There’s something about Cabrillo National Monument that hushes the world around you. The ocean stretches endlessly in front of you, the breeze carries just enough chill to keep the sun in check, and every step along the trails feels like a breath of fresh air.
We brought the boys out for a hike, and it didn’t disappoint. The trails here have just the right amount of incline to feel like an adventure, but they’re still easy enough for kids to handle. The views hit you early and often- cliffs dropping into the Pacific, waves crashing with that rhythmic force that somehow quiets the chaos inside you.
And of course, the highlight: the tidepools. Nature’s playground. The boys bolted toward the rocks like they were on a mission, climbing, exploring, yelling every time they found a crab or sea snail or anything remotely slimy. And naturally, the rock throwing began almost immediately. What is it about boys and throwing rocks into the ocean? You’d think it was an Olympic sport the way they line up and launch, over and over, like the waves are their own personal target practice.
The ocean here doesn’t just sit still and look pretty- it moves, it crashes, it speaks. You can stand, sit, or lie there and watch it for hours, and it never gets old. It pulls your eyes and your thoughts out to sea, leaving everything else behind on the shore.
There’s also something special about being in a place with this kind of history. Cabrillo National Monument was named after Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, the first European explorer to set foot on what is now the West Coast of the United States back in 1542. Standing there, it’s crazy to think about what he must’ve seen when his ship pulled into the San Diego Bay for the first time- no roads, no skyline, just raw land and the wild ocean. Now, centuries later, families hike those same cliffs, kids throw rocks into the same sea, and the wind still sings the same song it did back then.
Cabrillo is one of those rare places that gives you both perspective and peace. It wears many hats- history, beauty, adventure, calm. And somehow, it balances them all. We left sandy, sun-kissed, and full of that kind of quiet energy that only the ocean can give you.
Mai Household Mayhem 