ESCAPE to Año Nuevo

The pier, the seals, and the lighthouse…

Our sincerest apologies, as the ESCAPE Club Publicity Department has been pretty backed up, and we’re a little behind on our reports! January’s trip to Año Nuevo was a good one, though.  We fit in three great stops on a sunny, but brisk winter day.

Our first stop was the Pacifica Pier.  Walking out on the long, concrete pier offers a chance to watch massive, thundering waves crash below our feet.  We watched as locals fished for crab, and other tasty treats from the sea.  If you’ve never been there, check it out.  It’s free, even to fish!

We continued on to our marquee destination, Año Nuevo State Reserve. Thousands of elephant seals migrate here every year to give birth, compete for females, mate, and enjoy the California sunshine. Numbers seemed down this year, possibly due to the fact that there are other viable locations to hang out, like Point Reyes and San Simeon. We took our tour out to the beach with our docent, and got a close up look at the giant alpha bulls, nursing moms, and pups who can gain 10 lbs. a day from their mother’s rich (50% fat) milk. In the distance, we could even see a couple births, and the excitement it brings to hungry seagulls!

We wrapped up the day at the nearby Pigeon Point Lighthouse. Not much to see here, except a towering 100-year-old lighthouse, the vast Pacific, and a stunning sunset. It was a clear reminder of how good we have it here in the Bay Area with so many attractions nearby that we take for granted.

Enjoy the photos, maybe even our slideshow video, and please excuse the delay in communication. We’ll be back very soon with our summary of February’s trip to the snow!

A short one this month…