Thursday, February 9, 2017

Visiting Seacliff State Beach in Winter

The San Francisco Bay Area has been getting lots of rain over the past several weeks. A few weekends ago, there was a break in the rain and we spontaneously decided to go to the beach and enjoy the sunshine with friends of ours.

Our friends have a dog, and they suggested the dog-friendly Seacliff State Beach. It was a mild day, but I never trust Northern California beaches as it’s often cold (this is especially true in summer when there is lots of fog; in winter it’s actually often quite mild, but I like to be prepared). I was comfortable in a tunic, leggings, a denim jacket and a big scarf. I took off the scarf for part of the day and most would have probably also taken off the jacket.

Seacliff State Park 1 
Seacliff State Park 2
Stairs lead from the parking lot down to the beach. Many exercisers walk or run the stairs for a great workout.

Seacliff State Park 3
There is a pier and a famous concrete ship, the Palo Alto. The Palo Alto was built during World War I, and concrete was used instead of steel because of a steel storage. The ship was supposed to be used during the war, but it wasn’t finished in time. In 1930, the Palo Alto was moved from Oakland, where it was built, to Aptos and remodeled into an entertainment ship with a dance floor, heated pool, and other entertainment features. Unfortunately, the fun lasted only two seasons until the company running the ship went bankrupt. After that the Palo Alto was stripped and only used for fishing.

And that’s where Andy spent many afternoons during his childhood. The Palo Alto got damaged and closed to the public a while ago and received further damage in one of the big storms at the beginning of this year.

Seacliff State Park 4 
Seacliff State Beach 7
Because of the recent storms, there was a lot of debris on the beach, but it was a wonderful relaxing day, and I’m very glad we decided to go.

Seacliff State Park 5 
One last look before we headed home... 

Seacliff State Park 6

Questions:  What was you most recent fun weekend outing? What are your weekend plans? 


Be well,
Andrea