The Cal Poly Pier opens to the public twice a year. Professors, instructors, and students man touch tanks and research stations to educate the public about the research they conduct via the program. Super geared for kids, the day provides up-close-and-personal looks into the lives of sea creatures as well as campus projects.

The pier was donated to Cal Poly by Unocal and is a little more than a half-mile long. You can still see, along the side, the pipes that used to carry oil from ocean to shore.

The seaweed below the pier.

Looking from the pier to Avila Beach proper. That beach way over yonder is the main beach people visit when they come to Avila.

This is the beach we went to for Beach a Week #7, Dog Beach.

I was really excited to see all of the exhibits once we got onto the pier. This seastar touch tank had a huge crowd with one brave soul holding a many-legged sea star (nee starfish) and people were encouraging a little one to touch it.

Turned out that the brave soul was my mom and the little one refusing to touch it was my niece, Ysabel. The moment when I figured it out is caught here by the folks at Coast News (photo credit, Christopher Gardner/Coast News).

Here’s my mom, holding the sea star.

Here’s my niece refusing to touch the sea star.

Nathan, my nephew, was brave enough to touch the sea star and game enough to show me his missing teeth.

Six going on seven is a great age.

Me, mom, Bec, Nathan and Ysabel (thanks Steve for taking the photo).