I had plenty of time, after my friend Janet left, to take in Doheny Beach and the south jetty of Dana Point Harbor, before my evening visit to San Clemente.

The titular line is from an old song, “Surfer Joe”, by the Surfaris: “Down in Doheny where the surfers all go / There’s a big, bleached blondie named Surfer Joe / He has a green surfboard with a woody to match.”  Joe’s successors were not in Doheny in abundance on the delightful afternoon of Friday, March 21, but there were about five families, a lone kite flyer and two middle-schoolers, who appeared to be brother and sister.

As is my wont, I covered various aspects of the beach park, starting with San Juan Creek.  This brackish channel is the focus of a potential desalination project- quite important in an Orange County that has faced prolonged drought.

Of course, my attention turned to the ocean, in short order.

This time around, I had my surf shoes on, so it was easy to walk about the fairly-deserted sand, and take in Doheny’s small stone jetty, and service area.

I always have an urge to see things through to the end, so I walked over to Dana Point’s stone jetty, the dividing line between the two beaches, and walked to its western terminus.  Boulder scrambling is a good way to focus one’s heart and mind.  Along the way, I encountered a couple of families fishing, one human, the other avian.  The cormorants didn’t mind being photographed.

Here is what I found at the end of the jetty.

To and from the end, I got different views of Dana Point’s beach front.

Doheny’s “dry side’ was a place of respite for some picnicking families,

and a lone kite flyer.

There are nesting herons and egrets here, as well.  The Nesting Tree, a melaleuca, is a Doheny Beach staple.

The Butterfly Garden is the icing on Doheny’s cake.  It had only a few monarchs on March 21, but there were several birds’ nests in the eucalyptuses along the trail.

There is also something magical about California coastal palms, as out of place as some find them.  They are a sign of “endless summer”, even when it’s a tad cool out.

Satisfied with this day at the beach, I took in a celebration of the Divine Springtime, Naw-Ruz, at San Clemente’s Baha’i Center.

The following two days would also be jam-packed, with visits to three Los Angeles County beach towns, then San Gabriel and its mission, and downtown Redlands.  So, after a couple of hours with my OC Baha’i friends, I headed up a surprisingly empty I-405, to Torrance, then over to Lomita, and the comfortable little motel where I stayed on my last visit to west LA.

Next:  Manhattan Beach

Each time I have visited my son in San Diego, I stop in Orange County before heading home. The beaches, missions and gardens in the home of Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm have given me a far greater appreciation for all that Southern California has going for it- beyond the traffic and smog, which weren’t bad this time around, and which are only the small price we pay to enjoy the O.C’s many sublime beauties.

I have been to Dana Point twice before.  The town, named for Richard Henry Dana, whose statue adorns the town’s harbourside park, has a lovely promontory, to its north.  I have climbed the trail to the summit of that striking overlook, and walked the harbourside path, once before, as well.  This time, March 21, accompanied by my O.C. friend, Janet, I saw and heard things from a bird’s perspective, specifically that of a heron.  There are two species of heron in Dana Point and neighbouring Doheny Beach.  Janet and I witnessed a raucous chorale of nesting Blue Herons, as we walked along the harbourside park.

As is customary with our visits, we enjoyed lunch first- this time at Harpoon Henry’s, on the east end of the harbour area.  It’s hard to not get a good seafood meal in an OC beach town, and mine was fabulous.  Henry’s gave Janet a good chicken lunch as well- not every maritime-themed place does landlubber fare well, so this was a plus.

Here is a refresher of what Dana Point Harbor looks like.

Here, again, is the harbourside park.

The above photo shows a eucalyptus tree, which, along with the melaleuca (tea tree), serves as a nesting place for both the Blue Herons and their cousins, the Night Herons.

Here are some shots of blue herons and their nests.  Look carefully, and you can see the heads of one or two birds in each nest.

One of our avian friends decided to go for a food run.

Meanwhile, back on the ground, a blond squirrel was competing with his grey California ground squirrel relatives, for the generosity of  California park goers.

On the beach rocks, an oyster catcher was finding its prey.

After Janet left, I lingered a bit at the south edge of the park, taking in the raucous commotion of the Night Herons, whose call sounds like a cross between someone gargling and Chewbacca the Wookie, from Star Wars.

One Night Heron obliged me by sauntering in the nearby rocks.

I was fascinated for the two-and-a half hours spent watching and listening to these awesome creatures.  The afternoon gave a new meaning to “Stop and smell the roses”.  There were more wisteria than any other plant, but that’s another story.

NEXT:  Doheny Beach