December 12th, 2025

California: Cold-Water Beaches. (Post 3/3).

Traffic is worth it.

California Trip: Post 3/3.

California Trip: Post 3/3.

This is the third, and final, of the California Trip posts for this trip.

The Beach

First thing we did was head to the beach. This time, we used the toll roads to get there. Despite being Californian, I’ve never actually been on any of the Southern California toll roads. I did take some photos too.

Toll road. More toll road.

We then got to the beach. We went to the Crystal Cove beach, as it’s usually not that busy. Busy beaches aren’t pretty when they’re busy. If you go there, go to the one that isn’t with all of the touristy stuff on it.

Crystal Cove. This is on top of the hill there. Taken while walking down the hill.

I haven’t stuck my feet in beach water for ages, and I sort-of forgot about California beach water being a bit chilly. It wasn’t really cold or hot outside, but the water was nice. And, as normal, I had to take photos. My phone claims it can handle splashes, so I figured I might as well get it close to the water and get some nice photos.

Beach water. More beach water. Water splashing onto a beach rock. Beach rock with wave in background. Wave splashing. Beach rock close up. Not that great of a photo but it is what it is. More wave. Beach water with rocks in water and on beach. Beach with cliffs/hill on one side.

It was fun. I was with The Siblings (as always), and as a result I ended up getting drenched. You go the the beach, thinking you’re not going to get wet, and then you do anyways.

The beach was also in low-tide. Usually, when we lived in CA, we would come to the beach in the evening, and the tide would already be on the higher side. This time, I could see way more of the rocks than I was used to seeing there. There were, as the above pictures indicate, rocks there. These often have sea beings living on them. They’re icky if you touch them. It was a bit hazardous while we were there, as the water was coming in, and was slowly covering up rocks. I accidentally stepped on a small rock, and it hurt. Besides the rocks, everything was just fine. I even got absolutely drenched.

There is a steep path up. It’s fun to go down, but annoying to go back up when you’re drenched. It does have nice views for photos though.

More beach while walking up the hill/cliff. Beach water view from cliff. Tree on hill part. Rich people palaces. More beach view. Path to the parking lot.

After the beach, we had to head back up to our next destination. We were going to skip the toll road, but it shaved one whole hour of traffic off of the time to the destination, and as a result we took it. It turns out that you hit traffic about a couple miles out from the 91 intersection. That freeway is worse than I remember it being five years ago. Traffic, traffic, and more traffic. I could have walked to it from the spot where the traffic started faster than if I was to sit in the traffic all the time. We did manage to get to where we needed to, but it was annoying.

Toll road. Toll road tunnel. Classic California Mismatched Lights. More toll road. Even more toll road. The Beginnings of Traffic. Stuck in traffic. The 91 slows everything down. Traffic on the 91. Notice how the cars on the 91 aren't blurry. That's because they're mostly stopped.

Going Home.

On the way home, we decided to go see the mud geyser in Niland. It’s close to Salton Sea and enjoys eating railroad tracks, highways, and ground. We simply had to go and see this thing.

We ended up passing by the Salton Sea, and stopped to take photos. It stank.

Salton Sea.

As of when we saw it, it had already passed the railway tracks, and was headed for the 111, right next to it. It appears that a new 111 was built next to the old 111, in order to ensure people could still pass. We pulled off onto a side road, which happens to have a nice way to turn onto the old 111, and walked up to the geyser to see it. The geyser, much like Salton Sea, has the odor of rotten eggs, a gas station restroom that needed cleaning, and one of The Siblings’ stinky shoes. Regardless of that, it was neat to see this gurgling pit of watery mud. I highly recommend stopping there to see it.

The Niland Mud Geyser Thing. The highway is off to the right, and the train tracks are on the left. The geyser itself. It's in the uppeer left of the pit.

After that, we made a stop in Calipatra to get gas. It turns out it stinks like Salton Sea and the mud geyser over there too. I didn’t take any photos of the city itself.

Since we had already gone in that direction, we used the 8 to get home. I’ve never been that way. It’s very close to the Mexico border. I did take some photos too.

Sand dunes alond the 8. Hills along the 8.

And, of course, a photo of the rocks in Arizona along the 10:

Rocks in Arizona. And more rocks in Arizona. Blurry because it was dark then.

Thus ends this series of California trip posts.

Other Things.

It’s now Advent. I’ve added Advent candles to the top of the website. Enjoy!

Oh, and it’s also the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Happy Feast Day to you all!

The chickens are doing alright. Dominica starting moulting at the start of this month. My theory is that since she’s the one who eats the most, she’s the one who can moult in the winter with less of a performance hit. It seems they always ensure they have at least one non-moulting chicken at any given time, maybe as a precaution against predators.

One last thing: Next post is supposed to be on the 26th of December. I believe that is going to be skipped, and it shall be postponed to either the 2nd of January, or the 9th of January. I won’t know until the time comes. In the meantime, have a blessed season of Advent, and, since I won’t be posting until a bit after Christmas starts, may you have a merry and blessed Christmas.

Chicken photos:

Dominica in her moult. Poor thing.

Felicitas hiding out in a nesting box. She said it was cozy.