The elk were out in force at the Tule Elk preserve. Just off the road we saw about 20-30 elk, mostly does and a buck or two. We took pictures. Some does were as close as 15 ft away. Further down the road we saw a large group of young bucks, possibly as many as 12-15 of them with impressive racks. Two bucks were play sparring. They did not seem spooked by our car. Of course, since we don't know the etiquette for the distance at which they are comfortable, we did not take pictures outside of the car. The signs for rutting season are still up at the preserve and it's important to be careful.
We went to Chimney Rock at around 11:30 and saw a big group of elephant seals. There was an especially loud bull, the biggest, and many elephant seals that had newly born pups. We had binoculars and could see them well. One pup was no older than a few hours. There were naturalists there that had set up a number of expensive telescopes for the purpose of counting and tracking the population. They said there are almost always elephant seals to see here and depending on the time of year we would be able to see moms and pups, weaners, males, etc.
The weather during this period of time was spectacularly clear. We saw more ocean and bay from the house than ever before. On the way to Chimney Rock and Drakes Beach the sun glistening on the cow ponds causing the water to sparkle like diamonds. Even the grasses seemed to shimmer with light at the end of each stalk. The ocean water was a vivid blue. We could see the Farrollones and San Francisco easily from many places on the point. The weather was extremely cold. So cold that we had frost repeatedly in the mornings and had to cover the new Tibuchinas. I hope nothing gets damaged in the frost. It was quite windy at times as well.
We went to the Lighthouse and the weather was again very cold, windy and crystal clear. The family saw a few grey whales while they were at the Lighthouse which was very gratifying as the climb down to the lighthouse is equivalent to 30 floors of continuous stairs. The whales came quite close to the lighthouse because of its position on the point. They were very lucky because no whales had been spotted for 4 days and none had been seen earlier in the day as well. With a window of time of about 30 minutes max at the lighthouse - to have seen whales was very lucky. The ranger at the gift shop said that whale watching was particularly difficult on days as windy as the one we had. The wind whisks away the spouting so fast that you have difficulty spotting whales. We were told that early January is the time when the whales travel south to warmer waters but that they often travel farther off the coast so close in spotting is not as prevalent. We were told that February is not a big whale month. Only teenage stragglers and not in groups. However the best time for whale watching is supposed to be March when they travel northward. The moms are occupanied by babies and they frolic and spyhop close to the shore right up to the breakers. It's supposedly easy to see them and they take their time not like in January when they make a beeline to get to warmer water.
We went to North Beach. Very windy. We almost got blown down. It looks expansive like Ocean Beach but wilder with wilder waves and winds.
Drakes Beach was much more protected, and warm. We saw a crazy guy who went surfing without a wetsuit. He turned pretty red. We worried some that something bad could happen because it looked so foolhardy but he survived. The Drakes Beach Cafe had delicious healthy food. This is definitely not a greasy spoon. Fresh organic local greens, a salmon quesadilla that was really good, chowder that was very fresh. We learned that they did dinners by reservation only on Friday nights so we decided to give it a try and come back that night for dinner.
We adventured into the park at 7:40 to get to Drakes Beach Cafe by our 8:00 reservation. The drive is great. There are no people anywhere along those roads. Just us and the stars. No lights anywhere except our car lights. The stars were fabulous and looking at the surf at night was also a treat. It was exceptionally cold so we all came bundled up. We had been asked to bring any wine that we would be wanting to drink since they don't sell alcohol. There is no corkage fee. The place was very cold. They had a woodburning stove but didn't seem to know how to work it so when we arrived they were fiddling with the flue because they started to smoke up the joint. The place was very sweet as they had transformed it by putting out white tablecloths and had table settings with wine goblets etc. The young couple that run the place are very cute. He is the chef. Talented, friendly, and very willing to talk recipes and give us his cooking tips and secrets. She is the front person and the main waitress, very sweet and good at her job. The food was amazing. Fresh, local, and organic. All wonderfully cooked and the presentation was gourmet as well. Everything was tasty. The butternut squash soup with nutmeg creme fraiche, the beet salad, the crab cakes, the salmon, the Lunny Ranch beef, and the sunchoke puree. All incredible. We felt we had had an adventure and made a wonderful discovery. The prices were 8-9 for starters and 16-21 for main dishes. The portions are small so they encourage people to choose 2 items. We of course shared everything around so that everybody got to try tastes of it all. We will definitely go back again and again. They have been doing this since May. They say it's best to get reservations early in the week as they shop according to how many people that are coming. We were able to get a reservation that night because it was January but I'm sure it won't stay like that as they become more known and the weather gets warmer. Especially now that Manka's has burned down.
I discovered that there is a movie house in Point Reyes Station called Take 2. There is a phone number to call to get the schedule posted on the door. It's on B Street.
The family went on an expedition to the east side of Tomales Bay. We went through Marshall and dropped in at the conference center to check it out. Large jackrabbits were zig-zagging on the grounds at a clip. We got a particularly good photo of a large rabbit just poised at attention just a few yards away. I had no idea they were this big and watching them run was a trip.
We drove up through Tomales and on to Dillon Beach. It's really a beach town. At Dillon beach we watched the kite surfers prep and start out into the waves and then kite surf. It's beautiful but looked very difficult. The wind was very strong. Dillon beach is divided into old Dillon Beach which has smaller homes very close together much like old Ventura, Carpinteria, or Manhattan Beach, and the newer mega-homes on the bluff with lots of room and expansive views of the tip of the Point Reyes National Park and the mouth of Tomales Bay.
The family went on a Salmon Tour with Spawn USA. We learned that it is very late in the season and that there are very few fish left to see spawn at this time. High season begins in late November or more usually early December and best spotting is after a big rain. Al learned about some spots where we will be able to see them next year. The females dig huge trenches and lay their eggs. They expend all of their personal reserve to do this and die shortly after laying eggs. The females actually lose their red scales on their tails from the trench building. They have white exposed tails after finishing. Trout are salmon that never made it from fresh water out to the salt water.
I toured Bolinas briefly and learned that one of the big reasons that locals remove all signage of their town is that when you drive down the main street, it dead ends around a bend at a small beach access. You have to turn around, and I'm sure this becomes absolute deadlock as unsuspecting tourists drive around the corner and get stuck on a narrow street having to turn around. There are two restaurants The Coast Cafe and The Blue Heron Inn that we have to ask Suzanne about. Bolinas is about 30-35 minutes from Sea Ridge.
We went to Karen Yandrow's gallery show. She had 4 luminescent photographs of tropical flowers showing. There were a lot of people at the show.
NOTES:
Flowers in the yard.
In January the star jasmine on the fence as you get out of your car is lush and full of flowers. The tibouchinas are still blooming nicely. The large fuscia shrub is still producing in the west perennial bed. I bought 5 sasanqua camillias to plant below the rhododendruns in the grove and next to the house. They should be in high bloom at this time of year. There are about 5 white blush rhododendruns that are in bloom. 2 or 3 in the grove that can be seen from the living room and 2 in the fern waterfall grotto. One on either side of the flagstone patio. The feverfew in the east perennial bed is covered with blooms and is very robust as is the pink/purple geranium.
Other flowering plants with a few blossoms or not in peak form are, mexican sage, purple thin spiked sage?, an occasional nasturium, watsonia, and an orangey-red old fashioned rose in the east beds; foxglove, alstromeria, and English primrose in the west bed; dried hydrangea blossoms on the branches in the grove, orange geum in the box next to the gravel.
I tried out the jacuzzi in the master tub. It's great that it's fixed. It's not a strong jet but far superior to the over jetted spray that we had before David fixed it. Other improvements include the drapes in the cottage and the skylight above the cottage queen bed. These are both wonderful. The drapery sashes finish off the look and add a softness to the division between the rooms while allowing the guests to completely control the level of privacy they want from room to room. When the curtains are not drawn they still allow a 5 ft opening between the rooms so no loss to the open floor plan if wanted. We have labeled all the lanterns and flashlights so that we will know if any are missing so we can replenish in case of power outages which can happen in Inverness in the winter.
We began identifying the birds on the property. Our first new ID is the ruby crested kinglet. It's an adorable tiny bird that hops all around our lawn and is quite brave. It has a little red dot on the top of its head. CUTE.
We saw a grey fox in the middle of the afternoon crossing Sir Francis Drake Blvd between our house and the Inverness Market. A spotted owl may have swooped in front of our car on the same outing near the same place. It was too fast for us to note but did look spotty.
