Sunday, January 10, 2010

Chasing Summer

I feel like there were a lot of moments between the ranch and getting here to the resort that I wanted to convey through this here 'blog but are slipping through my memory to that place where smells and images will pull them back out but I might not be able to locate the file all by myself.

San Francisco was a real treat. It's been high on my list of cities to visit for a long time and was made even more memorable by having a really great time with a really great host. Thank you again and again, Jess! You are so sweet and funny and you really made us feel welcome. Your roommates are awesome too.

It's been great to be back on the road, chasing summer and seeing more of the Pacific Coast. We figured it was a good idea to take the coast highway from San Francisco to Escondido instead of the Interstate because who knows when we'll be back out this way again... And our return journey will take us to the Grand Canyon, Utah and Wyoming but not back to the coast.

The California coast is so insanely beautiful. The highway is just a tiny shelf on the side of massive mountains that descend directly into the ocean. The remnants of previously possible islands jutting out of the surf like monuments to the sea's powerful caress and the passage of time. Nothing compares. Nothing that I've seen yet anyway.

We've also been so lucky to see amazing wildlife at close quarters. We were driving along and I (being on the west side of the car) was watching some tourists take photos of what looked like a beached whale or a sea lion corpse but then there was a parking lot with "Friends of the Northern Elephant Seal" signs everywhere. These huge beasts everywhere, thousands of them, roaring and yelping and stinking to high heaven. This particular species had been hunted to near extinction in the 18oo's and only recently have they been found anywhere other than Guadalupe Island, Mexico.



On the pier at Oceanside, California we were visited by a pair of brown pelicans, most likely a mating couple judging by their colourings. It was so foggy you couldn't see more than a few feet in front of you and all of a sudden, there they were, just sitting on the railing awaiting our admiration. Now I love pelicans.



I hope to do some catching up on reporting our adventures while we're here at Welk Resort in Escondido. Yes, Welk as in the Lawrence Welk Show, champagne music and "A-one and A-two"! Thanks again Terri and Doug, this is amazing!

No comments:

Post a Comment