An extremely large “king tide” rolled away recently, giving exposure to reef areas not usually accessible. On this particular journey south of La Jolla Shores, photographer Don Balch did a little exploring during peak low tide and found an obviously old bottle wedged between some reef rocks. Thinking it was unusual to find a bottle unbroken in such a craggy area south of La Jolla Shores, he said he did a little research on the bottle markings and found the item was made in 1936. This photo reveals the calcified growth on the bottle, adding to the history. Inside, there is a clamshell, which obviously grew from its tiny form and died once it was too large to escape. Fascinating what you can find along our La Jolla shoreline on the right circumstances!