Sea Coast Inn

Every now and then you run into a "special" place. Nothing fancy mind you. Just a simple, relaxing place to spend some time. Our last night before the RV repairs were done took us down to the Imperial Beach area between San Diego and the border. We were tired, but still wanted to spend our last time by the sea. So I wove my way through National City searching for an area I remembered that had a national wildlife refuge. We found the area, we found the beach and there was a convenient hotel. It is an older hotel, but the price was right and the ambiance is wonderful.

The Sea Coast Inn is right on the beach near the pier. It has a lovely porch area that steps right down to the beach. Our room had a small kitchen (which we didn't use, but might come in handy if I ever want to spend time at the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge. )

And best of all, the view right out of our back door was wonderful.



During our extra stranded days, i stayed busy. We went up to San Clemente and I got both sunset and sunrise shots. We explored the area for sunset shots. I found a place that looked promising for a future trip (Crystal Cove) and lo and behold the next day someone won a POTD for a sunset shot there.

But by the time we hit Imperial Beach, I was tired. I found a chair and plopped. There were dolphins feeding just off the beach. The sunset looked promising. I did bring out the camera,




but just stayed on the deck and enjoyed the sunset and watching the surfers. It was also fun to watch the cruise ships and cargo ships leaving the bay.

This hotel is in a quiet neighborhood. There are cute little restaurants witing walking distance. We ate dinner at Aroma Thai - food was great. Breakfast was at The Wave Cafe. There was also pizza, Greek, Mexican, and seafood places within about a block. Little small restaurants, quiet, peaceful places.

The next morning I took a walk along the beach. While I had walked beaches during my stay in California, I was always on a mission - find that "magic" photo. This morning, I left the camera behind. I wanted to savor what was likely my last morning by the sea. I watched the dolphins and cormorants. I watched as the surfers began arriving. I saw a new shorebird for me, the wimbrel. I walked out on the pier. I found out past the waves what looked to me like Pacific loons. I watched the fishermen, most were catching small fish, but one gentleman had a nice flounder.

On the beach were clam shells and sand dollars and a few pebbles.

This is a quiet place, on a quiet street, far from the traffic zones. I think I'd like to go back there again sometime.