Garrapata

As we have driven back and forth to the cabin, we have been passing Garrapata State Park. We finally were able to fit it into our busy schedule on Thursday. We awoke, packed up and headed out. As we reached Highway 1 at the end of our road, we first noticed the clouds. The Charlie Brown cloud that follows us in Wisconsin had finally made it to California. He was upset we hadn’t told him of our travel plans. We parked our car and headed out into the mist. The first sign we see warns us of loose rocks and steep cliffs.

Maybe a loose rock will knock some sense into us!

Undaunted (or just plain crazy) the intrepid explorers walk toward the sound of the ocean. The path is a bit obscured but we will be careful.

Where did the ocean go?

We finally see a bit of sun and we run toward it.

I see sun - follow me Lori!

The scenery is of course spectacular. The wind is a bit rough and the temperature has dropped but Amy puts on her winter, sorry spring/fall coat, and we enjoy the wonderful views.

We found the ocean again!

We continue to explore the cliff edge, following each and every turn to make sure we see everything. Suddenly, we come upon a path that appears to lead down to a sandy cove. The intrepid explorers carefully make their way down. Lori uses the “slide on your butt” technique. Amy has a more dignified walk upright approach. Our persistence pays off and we find ourselves once again in a beautiful sheltered cove with a lovely sandy beach. Lori is as happy as a clam.

I'm as happy as a clam - halfway to Hawaii!

Amy is more adventurous and wants to enjoy the sand between her toes. After all, she is on a beach. Shoes off, she heads into the water.

It's beautiful - I just can't feel my feet!

Please notice the combination of bare feet and fleece. We spend time exploring the cove before reluctantly leaving -but not before having a kelp ball fight!! A first for the blog – VIDEO!. Please enjoy the excellent cinematography.

We finally climbed out of the cove taking a different path that looked much easier. Well, actually no. It was much more difficult. However, the scrambling on our knees (just Lori) was worth it. In the cove just south of the one we had been playing in, we finally found a wild sea otter. He was a very industrious sea otter, continuously diving, eating and grooming. We quickly whip out our cameras, both still and video and spend another 30 minutes documenting the every move of this lovely ocean creature. Now Amy is as happy as a clam. We actually see a second sea otter but he stays farther out.

At last - the elusive wild sea otter!

We finally continue on our hike and suddenly Lori’s cell phone rings. We are on the backside of a mountain, a few feet away from the ocean, and apparently we now have service. It is a text message from Kathryn giving us advice on how to build a fire. Lori of course replies - it is the polite thing to do and we continue on our hike. Several more scenic outlooks, followed by a hike up the side of a mountain, we return to our car. It was at that point that Lori found the box with maps for the park. It might have helped us a few hours before but a box with “Maps” on it was too obvious for us. We need someone in a Yogi Bear hat and green vest to give us a map. Reviewing the map, we head off in search of Garrapata beach to eat our picnic lunch. We quickly find it and head down to the beach. The view was spectacular and we quickly finished our PBJ, grape, chip and cookie lunch. It was then we realized it was only 2 pm. We usually hike until much later. We decide to return to Monterey in hopes of seeing a sea lion. We have heard them, taken pictures of them from very far away, but we hope to get closer at Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey.

We easily find our way to the Wharf. We park and we can once again hear the sea lions. We make our way over to the end of the wharf and we find two floating in the bay and a few on a deck under a building.

Much bigger than dots in the distance.

We quickly whip out cameras and begin snapping and filming. Once again Amy’s camera doesn’t work. It only happens at Monterey Bay. What’s up with that? We continue to walk around the wharf finding a few seals and sea otters but we can still hear a cacophony of sea lions in the distance. And then we see it. At the end of a rock formation in the bay are sea lion dots – we are now experts at finding sea lion dots in the distance. However, this time, we think we can get closer. We begin walking towards it finding lots of seals basking in the sun.

That better be your flipper I feel!

We only stop momentarily; our quest is the sea lion dots. Then finally we find them, hundreds of sea lions sleeping, sneezing, drooling, barking, fighting and whatever else they do at the end of a pier. Amy is the happiest a clam has ever been.

We will never settle for dots in the distance again!

Amy spends several minutes attempting to talk one into returning home with her. He ignores her.

So Lori, how much extra room do you have in your suitcase?

They have a fence at the end of the wharf to keep Amy away from the sea lions. Several hours later, Lori drags Amy away from the sea lions. (Hint for Christmas – Amy wants a sea lion). This obsession explains her choice of dogs – really big, brown, furry and drooly. Amy believes she connected with a large sea lion she named Louie. Louie might disagree. We stop at the wharf shops looking for tacky souvenirs. Once again, Lori is foiled and Amy needs to buy another suitcase for all the fleeces & sweatshirts she's purchasing.

We head home, first stopping at Safeway to pick up a few things, say hi to the Wi-Fi crew and post our blog. Unfortunately, it takes forever to upload an image. We miss the sunset and don’t get back to our cabin until late. Amy quickly starts dinner (spaghetti) while Lori gathers tinder and starts yet another fire. We use lots of paper (Kathryn) and we get the fire started but we can’t seem to keep it burning for more than a few hours. Lori learned at Girl Scouts how to start a fire, they never taught her how to maintain the fire. We then finish our second course (sour cream mashed potatoes) and it’s time for bed. Tomorrow we plan on relaxing and visiting the Mission in Carmel.

Lewis & Clark signing off.