Tomales Bay

An early start was well worth the effort to be on the water by 8:30.   About a 45 minute drive through beautiful farming communities, stands of eucalyptus trees and to our destination of Nick's Cove.

Nick's Cove is one of the last remaining historic settlements catering to early California tourism on the Tomales Bay coastland.  It served as a depot for tourism,  fishing and agriculture.  The construction of a new highway in 1930 followed by the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937 tourism surged.

This area has become a popular destination with quaint, carefully preserved historical buildings on stilts, a restaurant specializing in local seafood with rental cottages.  The area is a hub for recreational fishing, kayaking, surfing, cycling & motorcycle riding along Point Reyes National Seashore  and Tomalas Bay State Park.

A brief wait, the fog lifts . . . and a gorgeous, sunny calm morning appears.

It's a Saturday morning and a small group with the local kayak tours arrives (this is small - usually he says there are four trailer loads or sometimes more - today a group of five went out).

We "pedaddle" our way to Hog Island.  














Hog Island Oysters are harvested in Tomales Bay . . . and ship to various restaurants in the region (one of which is the Hog Island Oyster Bar in San Francisco).

A view from the outdoor deck at the Oyster Bar (we are spoilt back home - the oysters here are $15/dozen and very, very small.   Also, they do not sell shucked oysters except if you're eating them at the oyster bar.   They will show you how to shuck and sell the knives.

http://hogislandoysters.com/our-oysters

Hog Island is approximately two acres in size, located 5 miles south of the entrance to Tomales Bay in Marin County.  The west waters are deep enough for small ships to enter Tomales Bay but to the east, at low tide, shallow enough to wade to the eastern shore of the bay.  A number of vessels have run aground.

Hog Island was named after a bizarre 1870 incident when a barge carrying a load of pigs caught fire and was grounded on the island - the pigs escaped until rounded up again.  In the 1906 San Francisco earthquake apparently separated Hog island and the adjoined Duck Island.  

Hog island is a protected island and the area a sanctuary for many marine mammals and birds.   Above Marc's head in just one of the trees, is a large raft of cormorants and nests everywhere.  The channel is a popular herring hunting ground for the birds and dozens of seals.

Some of the birds species we encountered were Western Grebe's, Loons, sea gulls of course and pelicans.



(getting up early is so worth it!).  A resting point for gulls, pelicans and cormorants.

  
It was a special treat to see White pelicans sitting with the Browns.

Whites are the largest of the Pelicans and are surface feeders; unlike the Browns who dive for fish.

The cormorants soon leave as the humans are showing up and its time to feast.

Shorebirds enjoying insects and critters in the marshlands.

Egrets

White's Gulch - above is a State Park with vast grasslands and elk herds (unfortunately, we never saw them today)

A stellar paddle and at the end of our paddle at 1 pm the wind started to roll - very common to have NW winds blowing in by afternoon.

Because Harbour Seals remain in the Point Reyes & Tomales Bay area year round, Great Whites are seen (most frequently in late summer and fall) at the Point Reyes Headlands, McClures Rock and Tomales Point.   In over 23 years five human attacks (all survived) have been recorded.   Bat rays (spring and summer) and leopard sharks (late summer and fall) come into Tomales Bay.  We didn't see any fins surfacing or fish in shallow waters (probably a good thing).

Happy Birthday Marc - Oct 29th

Went to award winning Osake Sushi in Santa Rosa. . .  owner Gary Chu owns and operates Osake Sushi as well as Gourmet Chinese Cuisine in Santa Rosa.   Excellent and very fresh.   

Off to Summerfield cinema to see Argo (excellent movie - can see why it won awards).   A super comfortable old theater with leather high back seats.