Kool Kelp

Asilomar State Beach in Pacific Grove was a great walk on this fine Wednesday afternoon. Vicky, Kevin and I explored the beach and tide pools as the tide was heading out. I found at least six different varieties of seaweed on the beach.

We found a 35 foot long kelp with a big bulb and leaves on one end, and root ball at the long skinny end.

And there was the cow tongue seaweed. A large, rubbery leaf covered with bumps that make the red algae look and feel like a cows tongue.

Next was the fan belt variety that had thin leaves along its length about an inch long. The 15 foot long sample I examined was about one inch wide and the 'belt' was very rubbery and tough. It would make a good fan belt.

And of course there was long, thin, green grass; red and green leaf lettuce; and the seaweed whip. Boy that whip would have come in handy on the drive back to Carmel when Kevin offered some back seat driver advice!