Visit to Huntington Beach - Part Two

Bolsa Chica wetlands with Pacific in the distance.

The rest of my time in Huntington Beach was spent taking two long hikes with Galen in the Bolsa Chica Preserve and seeing tow movies with Galen and Henry:  Get Out and Nolan.  More about them later.  Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve "is a nature reserve in the city of Huntington Beach, California. It is designated by the California Department of Fish and Game to protect a coastal wetland, with its resident threatened and endangered species. "Bolsa Chica" means "little bag" in Spanish, as the area was part of a historic Mexican land grant named Rancho La Bolsa Chica. The Reserve is also called many other names, including Bolsa Chica Lowlands, Bolsa Chica Wetlands, and Bolsa Chica Wildlife Refuge." (Wikipedia entry)

The plants with the yellow flowers are
native; the palms are not.

Over the years they have lived here, Galen, Laura and the kids have volunteered at the reserve as part of the effort to reclaim it from the invasive plant species which have thrived here.  They have planted themselves hundreds of native species which are now clearly visible.

Nest building heron at work

There are a number of palm trees in the reserve.  These are not native but have been left in place because they have become important to some animals in the habitat.  This is particularly true for the Great Blue Herons which have built nests in the dense top foliage thus protecting their young from predators:  on land coyotes and in the air birds of prey.  We saw one heron posing on a dead tree main trunk and another busy bringing material to construct a nest in a nearby palm tree.  We assumed that the unperturbed sentinel was a male and the hard working nest builder was a female.

Snowy Egrets under the bridge

This a marvelous public resource that is preserved from any development.  What has already happened within and particularly around the site has had often irreversible impacts on this ecosystem.  On Sunday we entered through another spot and walked for over two hours.  We didn't see as much wildlife or vegetation but the vistas were interesting especially with the gathering clouds that generated a light rain later that afternoon.

Click here to see more photos of Bolsa Chica Preserve.

On both Saturday and Sunday afternoons, Galen, Henry (who spends most weekends at home) and I went to see two movies.  "Get Out" was written and directed by Jordan Peele, of "Key & Peele" and "Keanu" fame.  If I had been familiar with those two--which I was not--I might not have been prepared for this extraordinarily strong movie.  Try this summary of a review from "Variety":  "Blending race-savvy satire with horror to especially potent effect, this bombshell social critique from first-time director Jordan Peele proves positively fearless."  This is not to be missed.

The next day we saw "Logan" which is the latest from the X-Men franchise but is so different that it should have a strong appeal to serious movie goers who can get by the graphic violence and to the human themes of emotional availability, aging, and search for meaning.  Try this review from "Variety":  "Doesn't try to be a shoot-the-works, how-crazy-are-his-powers grand finale. It's a scruffy dystopian road Western that takes its time in a way that most slam-bang superhero movies don't."  This would probably have been one I would have completely missed since my group of movie goers generally isn't into super hero movies, even those featuring Werewolf!  But again, I was happy that I got to see it and see it with two aficionados who could get give me some interpretative background...although I don't think Henry had the Werewolf back story but he certainly understands the genre.

The next morning I said my goodbyes to Laura, who had to rush off to work early, and to Maggie and Thomas who had largely been invisible during the weekend.  Maggie spent some time with a friend and Thomas was busy being Thomas.  I went to campus with Galen where he had a 10:00 class and he will take me to the airport for my 1:10 flight.  I should land back in Rochester around midnight.

Then I have a week before we take off for our three week jaunt to south Florida.  And, thus, you also have a week off from my little blogs.