Elephant Seals

On our journey down the coast we stopped at this beach which the elephant seals have claimed as their own for both mating and molting every year. When we drove by they were molting...some just starting and others almost done. It was an extraordinary sight. First, they are feisty creatures. They lay next to each other but if one is all of sudden uninterested in his or her friend being in their personal space they start to fight. It was crazy. They are also very loud when they communicate. And third...they are HUGE! We were close enough to get a pretty good idea just how big they are. They come done from Alaska every year...what a treasure to see something unique to the area. One funny thing one of the volunteers said...we were cold and she said "You like our weather? It's either 62 and windy or on a warm day, 63 and windy." It really spoke to the true we were experiencing...the northern coast is pretty much the same year round. Sometimes I think that would be a great feature...only one type of clothes, but then I would probably get really tired of  not having the warmth of the sun occasionally.