Despite the holiday period bearing down on us, I arranged a short holiday at Half Moon Bay to celebrate my husband's December 20 birthday. The more interesting portion of the three days was the last morning so I'll begin there.
On our last morning we drove south from Half Moon Bay to Año Nuevo State Park for a prearranged guided tour to see the Elephant Seals. It turned out to be a great day for this walk. It was foggy but there was no wind and it was quite warm.
Elephant seals were once slaughtered for their blubber. It easier and more lucrative to kill hundreds of sleeping Elephant Seals on a beach rather than hunting huge whales from small boats. By 1892 less than 100 seals remained and those were on Guadalupe Island in Mexico. Mexico gave the Elephant Seals protected status in 1922 and a few years later when seals were sighted in Southern California, the US followed and also protected Elephant Seals. Today, there are more than 200,000 Northern Elephant Seals.
Breeding season begins in December when the first males arrive to stake out their territory and ward off potential rivals. Adult males are 14 to 16 feet long (4.2 - 4.9 meteres) and weigh up to 5,000 pounds (2268 kg). Females arrive in late December grouping together into harems. Females average 10 to 12 feet in length (3 - 3.7 meters) and weigh 1,200 to 2,000 pounds (544 - 904 kg). Within 3-6 days of arriving on the beach, females give birth to one pup which was conceived the previous year. She nurses her pup for about 28 days. Her milk is about 55% fat. The pup weighs about 75 pounds (34 kg) at birth and will be about 250-350 pounds (111 - 159 kg) when its mother weans the pup through desertion. The pup is then known as a weaner.
Females come into season and mate about 24 days after giving birth. The fertilized egg does not implant for about 4 months to give the female time to regain her strength after fasting and nursing. She hasn't eaten since arriving on shore and giving birth. The delayed implantation is four months and gestation is 7 months which means that she won't give birth until she reaches the breeding ground next year.
The weaners are four to six months old when Mom leaves. They practice swiming in shallow areas and around April they, too, leave. They feed off the coast of Washington and British Columbia and do not return to land until September.
A few females had already come ashore prior to our visit and so far three pups had been born.
At our first stop in the guided tour, seals were scattered about the sand completely uninterested in the group of people watching them. A couple were play fighting in the surf below.
At the last stop, we made our way through sand dunes up to an overlook. There were a few Elephant seals scattered about nearby and farther away near the ocean.
It looked a little "other world-like" with the soft colors, fog, and the bare tree surrounded by large males who moved up and then rested, moved up again, and rested again until there was only one male at the tree. He showed the others who the alpha male was with his deep rumble.
On the other side a cute, young Elephant Seal was resting on the back of this big male.
This little guy seemed upset that we had disturbed his nap, but he didn't leave.
Back to day one and two: The weather outside was frightful or at least that is what it looked like from our room at the Cypress Inn on Miramar Beach in Half Moon Bay. The ocean was churning and with the foggy drizzle there wasn't much delineation between the sky and the sea.
After breakfast, we took advantage of the Coastside Trail that passes directly in front of the hotel and continues 2+ miles (3.2+ km) south to at least Half Moon Bay old town. As we walked, the drizzle got heavier so we regrouped and drove to Half Moon Bay town instead. The town is full of interesting shops and restaurants. We warmed up with a late lunch at Pasta Moon.
Day two the ocean still churned and frothed and the weather was foggy but dry. This time we walked the Coastside Trail to Half Moon Bay's Francis Beach and back. There were some less foggy patches. The wind-swept cypress trees were quite photogenic no matter the conditions.
Our day two late lunch was at Barbara's Fishtrap on the edge of Pillar Point Harbor a little north of our hotel. The fish and chips were perfect.
Pillar Point Harbor is protected by a breakwater so even though the ocean was raging beyond, the water inside the harbor was calm. Quite a few people were fishing for crab from the pier. Below, a sea lion was hoping to snag some of the bait.
It turned out to be a very enjoyable escape to the coast and a memorable way to bring an end to 2024.
A happy, healthy, prosperous 2025 to all!
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