While planning my San Diego sightseeing list, I learned excellent tide pool experiences existed, which are best seen in late autumn and early winter.
Since we’d be there for Thanksgiving week, I put the Point Loma Tide Pools at the top of my list…since I’ve never seen a tide pool at any sandy beach I’ve been to.
HIGH TIDE – POINT LOMA TIDE POOLS
On our first, and only, full day in San Diego, we visited the tide pools, but they were at high tide.
Even so, the views were amazing!
Like a Monet painting, the moody setting transformed to sparkling gorgeousness once the sun came out from behind the clouds.
Although I could easily absorb the stunning views and sensory experiences of crashing waves all day, there were lots of new things for me to explore for the first time, like Top Gun movie sites, so we pressed on with the hope of next time.
ROCKY INTERTIDAL ZONE
From the area signage, I learned that there are two high tides and two low tides a day.
At low tide one never knew what sea life might be discovered, but the signs indicated possibilities of urchins and crabs, which I hoped for.
That night at the hotel, the landlocked Central Texas gal now lost in Northern Virginia researched tide schedules for the first time in her life!
Funny thing, in college I took a geology/oceanography class, but the entirety of the semester was a deep dive into geology with field trips in Central Texas. On the last day of class before the final, we squeezed in basic terminology for oceanography…I always thought, someday I’ll catch up on what I missed.
Unlike any beach I’ve ever experienced in Texas, Virginia, or Florida, this spot at Point Loma wasn’t anything like a beach.
Instead, it was a totally new ecosystem to me, so I devoured tons of material on my phone while falling asleep.
The next morning I told my husband that low tide would begin to ebb away at the opening of the Cabrillo Monument that morning, our last day in San Diego, already filled with plans to meet family.
So, instead of hanging out at Liberty Station for all the photo ops I yearned to grab under the clear blue skies, I opted for another trip to the Tide Pools!
LOW TIDE – POINT LOMA TIDE POOLS
And there they were! Wow!
Carefully climbing down to the tide pools, I absorbed the sensory feelings as the Pacific Ocean waves crashed upon my rocky surroundings, so unlike my previous sandy beach experiences. Enjoy my youtube video here.
Although we found a lot of kelp, there weren’t any crabs, urchins, or starfish as I’ve longed dreamed of seeing in their natural habitat.
However, there were lots of limpets on the rocks.
POINT LOMA GEOLOGY
Since we were no longer at peak low tide, there wasn’t as much to see…yet there was SO much to SEE…like the geology that forms this ecoystem of intertidal life.
Love this incredible shelf where sea creatures might, at other times, hide.
While the dark boulders and rocks are igneous (volcanic) basalt, the lighter cliffs are layered sandstone and shale, that cleave into rectangular sections.
Cleavage is one of many methods used to identify minerals, which comprise rocks.
Interestingly, minerals always split along their weakest point, according to their chemical structure.
Since sandstone is comprised of an assortment of minerals of various grains, they are often tightly compacted.
Even though shale is comprised of some of the same minerals as sandstone, it has a tendency to easily split into layers.
These colorful cliffs that line the San Diego coasline are named Sunset Cliffs, due to their lovely setting for viewing sunsets.
The sandstone and shale layers of the Point Loma Foundation (as it’s geologically named) are easily seen at low tide.
Experiencing the variations of low and high tides among the cliffs with caves, I recalled my favorite Victoria Holt Gothic Romance, Bride of Pendoric, set in Cornwall, England.
LUNCH ON THE SAN DIEGO BAY
Sadly, I pulled myself away to return to our lodging to change clothes, pack, and move our souvenirs and bags to the car.
Then we drove to CLevel Lounge on Harbor Island, where we sat next to massive picture windows allowing us to view every inch of the San Diego Bay to meet my husband’s cousin (D) and her husband (F).
At the top of my sightseeing list, with the tide pools, I yearned to see sea lions, seals, and sea otters on the California coastline. My husband warned that is next to impossible.
So here I was, right on the San Diego Bay watching boats, while hoping for a sea lion.
After an amazing lunch, D asked me to take a walk with her as we chatted girl talk in the amazing setting of Harbor Island.
Returning to the guys, we said our final goodbyes and drove off for a few days in Rancho Bernardo to meet more of my husband’s family.
SEA LION SIGHTING
En route, my husband told me that a few minutes after I left with D for a walk, a sea lion popped his head out of the water right where I was sitting, looking for me. (imagine a sea lion perched on those rocks)
Not finding me, the sea lion quickly popped away.
Oh no! I just missed him!
My husband, who was astounded that happened, proclaimed (again) that he had never seen sea lions, seals, or sea otters in the San Diego Bay area, much less on the coastline.
Elatedly, I responded: Stick with me, Babe! Stay tuned!
