A Sunday by the Sea

 

When I wrote about the Children's Bell Tower in Bodega Bay I mentioned that after visiting the tower we walked along the Coastal Prairie Trail. It starts right next to the bell tower and meanders along the coast through coastal prairie to the North. Most of the trail is a dirt path, but there are boardwalks through the murkier areas.

Before getting out into the "prairie" we walked through some wooded areas with remains of cow parsnip from the year before and beautiful mushrooms like this Russula.

Finally after a bit more than a mile the trail ended in the most Northern neighborhood of Bodega Bay. This was a bit of a quirky neighborhood - windows were barricaded, buoys were hanging on weathered fences (I love that!) and what do you think of this very unique wall?

We also saw some stunning Candelabra Aloe. They thrive in the ocean climate where it never gets hot, but is windy and fog can linger the entire day. It always surprises me that they do so well here.

We descended a steep hill and walked along Salmon Creek towards the ocean. The "yacht club" made me laugh!

And finally the beach!!!

This old boat wreck was almost completely covered by the sand, only the bow and stern and of course the mast were still visible. It must have been here for quite a while. The waves were licking on it constantly.

The sea was still pretty rough just a day after the tsunami warning all along the West Coast. It was windy, but the sun did peek through the clouds and eventually made a full appearance. Combined with the reflection from the water, the light was so glaring that we opted not to walk back on the beach but go back up the hill and return along the Coastal Prairie Trail. 

It was a gorgeous day at the ocean.