Two of my favorite days on our trip were our days at the beach. The first day we visited Rialto beach, which was very close to camp. Low tide was early and it was about a mile hike up the beach to split rock and the best tide pool locations. So we got up early and hiked up the beach to check out the tide pools. It started out a cool and misty morning. Addi didn't have a rain jacket so she wore Chris's which was more than a little big but worked. The tide pools were SO MUCH fun! Star fish and anemone's everywhere, fish nudibrach, crabs, shrimp, snails. It cleared up and warmed up as the sun came up, and as we walked back along the beach the girls had a blast just running and playing in the waves and the sand. It is all national seashore, and we saw amazingly few people and almost no garbage. Addi was very sad that she couldn't collect any rocks, but that didn't stop her from dancing and enjoying the beach. There were seabird colonies all along the rocky outcrops so we also saw eagles, puffins, pelicans, and many pelagic seabirds. Chris and I both got many lifers. The girls spent the afternoon in camp working on their junior ranger badges and ocean explorers badges, and we found showers at a nearby state park for us all to feel a little cleaner.
We spent the second day at Second Beach, which we had to hike 1 mile in old growth forest to get to. The hike itself was beautiful and the beach was equally stunning. The low tide made a sand bar accessible out to one of the rocky outcrops that had a bunch of sea caves. The walls and pools of sea stars were impressive. There was a little inlet created by some of the rocks, and we watched a sea otter really close to shore just playing, eating and sleeping for a long time. He was super fun to watch. The girls played in the sand and waves for hours, and then we hiked back. The beaches were beautiful! On our last evening, Addi and I drove back down to Rialto beach and watched the sunset. It was a beautiful evening.
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