POINT REYES IN SPRING

I’d never actually been out to the point of Point Reyes before, and the gray whales are supposed to be moving up the coast this time of year, so Maggie, Archie, and I headed out there this weekend. Only one whale, briefly glimpsed, but plenty of cool flowers.

Checkerbloom (Sidalcea malvaeflora, Malvaceae)

Cream cups (Platystemon californicus, Papaveraceae)

Pussy ears (Calochortus tolmiei, Liliaceae)

Probably royal larkspur (Delphinium variegatum, Ranunculaceae), but this one still confuses me a bit…

Elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris)

Baby blue-eyes (Nemophila menziesii ssp. atomaria, Hydrophyllaceae)

Tidy tips (Layia sp., Asteraceae)

Since we neglected to pack or eat lunch, we were pretty hungry after a couple hours wandering around, so we figured we’d grap a quick and greasy bite at the snack bar near the parking lot. That “snack bar” was actually the Drake’s Beach Cafe, which was actually a quality establishment, serving local everything prepared quite well. I had a grilled cheese sandwich, which was a nice jalapeno jack on grilled focaccia, with some nice local greens. Like, real food. I figured the high prices were just the National Park service gouging us for being miles from the nearest eatery, but what we got was actually worth what we paid. Simple stuff done right.

Sweet potato fries and honey ginger sauce