Today we visited the Cabrillo National Monument. We had missed seeing it before because there is a Naval base in front of it. I thought you weren’t allowed to go through the base, but apparently you do indeed drive through part of a Navy base to get there.
It was very foggy out when we left in the afternoon. Visibility was pretty low in some areas.
We went to the tide pools first. We did get there a little after low tide, so the water had started to come back in. It was still a really neat experience. We saw small crabs, barnacles, hermit crabs, sea grass, and a few anemones! The park did a great job with signs at the top of the entrance labeling different creatures you might see.
After finding several creatures, we headed back up to the Visitor’s Center. The inside of the center was closed the day we were there. The fog had momentarily cleared and we could see the bay area and the downtown area. The Goodyear blimp was out, as well as several boats on the water. It was relaxing just to sit on the wall and watch the bay.
After awhile, we saw a Navy ship coming back into the bay. It had quite the loud horn!
The fog started rolling back in. While it was cool to see it drift down the hill towards the water, it did make visibility in the bay a lot lower. We headed up the hill to the Point Loma Lighthouse and Assistant Keepers house. The Assistant Keepers house had the glass part of the beacon showcased. It was really neat to see. The Lighthouse itself was closed.
The Lighthouse was the original lighthouse for San Diego. However, it actually sat too high and wasn’t as effective because the fog would block visibility of the light. They closed the lighthouse and made a new one at a lower elevation.
The park closed at 5:00pm, which seemed really early. I’m not sure if that is a COVID restriction or it that is the time they normally close. It was a nice park. There are several things to see and the views are amazing.