An Afternoon at the Seaside

Yesterday afternoon we went down to King Harbor to walk and enjoy the sea. It was a lovely day with warm sun and a cool sea breeze. We walked along the water front looking at the different boats and talking about what features we liked and disliked.

The most interesting boat we saw was a small wooden sloop about twenty feet or so that was set up with oarlock for rowing. We talked to the owner about it and he showed us the wooden oars which were fourteen feet long.

I was surprised at the large number of sea creatures in the marina. In addition to the more-or-less omnipresent opaleye and mussels, we saw limpets, abalone, and pinnipeds. Two dolphins were playing or eating in one of the fairways until a sailboat motored past in the main channel. One of them rushed off to “race” the boat to its slip. A baby bat ray glided past the opaleye feeding among the rocks. Seagulls and a pelican flew overhead. A pair of swell sharks went swimming by on a romantic seafood date, much to the dismay of the smaller opaleye. There was also a pair of western grebes sleeping on the water and several pairs of mallard ducks paddling among the boats. The sun was just setting into the pacific as we drove back home on the PCH.

All in all it was a very pleasant afternoon- I can’t wait to live on a boat!