Day 37-Wed, 4 Feb 09-Morro Bay, California

Another spectacular day! We were up early (nothing new for Wayne), and by 9:30 am we were both off to do our own thing on the beach. Although we kept running in to one another on our wanderings, we didn't meet back at the van until 2 pm.
I was determined to spend some time watching the otters. Sea Otters are really large--probably around 36 to 45" long. It's difficult to really see their full size as they are constantly preening and grooming so don't tend to stretch out until they are ready to dive under water. Their back flippers are huge which is why they can move so fast I guess. I stood and watched them for a couple of hours, took lots of photos, and yelled at kayakers who insisted on trying to get within a foot of the animals.
From there I wandered down around the big rock to see why these two guys had gi-normous camera lenses focused on the rocks. I suspected it was to see Peregrin Falcons...and I was right. They are part of the Calif. Peregrin Falcon Watch, which we also have in Ottawa, and I spent some time with them looking through their mega scopes. There is a male and female. She lost her 7-yr mate the previous year but has a new man in her life. They are at the 'bonding' stage and and are practicing mating (??) before getting in to the serious stuff in another couple of weeks. The one guy had the biggest lenses I've ever seen, attached to a 21 mega pixel camera! It takes high definition videos and he was anxious to capture the mating process. The other fellow had a wonderful album of photos he's taken over the past few years so it was interesting to talk to them and learn something more about these delicate birds that are still on the endangered species list.
I had said to Wayne that if we lived in a climate like this, and loved photography, it wouldn't be hard to get involved in some serious wildlife photography, simply because it abounds here. Between the thousands of species of birds, whales, seals, etc. there is always something 'available' to photograph all year long. Perhaps that's why I always loved Vancouver Island..the climate is certainly a tad harsher but out there, if it's not animals to watch, it's flowers and gardens..two of my favourite things!
We walked over the beach to the harbour area for dinner. A trawler had just brought in some eels which would be processed and sent to Taiwan..go figure! They were the long, thin type and I can't figure how you eat these buggers..and don't really care. While we were eating dinner there were a pair of sea lions swimming around the boats. One of the waiters said a restaurant down the road throws out fish to them and they have become 'regulars' at the harbour.
We are stopping at the Dodge dealers in San Luis Opisbo to have the squeelie front brakes checked before we head out and do any more mountainous travelling. Going from one coast to the other means climbing up and down some pretty spectacular mountain ranges and we tend to focus on making sure the brakes are good...error on the side of caution! I don't think it's anything serious..as in $expensive$....
Until tomorrow, our love and hugs to all. Our baby HoneyB has a cold, as does Kim. It doesn't help that she gets calls from her in-laws on the beach or that her hubby is in Cancun on business.