Tickled Pink!

The first time I saw it I was amazed. I have never seen anything this pretty before and so whenever we are in the area and time permits it, we stop for a short walk.

This is my pink paradise. In Pacific Grove. At Ocean View Blvd. Spectacular views of the water and the trail alongside is covered in a carpet of pink blooms in the springtime. These are ice plants with pink flowers.

Join me as I take a leisurely walk along the waterfront.
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We start our walk at the foot of 17th Street. This hits Ocean View Blvd. This is the Lover's Point Park. I am not sure if the trail is part of the park, but we park here and explore. According to legend this park was originally called Lovers of Jesus Point back when Pacific Grove was a Methodist retreat camp.

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A good spot for birdwatching even if most of the birds are gulls.
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Everyone want to walk on the rocks and look out at the ocean. The park is popular for picnics and photography - you'll see.
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Beyond the rocks I noted working fishing boats.
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Let's leave the beach area and start our walk along the coastline. It's a gloomy gray day. It's soon going to rain I could tell (it did since this was in May 2011).
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One of the most incredible places to enjoy a short walk and the water at the same time. Flower fanatics must find this trail irresistible.
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Artists find this environment equally stimulating.
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Walk alone or with a partner.
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How I wish I live on Ocean View Blvd with this sight greeting me each day.
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The clouds are getting heavy.
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As we continue to walk forward towards the lighthouse (which I didn't reach at this time because of rain), it pays to look back at the trail we have just been because the view is equally enchanting.
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Along the trail we bumped into a local who was taking his daily walk and chatted about the pink ice plants. Because these showy blooms are so common in this area I thought they were endemic to this area. He told us that the ice plants were actually brought by a local here as a souvenir of his/her trip to Africa. She/he planted it on her garden and it proliferated and years later the coastline and almost every front yard has it.
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We got this far - see the surfer? - before huge drops of rain came down and so we hightailed it back to the car.
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But before we left the area, I managed to snap one as we were driving away.

Thank you for joining me in the walk.

This is my entry for this week's SKYWATCH.

Comments

  1. the pinks are just indescribably beautiful,
    how come we don't have it here?! ^0^
    this is certainly a hidden paradise and a nice place to have a walk and appreciate nature at its best. thanks for touring us around.

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  2. A beautiful, inviting series with such nice images. That blanket of flowers is simply amazing. What a nice series of picture!

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  3. Wow, what a spectacular place for a walk. I love the carpets of flowers and beautiful coastline. I'm happy to do your link.

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  4. What a beautiful place. Happy sky watching.

    Skywatch

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  5. Wow...what a great place for a walk!I wish I could be there too!
    Have a nice weekend!

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  6. Beautiful setting and love the flowers too:)

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  7. What a fantastic place! Gorgeous skies, incredible, colorful flowers and oh, wow! what a view! Doesn't get any better than this! Thanks for sharing the tour! Terrific! Have a lovely weekend!


    Sylvia

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  8. Thanks for this beautiful series of postcards from California!

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  9. Thank you for taking us along. This made me so nostalgic, as I grew up just a block from Ocean Beach in San Francisco. We had ice plants, geraniums, and calla lilies growing in our front yard. Such nice memories!

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  10. Fabulous photos of a beautiful place. I didn't realize ice plant had been imported from Africa. Very interesting. I see it a lot when I drive on California highways because it's been planted to prevent soil erosion.
    Very, very interesting, if I might be permitted to repeat myself.

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  11. I like your pictures a lot and I can see there are some kind of special light in that area :)

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  12. That pink is fantastic, especially on a gray day. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  13. Wow!! I can only say these is super beautiful place!

    Sunset Galore

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  14. What a beautiful place to visit, it reminds me of Carmel, Ca. Gorgeous photos. Happy skywatching!

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  15. Wow! I don't usually like to see invasive plantings, but this is a spectacular sight!!

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  16. This indeed is a beautiful place. What photo opportunity! Great captures.

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  17. What an amazing place - so beautiful! And I love the touch of pink against the silver clouds. Nice shots!

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  18. What a pleasant walk, those pink flowers are amazing! A really enjoyable post.

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  19. From top to bottom, the beauty is exquisite.

    The thunderous clouds add drama to the skies!

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  20. Beautiful place with lovely pink.

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  21. This post shows-to-go-ya how one person planting one flower can impact a whole community. GORGEOUS.

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  22. Nice series! my favorite is the people on the rocks!

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  23. beautifully captured views those flowers are fabulous, thanks for sharing with SWF

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  24. a spectacular place! the pink flowers are enchanting, even the trees look like paintings. must be an expensive place to live.:p

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  25. Wonderful place.

    Regards and best wishes

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  26. Fantastic. I've never seen a carpet of pink like that, and I always love ocean photos since I live so far inland!

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  27. The pink flowers covering almost the town is so beautiful! I'm gonna google for those flowers. :P

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  28. Those pink ice plants add so much flavor to otherwise bleak pictures. Ooops I meant the bleak nature of the weather not the pictures hehe
    Your pictures are very vibrant as always! =)

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  29. Beautiful pink colors! But I wonder how that traveler from Africa managed to get a plant into the US. The US Customs will most likely not allow me to bring even one plant from the Philippines.

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  30. it actually looked more like a painting. and the best thing is that the wild are well preserved as well.

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  31. It's been a long time since we have visited Pacific Grove, this reminds me how much I enjoy it.

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  32. The landscaping and the trees are stunningly beautiful. What a grand place to go walking with your camera. Very nice series of shots. genie

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