Ano Nuevo Elephant Seals

I woke up this morning with the desire to go somewhere. It's February, and we haven't been to see the elephant seals in a couple of years, so I announced at 7:30 that we should jump in the car and go* so that we could try to make it to Ano Nuevo for the first tour at 8:30am**.

We didn't get there until just past 9, but amazingly, they had exactly two tickets left for the 9:30am tour. I had prepped myself for the fact that the tickets would probably be sold out and we would just continue in the car for another half hour and spend the day in Santa Cruz. Steve admitted later that he was so convinced of that scenario, that he was almost disappointed when the ranger told us there were tickets available (the disappointment can probably be attributed to the fact that The Boardwalk was open today... well, and maybe due to the presence of Marianne's Ice Cream Shoppe in Santa Cruz).Don't let the wool hat and sweater fool you, we lucked out on the weather. I came with multiple down coats, as well as a snowsuit for Shira, sure that it would be foggy and very cold, and instead spent a good amount of time wondering why I didn't just wear a t-shirt. It was unbelievably gorgeous out. Which served to remind me that part of my crankiness recently has clearly been the lack of sunshine from a couple of weeks of rain (well that and some severe sleep deprivation - please come to an end cold and flu season. Why can't both my children be healthy for more than a week at a time in January and February?)Samuel, Shira and I are posing in front of ONE piece of a blue whale's spinal bone.Two males posturing for women and territory

It was an amazing day. We got closer to the seals than we have ever been before. By law, you're required to stay AT LEAST 25 feet from the 5000 lb, 15 foot long seals (you can probably imagine why), but we ended up walking within 10 feet of a couple of them. And had the chance to stand on an overlook only about 30 feet away from hundreds of babies, adolescents, mammas, and testosterone laden males. We took a ton more pictures today that can be seen here.

When asked if he had a good time, Samuel responded that we should come back "next time." He also said that his favorite part was, "the fighting ones." Samuel seems to be especially enthralled recently by any talk of hitting, kicking, fighting, etc. Is there a testosterone hormone surge right around 3 years old? Shira was fascinated by the animals, the sand, the bushes and a couple of little girls who were also on the tour with us.

To top off a beautiful day, we ate at the new Oaxacan place in Half Moon Bay. I highly recommend it. Chicken enchiladas with mole. Yum. Authentic carne asada con nopales. Caldo Pollo. We'll be back.

*What that meant in real world time is that we managed to get everyone dressed (though Samuel chose to remain in his pajamas, so dressed for him meant shoes on and change of clothes in the car), fed and snacks, change of clothes, carriers, multiple down coats and two children loaded in the car in just over a half hour. Might be a record.

**Seeing as we didn't leave the house until 8:15am and Ano Nuevo is (according to Google Maps, which obviously doesn't account for my lead foot) an hour and 10 minutes away, you can see how this might be a little unrealistic.