Wilder Ranch State Park and Fitzgerald Marine Reserve

  Amanda and I had an entire Sunday with nothing planned, so we decided to make a date out of it.  And what's better at the end of January than a day at the beach?  I've realized that there are many things about the Bay Area that I like, and today highlighted pretty much all of them.  The first thing: the weather.  This past week, it has been near 70 and sunny almost everyday, and today was no different.  So, decked out in flippy-floppys and a Michigan t-shirt for good measure, Amanda and I made the 40 minute drive through the Santa Cruz Mountains to Wilder Ranch State Park.  Which brings me to the second thing I love: the ocean.

  Wilder Ranch State Park is actually a huge brussel sprout farm that happens to lie right along the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean.  Bike trails sprawl along the edge of the cliffs, offering fantastic views of the beaches and caves at the base.  The park is packed with wildlife: one of the beaches is a preserve for endangered plover birds ("plover" like "clover", or "plover" like "lover"? We don't know), and we saw a little patch of rocks that seals were using to sunbathe.

  

  We finally came across a beach that was easily accessible.  It was even equipped with a little cave!  The ferns had grown so long that they touched our heads when we went in to explore.

                                                                       
The third thing I love: the nature.

  Amanda was exploring the inside of the fern cave.  Even though it's hard to tell, the picture below is of seals sunbathing on the rocks.







  After Wilder Ranch, we drove up the coast toward San Francisco.  The drive was amazing, with the ocean on our left and mountains and forests on our right.  I wish I had taken pictures, but you'll have to take my word for it.  We stopped at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve about 15 miles outside of San Francisco.  The whole beach was one big tide pool area.  Wildlife galore!  Even though we were there at high tide (slight fail on our part), there was a lot to see (and touch!).

 





  Amanda, playing with the sea anemones.

 

 



  They would contract every time we touched them.  This guy was particularly large.

 


To the left, Crabby McCrabberson!  And below, more seals resting on the beach.  We will definitely be making this trip again, and we'll be sure to check the tide times!

  

  The fourth, and last (at least for this post), thing I love: San Francisco.  After a day of fun in the sun, Amanda and I continued our drive up the coast to SF.  We ate at a little restaurant that served fresh, locally grown food before we headed back home.  All in all, a great day!