Rainy days and Mondays

The rain held off overnight, choosing instead to make my morning miserable.  As I headed out of Morro Bay, CA the rain started coming down.  But, I was bound and determined to go through with at least some of my outdoor plans.  Near San Simeon, I turned off Hwy 1 at the sign that said "Elephant Seal Vista."  As I got out of my Blazer, I could hear the seals before I actually saw them.  A cross between gurgling, farting and deep snorting.  When they came into view, I was just blown away.

I had never seen wild elephant seals before and I especially didn't expect to see so many!  There were at least a few hundred on the beach and in the water.  A volunteer from Friends Of The Elephant Seal was present to explain what we were seeing.  Apparently, the seals were juveniles resting and fasting for their eventual journey north.

In addition, the seals were strengthening their bones by moving on land since they spend so much time in the water.  I observed many of them also play fighting.  Those skills would come in handy later when they battled other males during mating season.

As I took photos of the seals, my camera got a little wet.  Later, I noticed the automatic lens cover wasn't opening and closing properly...oh, great.  I continued north on Hwy 1, the rain kept coming down.  At Limekiln State Park, I dug out my umbrella to walk the trail to the lime kilns.  In the late 1880s, these kilns were used to heat limestone rocks dug from local quarries to be processed into lime for concrete. Afterward, I hiked another short trail to Limekiln Falls

  

When early afternoon rolling around, I was heartened to see blue sky and sun making an appearance.  As I pulled into Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, the rain was gone, and I was looking forward to getting some nice ocean pics.  I walked along the Waterfall Overlook Trail, and admired the beautiful ocean scapes.  I got some nice shots, including McWin Falls spilling onto the beach.  

When I returned to my vehicle, I noticed the ants.  They were crawling along the bottom edge of the door frame, and disappeared behind the dashboard.  How did they get there, and when did it happen?  Possibly in Anaheim...I had my Blazer sitting in the hotel parking garage for three days without moving.  Well, I can't have ants in my groupie mobile!  I went to a hardware store in Carmel and picked up ant bait.  Hopefully, it does the trick.  Tomorrow, I travel to San Francisco for a couple of days.  I love San Francisco!