Beach

Pacific coast just south of Half Moon Bay, Calif

Sea Lions sunbathing in the rain-just south of Half Moon Bay Jan 2014

Star fish in a tide pool on the coast

Sea Anemones in the tide pools-upper picture
The rocky point from the Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Welcome sign to Pigeon Point Lighthouse, Calif. Jan 2014

Funny to see an old telephone booth at a lighthouse with an actual phone book in it

A picture of the real lighthouse as it is now.

The Lighthouse is in need of renovation and the community is trying to restore it.

A Trip to the Ocean with our Friends the Taylors

     In January we were invited by our friends Elder and Sister Taylor to go on an adventure to the beach. We headed out to Half Moon Bay and then south on highway 1 to a little town called Pescadero. We stopped at a market the Taylor's had been to before. They sell the best Italian Artichoke bread and we picked up a couple of warm loaves and some garlic artichoke dip and had a delicious lunch!! The little town is like taking a trip into the past. There advertisement states:"Welcome to historic Pescadero with some of the most beautiful scenery in California. Elephant Seals, empty beaches and ancient redwoods are just the beginning." 

    We then drove on down the road in the rain and stopped along the way at a beach with some tidepools where we could see a little sea life and then we stopped at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse. This is the history of the name and the lighthouse.

Pigeon Point Light Station

 "Perched where coast and ocean meet, the lighthouse at Pigeon Point Light Station is a 115 foot structure, the tallest operating lighthouse on the West Coast.

   Pigeon Point's original name, Whale Point, was inspired by the gray whales that migrate past the point. California's boom from gold rush to statehood brought many ships to these rugged waters. In June 1853 the Boston-based Carrier Pigeon, on her maiden voyage, ran aground off Whale Point (later renamed Pigeon Point in honor of the ship.)

   Between 1865 and 1868, three major shipwrecks affirmed the danger of this fog blanketed location. Finally, in November 1872, a lighthouse was built with a light and fog signal that guided mariners for more than a century.

   The lighthouse was outfitted with the most powerful lens of the day-a first order (the largest)Fresnel Lens. Perched in a glass-enclosed room at the top of the lighthouse. 

   Today the lighthouse has an exterior automated beacon at 10 second intervals and the fog horn was replaced by a more modern navigational aid in 1976. 

   The lighthouse sits on an eight-foot foundation. It's walls, four-and -a -half feet thick at the base and tapering to two feet at the top, and was strong enough to withstand both the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake".

Right next to the lighthouse is a hostel. California has several lighthouse hostels. This one charges $27 a night and up. 

We had a great drive and given that Sister Felt loves lighthouses, it made her/my day!!! A great adventure.

    

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