that left a person mostly dry but kept everything in sight wet.  Not always soaked, mind you, things were sometimes in a state of drying out but had obviously been very wet only an hour or two ago.  It was the kind of day the Oregon coast does often and well.  We get these types of days less frequently in California, but our coast knows how to put its own spin on just such a day.

Half Moon Bay, CA

My first stop on the day's route was at Half Moon Bay.  No special reason other than that's where Highway 92 ends.  When we lived on the Peninsula this was our beach town.  It has a couple of nice golf courses and a few nice views and a large surf break known as Mavericks.  Throw in a couple of surf shops and chowder houses and I'm not sure there's much more to this nice little town.  Pumpkins and Christmas trees, I guess.

San Gregorio State Beach, CA

Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk

My plan was to drive South down to Point Lobos.  Unlike some drives, making it to my destination was kind of important to me this time.  I haven't been there in a while because it's not at all dog friendly and most of my recent coast trips have been with Pongo.  I specifically left him behind so I could go to Point Lobos, so although it actually wasn't at all important whether or not I reached my destination it felt important to me if for no other reason than Pongo's sacrifice should not go in vain.

Pescadero State Beach, CA

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Brant

It's hard to drive by Moss Landing without stopping for a few pictures of the otters.  I wasn't sure how the photos would turn with no sun peeking through the clouds.  My big lens needs a lot of light.  I got a few shots that weren't too bad.  I also saw a couple of brants.  They aren't rare birds, I guess, but they are rare for me to see.

Gull and Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Headland Cove, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, CA

By the time I got to Point Lobos the sun was starting to peek out from behind the clouds.  It was off and on, but when it was on it was pretty spectacular.  Not much else to say.

Allen Memorial Grove, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, CA

South Point, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, CA

South Point, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, CA

Headland Cove, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, CA

Pacific Grove Golf Links

Golf!

Black-tailed Fawns

Saturday Sam and I joined Jim and his father Jim, Sr. for a round at one of out favorite golf courses: Pacific Grove Golf Links.  It's a municipal track on Point Pinos.  I've seen it described as one of the best municipal golf course in the country, and you won't get an argument from me.  Harding Park and the Presidio in San Francisco offer more difficult golf challenges, but Point Pinos is one of the Pacific Coasts most spectacular locations.  What Pacific Grove Golf Links lacks in challenge--from the tips it's a par 70 at 5,732 yards with a rating/slope of 67.9/113--it makes up for in scenic beauty matched only by the Monterey Peninsula's finest course like Pebble Beach and Cypress Point.

Black-tailed Deer --  Pacific Grove Golf Links, CA

You cannot play a round of golf at Pacific Grove without encountering deer.  These are urban deer who are accustomed to being around people.  That makes for some nice opportunities for photographs without even working for them.

Pacific Grove Golf Links, CA

Black-tailed Deer

There's nothing special about the front nine.  The holes are packed tightly into a few block of housing real estate.  I do not like housing development courses, but Pacific Grove isn't that kind of course.  It predates that awful approach to building golf courses.  While the front nine routes through real estate land, few houses actually line the course.  The course borders are often streets rather than back yards.  The back yards that do line the course never seem to come into play.  Well, except for one particular back yard that juts into the course at a hard right angle.  It shouldn't be in play if you're hitting the ball right, but the hole isn't visible for a lot of approach shots on this particular par five so that nasty corner comes into play more than it probably should.

Pacific Grove Golf Links, CA

This course is all about the back nine.  These holes are all out on the point, unprotected from the elements.  The ocean can be seen and the wind elements felt and heard on every fairway.  The holes wind through the dunes which will come into play on wayward shots.  That's the kind of sand you don'tr want to be in.  It is heavy and unforgiving.

Pacific Grove Golf Links, CA

Pacific Grove Golf Links, CA

Pacific Grove Golf Links, CA

The back nine surrounds the Point Pinos Lighthouse on all sides.  It's a cute little lighthouse that makes a nice centerpiece for the dune holes.  How many golf courses have their own functioning lighthouse?  Ha.  I thought of one other: Harbor Town in South Carolina.  Never been there, but that's a course I'd sure like to play.

Pacific Grove Golf Links, CA

Sam and I had planned to go whale watching after the round of golf, but the excursion was cancelled due to high winds and surf.  That was a bummer.  I took Sam to Moss Landing instead to see the raft of sea otters.  Not as dramatic as whales, but still pretty cool.

Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

We saw more brown pelicans than I've ever seen in one place before.  It's hard not to like pelicans.  They look so awkward but sometimes I wonder if they don't take themselves a little less serious than most birds.  We also saw a golden eagle on the other side of 101.  That made for a pretty good day of both golf and animal sightings.

Brown Pelican -- Moss Landing, CA

Brown Pelican -- Moss Landing, CA

Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve

Soundtrack:

• The Decemberists -- The Hazards of Love
• Sleater-Kinney -- No Cities to Love
• Red House Painters -- Old Ramon

If you're in Northern California looking for a place to go kayaking, this is the spot.  There's a ton of wildlife, the waters are calm and while the current can be strong at points in the slough it's always manageable, at least from my experience.

Moss Landing, CA

Jim and I drove down Moss Landing on Saturday for a little kayaking excursion.  We spent a couple of hours on the water with the seals and sea otters.  Unfortunately the traffic was nasty getting there, but it didn't mar the experience.

Harbor Seal -- Moss Landing, CA

As usual, the seals were hauled out in the sandbar in the harbor.  The tide was sort of low making the passage to the back of the harbor narrow.  Even as we hugged the opposite side of the passage we ended close enough to the seals to smell 'em.  They stink, if you were curious.  Cuddly looking, though.

Harbor Seal -- Moss Landing, CA

Harbor Seal -- Moss Landing, CA

Harbor Seal -- Moss Landing, CA

Harbor Seal -- Moss Landing, CA

A sea otter had hauled out near the seals.  Their size is deceptive.  They look a lot smaller in the water, I suppose because their heads don't seem to match the size of their bodies.  This particular otter was almost as large as some of the smaller seals and much larger than the little guy in the photo above.

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

A raft of otters has always been present every time I've visited Moss Landing.  This time was no different, although this time they weren't lacked closely together.  From what I've read it's only the males that gather together in groups like this.  The ladies tend to keep to themselves, especially when they have youngsters.  There was at least one mother and pup in the estuary and later in the harbor.  She and her young one seemed to keep their distance from the rough and tumble groups of what I presumed were males.

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

We saw a lot of birds as well.  I don't take a lot of pictures of gulls, mostly because they're so damned hard to identify.  Heerman's gulls are easy, though, and they're pretty in a way most gulls aren't, so I don't hesitate to fire away at a heerman's.

Heerman's Gull -- Moss Landing, CA

There were a few common loons hanging around as well.  They're sightly birds.

Common Loon -- Moss Landing, CA

Common Loon -- Moss Landing, CA

We encountered a number of otters in the slough.  They seem to have life figured out.  Float around on their backs.  Eat fresh seafood.  Primp.  Float some more. Not a bad life, if you ask me.

Southern Sea Otter -- Elkhorn Slough, CA

Elkhorn Slough, CA

Southern Sea Otter -- Elkhorn Slough, CA

Southern Sea Otter -- Elkhorn Slough, CA

After kayaking, I took a leisurely drive up the coast to Half Moon Bay where I cut over on 92 to get home.  All in all, it was a pretty great day.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse, CA