Pajaro Dunes to Sunset Beach State Park, Watsonville, California

 Waning Gibbous Moon

Thursday's walk was an extension of last week's Pajaro Dunes to the Pajaro River survey. Instead of walking south along the beach to the mouth of the river, this time I headed north up to Sunset Beach State Park and back. But not before I stopped for breakfast. A Denver Omelet with house potatoes and sourdough toast was calling my name from the deep blue exterior of the Beach Street Café and I had to stop. It was darn near perfect and so was the service. Counter dude heaven.

The day prior I had ducked into the San Juan Bautista Public Library to check out a California State Parks Day Use Pass. This (new this summer) pass allows me to park in day use lots in most state parks and state beaches for free for the next few weeks. Deal! It saved me ten bucks in the Pajaro Dunes parking lot yesterday and put an even bigger post-omelet smile on my face.

On a chilly, overcast morning, I pounded over the dunes and down to the surf to hang a right and see what I could see. Mostly I saw little snippets of crabs in the wash and lots of gulls hanging out waiting for breakers to bring new stinky things to fight over with their friends.

This dead jelly has an interesting profile, methinks.

It took about an hour to walk to Sunset Beach and up to the overlook there. The Sun began to break through the marine layer right about when I got to the top. When it did, it started to heat up the sand, creating an updraft, which drew in the cool air from above the ocean, creating a strong sea breeze and whipping up the surf. The day got better by the minute.

ADA accessible ramp at Sunset from the day use parking lot.

The ag fields extend almost all the way to the beach here.

On the way back, I inspected the dunes a little bit and got my fill of wave watching.

Pretty cool day overall. I have now walked the whole coastline from the Salinas River to Sunset Beach. Next up is Sunset to Manresa. Not a very big deal, but I will see where this idea takes me.

Peace, Love, and Free Parking,

Jim

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