Elephant Seal Beach. Central Coast, California (More gratuitous animal action)

Elephant Seal Beach. My guidebook didn't make much of it, and I only stopped at the Vista Point/Elephant Seal sign because I can’t concentrate on driving if I have a sandwich screaming 'EAT ME’ from the passenger seat. My usual experience with spotting seals, whales, dolphins etc is not spotting them. Everyone else around me gets their cute sea creature porn fix and I am left staring blankly at the water, mistaking seaweed for flippers.

I parked up, grabbed my binoculars and actually managed to spot some frolicking seal action out on the rocks. Amazed, I watched for a few minutes, and then prepared to hop back in the car and off up the road. Before I could drive off, a docent knocked on my car window and asked if I had visited the far ends of the beach. Apparently I wouldn't regret it. So, not wanting to offend the septuagenarian guide, I hauled my lazy ass out the nice warm car in to the stiff breeze (howling gale) and realised that this (which I had squinted at, and written off as rocks),

was actually this:


Prepare yourself for outrageous anthropomorphism:




It gets better:

Check out the two in the background:






I know exactly how they feel.