John Wise

Happy sausages are what this looks like, but the reality is that these are recovering celebrants after having partied too hard during New Year’s Eve. We know this for a fact because we hung out with them last night, and they all sang Auld Lang Syne as the clock struck midnight. While they didn’t invite us to any of their “seriously” pickled herring, we were content with our midnight concert of the colony.

A relatively young male, all alone as they often are since it’s unlikely they’ve attracted their own harem yet. His battle scars are few, and he will need to put on some extra weight to show dominance, but he’s young.

We could watch the ladies sleep, itch, and shift into ever cozier positions all day. From enjoying their beautiful colors to their tails that seem to work while they sleep to flick sand on themselves, these creatures are amazing to watch lounging in their natural habitat instead of performing tricks in captivity.

Battle practice in the surf turned out to be short-lived and not very serious. Big old elephant seals vying for supremacy and a large harem will get vicious as the bloodletting will continue until one is forced to flee.

Talking to her mom, Jutta, in Germany, who, on another trip, has enjoyed a coffee with us here at the motel’s cafe called Cappuccino Cove. As a matter of fact, it was a lady here at the counter who first asked us years before if we’d stopped to visit the Elephant Seals as back then, nothing was drawing a driver’s attention to the fact that there could be 100s of the seals on the beach.

It’s kind of stormy here on the coast, and as we were leaving Piedras Blancas (on the other side of this crashing wave, we’re traveling north), we were impressed that one of the waves reached into the street. So, of course, I had to stop to get a picture or two of the action.

And with the second image, we decided it was probably a lot safer not to be here on this small outcropping next to a wall of water that could easily pull us in and take us to our deaths. My heart was racing as I reached the car.

And just as quickly, things are looking brighter.

Our favorite stop near Big Sur for watching and listening to the surf is Garrapata Beach.

What bad weather? It’s a PERFECT day!

This is the Mission at Carmel and the furthest north we’ll travel today; no time for the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is just 10 minutes up the road, because we have to be back in Phoenix on the 3rd of January. Stupid us did not plan this trip very well at all, as we had a five-day-long weekend but didn’t decide to get going until Monday. So it goes.

A look into the Mission for a quick visit, and then it was time to turn the car around and head towards L.A. To save time, we opted to drive the 101 as on Highway 1, we only average about 30 miles an hour, even at night.

It’s just after 9:00 when we arrive at Andersen’s Restaurant, the home of the “best” split pea soup. It’s a tradition. From here, we aimed the car for Interstate 5, and while on the road about to look for a motel, we decided, “Hey, let’s go to Disneyland in the morning!” We found a dirt-cheap room in Buena Park near Knott’s Berry Farm, the kind of place where you don’t take your socks off because the carpet is so greasy looking.