Hailey Mims

Girl Reporter

The sun shone gently on the horizon casting sunrays over the entire beach.  The sound of the waves bounced in and out of your head.  You close your eyes then shiver.  Today is no ordinary day at the beach.  Behind all of the normal, subconscious thoughts of a typical beach, it is a whole different story in the winter months.

When you think of the beach you think of heat, warm sand or running in and out of the water.  But during the winter, forget about your swim suit and pack a jacket and some boots in your beach bag!

At Crystal Cove beach, people are seen wearing furry UGG boots while walking back to their car!  Cold breezes roll in from the sea and from the mountains inland.  According to park rangers at the Crystal Cove campground, the temperature of the ocean water is 58 degrees!  Imagine swimming in that!  The sand was freezing instead of the normal jump-up-and-down-hot.

Normally when you come to the beach, you battle all of the other cars for a parking space then fight your way to the best spot on the beach to set up your blanket. – Not today!  The main parking lot at Crystal Cove was almost entirely empty!  On the beach, not one umbrella could be seen.  Everything was peaceful and calm without any disruption.

As you know lately, Southern California has encountered many days filled with heavy rainfall.  Everywhere in So. Cal. evidence exists of the rain storms, including the beach.  A canal filled with reeds was destroyed by a huge river of mud that solidified and lied all of the reeds down on their sides.  The tunnel that connects the beach to the parking lot under PCH was flooded by ocean water forcing pedestrians to huddle close to the walls of the tunnel.  Seaweed had been pushed all the way up to the sidewalk from the ocean.

On the bright side, the hills surrounding the beach on the land have great hiking trails that swerve up into the wilderness.  They are filled with wide plateaus, steep inclines, and of course, great views.

Going to the beach is always the perfect way to wind down and relax.  When you go to the beach in the winter, you get relaxation and a little adventure.  From flooded tunnels to dropping cliffs on the hill tops, going to the beach in the winter is definitely something that everyone should have the opportunity to do.  As girl scouts we have an easy way to go to the beach, and we could do that while earning a couple of badges too.   For those girls who need a break after a long day of cookie selling, don’t miss this great opportunity!