3 posts tagged “seals”

Yesterday I met with the Team Logan girls. We went to Luna Park, which is just around the corner from where we live. It was a tidy little place that offered little vegetarian options. And the veggie sandwich they did have sounded unappetizing to me. I got a lettuce plate, D got potatoes. I don't think either of us will go back. But the point was to see the girls and it was nice. I never have the forethought to make small talk, so I talked about books of course. It was better than my stunted attempts at pedestrian conversation.
Today we got an early start and we were at Leffingwell Landing before noon. Walking on the beach we came across a lone seal that had gotten separated from it's group and there were people on the beach who had called the ranger. I spent a while by the tide pools and I found a sea star, which is always my goal. We watched the tide come in before we got up and moved to the rocks where we found anemones in bloom. There were otters in the water and we could see seals playing too. I loved it. If it were only a little warmer so I could have stayed longer.

I never feel that I get enough of the ocean. I love the briny smell and the feel of salt sticking to my skin. I think the beach is best on overcast days. There is more of an atmosphere when it's cloudy. All the colours seem richer. Nothing is washed out by glare. I love the darkness of the sea in contrast with the grays and rich blue gray. It's really beautiful, the photos don't do it any justice. There is something about the quality that a camera can't catch.

From there we went to San Simeon to Elephant Seal Beach. The last time we were here the look out wasn't built up and the viewing area was small with a small path that took you further down the shore. That is all changed now, it's all built up and it has this deck that follows the elephant seals area pretty far down. The elephant seals are huge and they are ruckus, making a fair bit of noise. And I don't remember it smelling the way it did today. It smelled almost like a barn. Not really a bad smell, but it wasn't the best smell either. I took some video of them. I will upload that to here too.

We tried to see about Hearst Castle but the tours were going to have us waiting for hours and we weren't interested in that so we went back to Paso Robles and found the Mission of San Miguel. Before we got there we came across this hillside that was so picturesque and beautiful. I only stopped for a moment to take a quick photo but it was the sort of place you sit and look out at for hours. Then we went on to the mission. It was really rundown but that just made it interesting. I love the architecture of the old missions. The Spanish styling and the wood and masonry construction. I would have loved to have gone into the chapel for a bit but nothing was open to the public. To be honest it didn't look safe enough for the squirrels that were climbing about. We are throwing around a bunch of ideas of things to do tomorrow. We are in talks to stop back at Leffingwell Landing, drive down the 1 to Morro Bay, continue on to Lompoc and stop at La Purisma Mission before starting our official heading back. Thank god for Eclipse on audiobook. Of course it is more apparent to me, hearing the story, how silly Bella can be nearly all the time. I really wish she was better to Edward. She's rotten to him in Eclipse. What I really wish is that I had The Host on audiobook. Oh well. We should be about halfway through Eclipse when we make it home tomorrow.

Today David and I took a drive up the coast and we stopped in Carpinteria. The day use beach we found was really packed but we walked along the shoreline and enjoyed our stroll. D even heard someone talk about spotting a whale off the coast. We continued on to Carpinteria Bluffs. It's a place Aaron took us to a few years ago and I wasn't too sure we were going to find it but we did.
We weren't able to find anything in the tide pools but the beach was empty and we sat there and watched the water for a time. I miss the ocean. Something about it really seems to balance me. I know that sounds like goofy new age stuff, but it does. I could sit and watch the water for hours. Of course I say that but at a beach, I tend to be the person that doesn't stop moving. In theory I am enjoying the water but in reality I think I am perpetrating a strange criminal act in standing still. It must be a control thing.

D told me this story about this town that sits below the mountains and all the real estate is cheap because the mountains landslide once every so many years. I saw it as we drove by and it's not much to look at. I wonder if you are so desperate to own why you wouldn't invest more sagely. Maybe some people are just risk takers. It made me feel sad. It seems like a hopeless cycle.

We listened to New Moon on audiobook for the car ride and it made me remember how much I love the chapters from Visitor on. We got from Visitor to The Truth in our travels and it just made me want to read the book. I think tonight I will read from Volterra to the end and see if it doesn't settle me some. I love the part where they are in the sewers and Edward is drawing her near and touching her face. It is such a quiet devotional act. And then I love The Truth so much. There is not a sentence in the entire chapter that I would have rewritten. I'm a silly romantic at heart. I love when they love and I ... well I was going to say, hate when they hurt, but I love well Bella hurts. It makes up for all the times she's stupid and I'm wondering what Edward sees in her.

I am on page 678 of A Sweet Far Thing and I am having a problem reading farther. I know what happens to one character in the end and I don't want it to happen so I am resistant to reading further in the book. It's childish and silly but very much a real reaction. It doesn't help that Bray writes imbuing each sentence with such tension that I feel rung out at the end of each chapter. It is not the sweet forget-me-not writing of Stephenie Meyer, it's rather angsty and bittersweet. I mean Meyer writes a love story of a vampire and girl and she thinks they are star-crossed. Bray can one up her and write of a 16 year old British sorceress and an Indian man, who is educated and alone, who are in a situation where they may have feelings for each other but they won't be accepted anywhere. Not to mention everyone wants the magic of the realms and Gemma doesn't know who she can trust. Bella and Edward have it easy.

How did I get so far off of my Saturday musings? So at the bluffs we went to the tide pools and saw nothing and we walked up to the view point to see the seals. We were a ways a way so I couldn't get any individual pictures but I did take a few shots of what was there. The seals were fairly entertaining. I like them. Maybe one weekend D and I will take the time to go up to Cambria and San Simeon. They have some lovely barking fish up there.

And lastly, and only Heather and David will get the significance of this photo, but a silver S60 Volvo.

I slept like crap. I went to bed at 4AM and couldn't sleep. I kept thinking of Veronica Mars and Edward Cullen. Not to mention every 14 seconds the toilet would release water and then the tank would refill. It was sad but I counted it for endless minutes. I was not happy to wake up at 10 or 10:30 or 11. I fought it. My anxiety made me nix the idea of going to Borderfield... which now I really regret. Instead we went to the Natural History Museum at Balboa Park. They had a special exhibit called 'A Day in Pompeii'. I of course pulled a Bella and almost passed out shortly after we arrived. A security guard led us out and got me a place to sit. I scared the other security guard there because she said she would call me an ambulance. I was humiliated. Apparently I was just dehydrated. I got some gatorade and then I felt much better. Still fainting in public is just ridiculous.

On the way home we went up the coast to La Jolla. We stopped in La Jolla Cove and had to jockey for a parking place and we found what is known as the La Jolla Seals. I was very pleased. We took our time and walked around and watched them play in the water. I do heart the seals.

I love to be in San Diego. D and I have talked often about it being a place we would move if we could get him a job down there. It made me a little sad to leave. I would have loved to stay another night. Well in a place other than the acursed hotel room with the 14 second toilet symphony. But it really would be an option for living. After Lompoc or Santa Barbara.

So, after the seals, we turned on the Twilight audiobook and we headed home. We made really good time and we were home relatively quickly As we got to La Brea we were only to Balancing. I wanted to hear Confessions but alas it was time to get out of the car. Of course I will have to create reasons for us to ride around so that we can hear more. I only sound pathetic, I swear.

I got home in time to call my father, which did not kill me.I heard what I expected to hear. My grandmother is steadily getting worse. She had moments of lucidity but they are few and far in between. She isn't breathing that well. She is too weak to do anything. In short she is dying. Not dying of any more but actually in the act of dying. The good days are behind us. My dad talked to me for a few minutes while we waited for the nurses to get done cleaning her up so that I might talk to her. We awkwardly waited and then he promised to call back when she could talk. I didn't wait long. She was slow, slurring her speech and mumbling. Nothing like a week ago where we were debating. She talked a few minutes but I could tell she was getting tired and she asked if I would talk and let her just listen. Do that. It sounds simple. But really it's difficult as all hell to have a one sided conversation. She gave me reprieve after a while and I told her I couldn't think of anything else to say and I told her I should go. She wished me happiness and success and she said goodbye. I don't expect to talk to her again. And I have the knowledge of the fact that this grandmother dying isn't going to destroy me like the last one did.