Sea lions & tide pools

Autumn is definitely in full swing here in CA. In the Sacramento area, we experience both sides of the pendulum in temperatures. It's hot during the day, but quite chilly at night. So you layer in the mornings only take most of the layers off by midday because it feels like summer!

This past weekend, I went to Ukiah to spend it with Jeff. Saturday afternoon, we went to Mackerricher State Park to see the sea lions and wander around the tidepools. It was a gorgeous day to be over on the coast. Not a cloud in the sky and the tide was still out, so we got to see alot of sea life. There were numerous starfish, as well as oodles of sea anemones, not to mention all the hermit crabs, barnacles...we even saw a live California Red Abalone. Too bad I wasn't thinking to take a picture of it. With the abalone season having taken place in August, we were surprised to see this one in such close proximity to the beach. Jeff tried to pry it off and place it in deeper water, but that thing was hanging on for dear life and wouldn't budge. Below are a few pics of our outing.

Sea lions were lounging all over the rocks, as well as seagulls keeping them company. In addition to the adults, there were some young ones interspersed on the rocks as well.




There were starfish (or seastars to be more accurate) all over the place. On one large rock, Jeff & I counted almost 50 of them. Burgandy, orange, large, medium, small, they were all out in the tide pools waiting for the tide to come in.

Ever seen a baby starfish before? I hadn't either...until this trip to the beach. I think they're the cutest things! This particular one is hanging onto a piece of seaweed.

Another beautiful Pacific sunset. Jeff & I sat on a bluff overlooking the beach and watched the sun slowly get swallowed up by the ocean. There were several of us all perched up and down the bluffs enjoying the scene.