Point Lobos and Carmel

9.4.16

Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

Providing the "soundtrack" for Point Lobos on the rocks way out there...

The Barking California Sea Lions!  ;)

This is what Brie looked like most of the time there.  :)

So much to see!  Sea lions, seals, otters, pelicans, cormorants, egrets...

 

The Whalers' Cabin is a museum where we learned more than we wanted to know

about whaling and collecting and selling abalone....

...but there was a great story of a guy wearing a diving suit like this

while he was collecting abalone.

The glass on the side broke, and he grabbed an abalone and put it over the hole.

The creature he was "hunting" saved his life.

As we drove away from Point Lobos, I asked the kids, "If you had just been on a field trip for school and I asked you to tell me which subjects you learned about, what would you say?"

Science!  We felt different pelts, talked with docents, and learned the differences between sea lions and seals.  We identified marine mammals, trees, plants (ever heard of bluff lettuce?) birds, and lizards.  We touched whale bones!  We observed cool geologic features.

History!  We learned about the whaling and abalone industries and how they shaped the history of this area.

Math!  Ellie usually fits some math into everything as she budgets her purchases.  ;)

PE!  We all had a great workout walking these trails!

Carmel-By-The-Sea

After a full and tiring morning, we were ready to relax on the beach for the afternoon.  "Carmel-By-The-Sea" sounds so romantic, doesn't it?  The photos and even the satellite pictures on GPS promised the perfect beach experience...

As soon as we stepped out of the car, we were hit with a violently offensive odor... "Breathe through your mouth!!!"  There was a large puddle of reddish putrid water on the far side of the beach where we were parked.  We hoped this was just some strange, isolated issue, and that the rest of the beach would be the pristine beauty we were anticipating....

We were able to move away from the smell, but it was difficult to find a place to "set up camp" where there wasn't seaweed all over.  We found a little spot, and it was a minute or two until we noticed the flies.  They were annoying, but not terrible... until someone walked your way preceded by a literal SWARM of them!  It was like a plague!  ;P

To complete this romantic, picturesque scene, a dog pooped on the beach just a bit in front of us, and the boy who was walking him just left it there.  Lovely.

I just had to "zoom out" a little on this particular adventure so y'all could enjoy the whole picture with us.  We just laughed.  What else are ya gonna do?  Our "Rom Com" of the day was much less romantic and much more comedy.  It's good for the soul to enjoy beautiful, pristine white sandy beaches and thundering waves... and it's good for the soul to laugh.  :)  Just take what each day brings you, right?

Ellie was happy!

She got to dig a hole, jump into the waves, and there were dogs everywhere!

It's all in how you frame it!

:)