Año Nuevo Reserve

We got 2015 started with our annual return to Año Nuevo State Park down near Santa Cruz. The weather, as most of you know, was spectacular. A little too spectacular for January. Forty of us made our way down the coast, and hiked out to see the elephant seals. We saw all the usual sights–males fighting, females raising their pups, pups calling out for milk, and dodging the 5000-pound behemoths around them. It’s sometimes hard after so many years to remember that this is a really unique place to be close to wildlife and see them act like we aren’t even there.

The highlight of the day for most of the kids was after the tour, when we walked down to nearby Cove Beach. The tide was way out, so we had a long and wide swath of beach. The sun was warm and bright, and the ocean felt cool on our toes. The kids (and adults) had an hour of free time, and it was hard to accept that we’d have to keep our day moving and head back north.

We did receive special ‘funding’ for an ice cream stop in Half Moon Bay. Some kids said it was their first time ever to Baskin Robbins. We love giving the kids ‘new experiences’!

We’ve found that the Pacifica Pier is a great place to stop and see something different (and free!). Lots of people were crabbing and fishing, huge waves rolled in far below us, and the sun was setting off to the west. We fought the bridge traffic, made a quick stop on Treasure Island, and called it a day.

If you have an extra few minutes, the slideshow video is here:

We’re still hoping for a trip to the snow this year at the end of the month. The only thing we’re waiting on, is, well, snow. A big storm is coming this weekend, you may have heard, so we’ll see if it gets cold enough to drop what we’re looking for. Otherwise we’ll have to get creative!

Our new shirts are being printed, and should be ready in the next couple weeks.

Thanks for reading, and we’ll talk to you soon.