Okay, so we’ll wake up to California sunshine after a day of rain. Right? Wrong. Woke up to clouds and a gloomy forecast. Still it was vacation and better than the cold and snow at home!
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| MUSAP at Elephant Seal Trail |
First stop was one that we weren’t too sure about ~ the Elephant Seal Boardwalk and Trail a short drive north of San Simeon. Several people told us to stop there and insisted we would like it. They were right - it was pretty amazing to see and hear so many elephant seals!
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| Elephant Seal Trail |
There were hundreds of seals all over the beach. The sounds were unexpected and constant. The big males were busy defending their territories and trying to mate with any available female. The females were lying in the sand dealing with the males and nursing their pups. The pups were sticking close to mom and trying to stay out of the way of the males. Sadly there were many dead pups that were most likely crushed accidently by the males.
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| male elephant seal |
We stayed longer than planned photographing the seals. That was okay because with the weather were didn’t expect to look for many Vista Points as we continued up the Pacific Coast Highway. We drove through rain and for, and clouds, and clear sky. We saw trucks with plows that were there to clean up any rockslide damage caused by the rain.
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| the fog assured that I kept both hand on the wheel |
We did have a stop planned for Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and the Mcway Waterfall. Our nephew Mike insisted that we stop here to see the view and enjoy the majesty of Big Sur. The parking lot was packed despite the weather. I can’t imagine what it’s like on a sunny day in the summer. It was clear that it would be beautiful in the sun. With the clouds it was lovely, but not spectacular. Again, an excuse to return to the area.
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| McWay waterfall |
Of course raindrops do provide opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise be there. So I switched to my macro lens and had some fun.
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| when life give you raindrops ~ take photos |
Back in the car and heading north. We checked into our motel in Millbrae and then went to Daly City. Our nephew, Mike, was celebrating his 40th birthday (how did that happen?) and we were invited to the party. It was wonderful to see more family on this adventure. Wish we had had more time to visit!
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| California nephew & niece with their children |
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| Sarah & Andrew with MUSAP |
2/9/14
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