View this blog entry in Google EarthTracy and I went for a walk along Batiquitos Lagoon near our home in Carlsbad. This is the sunset we saw.
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| Sunset reflected in the still waters of Batiquitos Lagoon. Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 22284 Location: Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad, California, USA  View this Image in Google Earth! |
View this blog entry in Google EarthHit the water this morning at 7am. Full sun, deep blue sky, not a cloud, mild warm offshore breezes, glassy sea, small but fun waves. Went for a walk with my daughter at Moonlight Beach at sunset tonight, deep orange-red sky, not a cloud, mild warm offshore breezes, glassy sea, small but fun waves. Get the picture? While much of the country is dealing with snow, rain, or just plain miserable cold, it is nearly idyllic here.
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| Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 21788 Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA |
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| Moonlight Beach at sunset. Moonlight Beach, Encinitas, California, USA. Image: 21793 Location: Moonlight Beach, Encinitas, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| Moonlight Beach at sunset. Moonlight Beach, Encinitas, California, USA. Image: 21794 Location: Moonlight Beach, Encinitas, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
View this blog entry in Google EarthFun surf at Ponto this morning. Nice offshore wind, shoulder high sets once in a while. It got crowded about 8am, and the high tide softened the waves up so I got out by 9am and off to a soccer game.
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| Wave breaking in early morning sunlight. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 21779 Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| Longboarder carves wave in early morning sun. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 21783 Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| Wave breaking in early morning sunlight. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 21785 Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
View this blog entry in Google EarthWe went for a walk on the beach yesterday late afternoon, getting back to the car just before sundown. There were no good waves but the tide was out and the beach nearly deserted, so it was good to be there. The pullout just south of Palomar Airport Road almost always has a few people checking from the bluff. You can read the water all the way from Teramar in the north down to the campgrounds to the south. Sarah and I try to hit Starbucks early each Saturday morning, get the latte and hot chocolate (140 degrees) then park at the bluff and look at the water, its a good spot to kill time.
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| Surf check. Three guys check the surf from atop a bluff overlooking the waves at the end of the day, at sunset, north of South Carlsbad State Beach. Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 19808 Location: Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| Ocean water washes over a flat sand beach, sandstone bluffs rise in the background, sunset. Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 19806 Location: Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| Cobblestones on a flat sand beach. Cobble stones are polished round and smooth by years of wave energy. They are alternately exposed and covered by sand depending on the tides, waves and seasons of the year. Cobblestones are common on the beaches of southern California, contained in the sandstone bluffs along the beach and released onto the beach as the bluffs erode. Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 19807 Location: Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
View this blog entry in Google EarthWe went around the corner to the golf course below Aviara Four Seasons and watched their fireworks last night. It was a pretty good show, just like last year.
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| Fireworks. Aviara, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 18990 Location: Aviara, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| Fireworks. Aviara, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 18991 Location: Aviara, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| Fireworks. Aviara, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 18992 Location: Aviara, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
View this blog entry in Google EarthBatiquitos Lagoon borders Carlsbad and La Costa in northern San Diego County. As the lagoon is practically in our backyard we go walking there often, especially in spring when the tadpoles turn to frogs in the little creeks. I have taken my girls running there, in their jogger stroller, at least 200 times when they were little. On weekend mornings you will find many people on the northside trail for bird watching, dog walking, jogging or just killing time.
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| Cattails. Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 18556 Location: Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| Cormorants flying. Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 18557 Location: Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| Sunset. Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 18558 Location: Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| Great blue heron in flight. Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 18723 Species: Ardea herodias Location: Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
Sunny and offshores, beautiful morning. Got to a spot I have wanted to try for a while but just never got around to it before. There was some size this morning. As I checked the surf from shore it seemed that most of the larger barrels went empty (perhaps they were closeouts). This waste of good waves was quite upsetting to me, so I went home, got my water camera, and went back to get in the water and take advantage of things. The guys in the water were kind enough to give me a few snaps. All in all a fun morning.
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| Jetties, Carlsbad, morning surf. Warm Water Jetties, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17905 Location: Warm Water Jetties, Carlsbad, California, USA |
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| Kyle Cannon, Jetties, Carlsbad, morning surf. Warm Water Jetties, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17906 Location: Warm Water Jetties, Carlsbad, California, USA |
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| Jetties, Carlsbad, morning surf. Warm Water Jetties, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17921 Location: Warm Water Jetties, Carlsbad, California, USA |
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| Jetties, Carlsbad, morning surf. Warm Water Jetties, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17927 Location: Warm Water Jetties, Carlsbad, California, USA |
When I was a kid, my family would drive down from Newport Beach to spend a week or two each summer camping at South Carlsbad State Beach with two other families, the Hawes and the Fleetwoods. This was going on 30+ years ago. (Now you know how ancient I am; everyone looks like a grom to me.) Back then we just had fun and didn’t ruminate over things too much. Now I realize how excellent these trips were. For a boogie-boarding wanna-be grom, mornings in the surf here were heaven. Our parents gave us all the freedom we could want. The 10 of us kids, plus friends who we might bring along, had the run of the beach and surf while the old folks would kick back and keep half an eye on us from up on the bluffs. We would get up early, crawl out of our sand-filled sleeping bags, grab our boards and fins, double-time it down the wooden stairs and paddle out over glass. Sometimes it was clear, other times overcast. The north county bottlenose dolphins, the ones that inhabit the coastline and forage for fish in the rips, would often swim by just outside the break, same as they do today. We knew they were dolphins but also half-imagined that they were sharks; I was sort of nervous around them. We would have wave after wave all to ourselves with not another person in the water for hours as far up and down as we could see. I suppose everyone was at work. Most of Carlsbad was undeveloped, agricultural land or just empty, so there was no pressure on this break. I would spend so many hours catching waves my Churchills wore holes in my heels.
I have been catching some of that old vibe shooting photos in the water. I realize the shots I am trying to score are not those of surfers and other people but rather of sunlight, empty breaking waves, barrels closing out, blue-green water and the mist that hangs over the coast just before the sun is high enough to burn it all off — these are the images etched in my mind from our Carlsbad camping weeks. Nowadays I live 2 minutes from South Carlsbad State Beach, how is that for coming full circle? My fins are longer, hair is shorter, however I still like to be in the waves from the campground down to the Ponto jetties. A kid again.
 Those are the south Ponto bluffs looking toward Leucadia in the background. Some damn developer is planning on building a hotel or something on that spot. Travesty. |
 Ponto jetties, the entrance to Batiquitos lagoon, are just visible if you squint real hard. I live on that hill back there. |
Batiquitos Lagoon, bordering Carlsbad and La Costa in northern San Diego County, is experiencing a fantastic display of spring flowers and plants. The hills bordering the lagoon are as verdant as we can ever recall seeing them, covered with lots of yellow flowers and deep green foliage. Now is a good time to check out any of the lagoons in north county. For more information: Batiquitos Lagoon, San Elijo Lagoon, Aqua Hedionda Lagoon, and San Dieguito Lagoon.
 
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Keywords: Batiquitos lagoon photos, wildflowers, spring, photograph.
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Updated: November 7, 2009
