Sunset Cliffs Park, San Diego

 "Ho′ dad": A non-surfer who frequents surfing beaches and pretends to be a surfer. 

Under 99 gazillion sold!!

 

Sticker van!

 On my last post, I mentioned Ocean Beach is a fun, quirky place. The above two photos gives you a flavor of this cool little beach town! We had barely scratched the surface before we decided to go check out something on the map called "Sunset Cliffs" (a very short drive from Ocean Beach).

 

Sunset Cliffs: Looking north.

 

Looking south.

Sunset Cliffs extend quite a distance down the beach. It was mid-day and cloudy, but I can totally imagine how beautiful it must be here during a beautiful sunset. You could spend the better part of a day hiking and exploring the cliffs, both up on top and down below on the beach (best to go during low tide). You will see arches, caves, Rum Runner Cove, Smuggler's Cove, and multiple lookout points. I really wanted to see and explore Sunset Cliffs Cave, which has a large circular opening to the sky, but you need a good low tide to get into the cave. The tide was high for us, so nothing doing.

 

Photo credit: UCSD Gardian

Sunset Cliffs Cave: I only wish this was my photo! What an amazing cave. When the tide comes in, you could float in here on a kayak (or swim in, which would be extremely dangerous). You can walk in during a good low tide, but you better make sure you don't stay long, and get out before the tide rises!

 

The ocean has done a beautiful job eroding the sandstone into interesting shapes!

 

 

We even managed to get the dog in the picture, although we couldn't get her to smile!

 

Time to head back to town for some dinner. Maybe a burger at Hodads?

Thanks for stopping by!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Ocean Beach, CA

 Google describes Ocean Beach (San Diego) as "a vibrant, bohemian neighborhood, with a classic SoCal beach vibe." I think that's pretty accurate. It feels old school: Older homes, unique stores and restaurants, and dripping with personality. It's like the big money developers have somehow missed this slice of beach heaven, and that's exactly why we wanted to spend a few days here.

We stayed at the Ocean Villa Inn. Nothing fancy... It's your basic motel, although pretty rundown, but it had two important things going for it: [1] Location (right on the beach) and [2] dog friendly. On one side of the motel is Dog Beach, so this place (and actually the whole town) is like taking your dog on vacation! Dogs seem to be welcome everywhere. In the photo above, you can see my wife holding our dog, a rescue that had joined our family only a few weeks prior.

 

For this post, Lilly & I will take you on a walk to Ocean Beach Pier.

 

From our motel, it was a nice walk down the beach to the pier. I think I recall reading that Ocean Beach Pier is the longest concrete pier in California. Or maybe in the US? Anyway, it's long and has an unusual "T" shape. 

On the pier, looking at the left side of the "T"

 

About half way out on the pier was one of those wonderful old seafood restaurants. This one looked like it had been here a long time and weathered many a storm. The perfect spot to enjoy fish & chips and a cold one, but we had already eaten, so I settled for a photo of the view out one of the restaurant windows.

Photo opp outside of the restaurant. Watch out, Lilly!!

 

I don't recall what we were laughing at, but I know we were having fun!

 

Classic SoCal beach vibe!

 

One of the locals. Might be a vendor, packed up his wares and done for the day.

 

 

The beautiful sunset over the ocean already had me on skywatch overload, but facing away from the beach I was also being treated to a gorgeous moonrise!

 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Joshua Tree Sunset

 Sometimes a Joshua Tree and a pretty sunset is all you need. On this particular day I was looking for a simple sunset hike. No, not even a hike... More of a stroll. I won't mention the specific location where I took said stroll, although it's near a common tourist stop. It never disappoints. I always come away with some pretty shots and a good feeling!

 

 

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Hope you've been able to get out and enjoy some pretty skies. 

Thanks for stopping by!!

The Pumpkin King

 

My favorite neighborhood Halloween decoration. This Jack Skellington statue stands about 12-14' tall. Very impressive!

 

If you celebrate Halloween, I hope you had a good one!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.