Sunday February 1st 2009:
In Paso Robles we connected with Route One, the Pacific Coast Highway, for a more scenic drive up to northern California. Rachel maneuvered the twists and turns of the road gracefully as Tara and I admired the dramatic cliffs, spectacular waves, and burned forests that lined the roadway. In San Simeon (the location of newspaper magnet William Randolph Hurst's famous mansion known simply as Hurst's Castle) we stopped to take a gander at the Elephant Seals. Thousands of these ten to twenty foot long giant blobs of lard (my best description of an elephant seal for anyone who has never seen one) gather to sun themselves on this beach right along the road. A half-mile stretch of beach was covered almost cliff to water in these giant seals whose name comes from the elephant's trunk like apendage of the male seals. The three of us watched in awe as they struggled to move their bodies even a few feet before collapsing on the sand for another rest. Many of the females used their flippers to coat their backs in a thin layer of sand. The giant males roared loudly as they struggled to make advances on various females. It was quite a sight! I recomend checking out some of Rachel's pictures to get a better idea of what a beach full of elephant seals really looks like. After this break we continued up the coast through Big Sur which was recently struck by wildfires. It was interesting to see the path of the fire along the hillsides. In the early afternoon we arrived in Monterey (which looked like a really cute town that I would like to return to with more time to explore) to visit the Aquarium which Rachel remembered loving as a child. The aquarium was certainly worth the stop with hundreds of different fish to admire, cool creatures such as a sea cucumber to touch, an aviary, and cute otters! We even had the chance to watch a feeding in the kelp forest tank. I felt like a small child in a candy shop as my attention was drawn from tank to tank by fascinating creatures big and small. As the sun set and the aquarium was about to close we headed back to the car to continue our journey north. Our next stop was Santa Cruz for a quick dinner with Rachel's aunt Diane who recently returned from a boat trip in Mexico. As Rachel and Diane caught up, Tara and I delved into a jigsaw puzzle and before we knew it dinner was over and we were back in the car on our way to San Francisco. After a long, full day on the road we finally arrived at Chez Yay in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco where Rachel's friend Geoff and his roomates welcomed us with open arms. Before getting some much needed rest Geoff intoduced us to the wonders of DJ Earworm on YouTube. The mash-up of Billboard's Top 25 and another of many songs that use the same four chords are worth checking out. Before hitting the hay I asked Geoff about getting up to move the car in the morning to avoid a parking ticket. It is fine to go out to the car in your pajamas Geoff explained, you might even run into some naked people on your way back. I was fast asleep the second my head hit the pillow at the end of an epic day that felt more like three considering all that we accomplished.