Wading Through a Tidepool of Tiny Wonders

The rain had passed and the sun was shining brightly, singing an anthem of winter warmth. With a really low tide and a beautiful day looming, we decided to take our kids to San Pedro to check out the tide pools.

I was much more excited to go than our children. Maybe that was because I hadn’t gone tide pool exploring in years. But I was determined to show them how much fun exploring could be.

We arrived with ambivalent children.

As we made our way down to the ocean, the terrain changed from sandy to pebbly to slabs of stone. We arrived at the rocky pools filled with ocean water and life, and I was pointing out a small fish resting on a rock when my older daughter noticed a shell moving slightly.

My younger daughter thought this was a garden snail. I reached into the water and picked it up.

It was a hermit crab.

They oohed and ahhed appropriately, calling me super-brave for picking up the little creature. I had to laugh.

With our heads down and our eyes scanning the pools, I pointed out several closed green sea anemones camouflaged with small bits of broken shells. But I wanted them to see the beauty in one that was open.

A few more steps and we found several sea anemones opened like beautiful underwater flowers. They were an unusual blue-green color and their tentacles swayed slightly in the water.

I told the girls to watch as I touched a sticky tentacle and the sea anemone abruptly closed. With our children’s curiosity piqued, I gave them a rudimentary lesson on the sea anemone.

Soon we began to see spiny purple sea urchins underwater. Our girls were nearly hypnotized. I loved seeing their heads bowed and their eyes fixed on the pools. They too were in search of underwater wonder.

The girls had such pure enthusiasm as they found something new to call out. They reminded me of my childhood and the first time I explored tide pools. This was truly a precious moment for me to remember.

As we trekked a little closer to the ocean, being careful not to step on any living creatures tucked in crevices, I spotted something I had never seen before. There was a green sea anemone in the middle of the slow process of digesting a purple sea urchin. A very interesting sight for sure.

Soon we noticed the tide was beginning the inevitable shift higher.

I really enjoyed seeing the transformation in our girls. It was difficult prying them away from the rocks. I had to promise we would come back another day when the tide is very low and pick up where we left off.

With every trip to the beach, and every ocean adventure, I see our children get an unmistakable light in their eyes. And I know this curiosity and love will only grow with time.