Pigeon Point Lighthouse & Tide Pools

For New Years Day, we decided to take a trip to the beach.  We really didn't know where we wanted to go, but we headed west anyway.  Half Moon Bay was crazy packed/busy so we just kept heading down the coast & found the most amazing things at Pigeon Point.  The first thing we saw was this amazing lighthouse.  I love lighthouses.  This one was gorgeous.

There was a little path down from the base of the lighthouse that took you down to the beach which ended up NOT being a beach at all, but a bunch of tide pools.  I guess when the ocean is at low tide here, you can walk on the ocean floor & see all the cool things that live at the bottom of the ocean.  The tide comes in at around 6pm & everything on that beach is under 6 feet of water at that point.  We were SO glad we came when we did because we had the time of our lives exploring all afternoon before the tide came in.

There were so many cool rocks, anemones, shells, oysters, crabs. . . SO many things to see.

The kids loved the anemones.  When you touch them (gently) they move & sometimes even spit water at you.

I was surprised at how many oysters & clams we found.  We were very careful to not step on or harm anything as we explored.  It was amazing.

There were SO MANY starfish too.  It was SO cool.  I'd never seen a starfish in the wild before.  And the pictures just don't do them justice.  They are all still under water.  There were little pools of water everywhere & that's where all the animals were.  The water was crystal clear & just beautiful.

There were tons of crabs too.  Cadence would scream every time one ran past her.

The coral was beautiful.  It was all over the sand.  There was white coral & purple coral & red coral.  Just gorgeous.

The starfish were so bright & vibrant.

And we found a live jellyfish in one of the pools.  How cool is that?

Lorien found a lobster claw on the sand.

The kids had so much fun.  Sometimes NOT having a plan & just exploring is the best way to spend time as a family.   What a wonderful New Years we had.

Back up at the light house, there was a little museum where you could see how the lens' of the lighthouse worked.  It was really cool.

What a wonderful, calming, peacful day.  If you haven't been to Pigeon Point, GO.  It was perfect.