How I Spent My 4 Day Vacation Part 2 - Elephant Seals in San Simeon

As briefly talked about in this post, here's the pictures/info from visiting the Elephant Seals in San Simeon, CA last weekend.

First, I had no idea there were Elephant Seals anywhere close to California. For some reason I have always thought of them as mammals that would only live in the Antartic, Alaska or somewhere super cold like that. So when I found out from a work friend that we could see these giant beasts up close I was really excited to make it part of our Pismo Beach trip.

For those of you not familiar with the area, Pismo Beach is about 15 minutes south of San Luis Obispo, and San Simeon is near Hearst Castle and about a 45 minute drive north along the coast of California. Due to all the rain we've been having, the hills are lush and green which truly made for a gorgeous site! Unfortunately I was driving so I wasn't able to take pictures of the beauty.

 

 

The different sizes of Elephant Seals. The largest is a full grown male, middle is a full grown female, and smallest is a juvenile/sub-adult.

 

We happened to be there are one of the best times!We were able to see them in all stages, feeding and even some mating!

There were SO many, almost every inch of sand was taken!

 

A lot of them had what seemed like a cold. They kept sneezing which would make their entire body jiggle.

  

The full grown males are HUGE! About 7-8 feet! The smaller one's surrounding this one were sub-adults.

 

  

This guy was really talkative! Did you know their noises sound like a human burping/farting? Izabella found this hilariou...OK, OK so did I haha.

  

They get itches on their flippers

And flip sand on their backs. We aren't sure why, maybe to help keep them warm?

 

 Nursing

 

A little tiff

 

This guy was chasing after one of the females and started mating with her. It sure was a site! With all the "yelling" and biting it was interesting trying to explain to a 3 year old what was happening. Oh the questions she asked!

 

Kisses for the mama :)

And a BIGGGGG stretch

We had a great time checking out the Elephant Seals. If you ever find yourself in the area I definitely recommend making the trip to check them out!

How I Spent My 4 Day Vacation Part 1 - Butterfly Grove in Pismo Beach

Every year from November - February the monarchs migrate and make the Pismo Beach Butterfly Grove a stopping point. We have visited at times were tree branches were almost falling off the trees from the weight of all the monarchs! My Mom, Sue, Izabella, and myself decided to make the trip this weekend to check it out. Unfortunately, due to weather, most of the butterflies have moved on from area already and there weren't too many left. We did learn that the best time to go is in Dec. and are already planning our trip!

 

Pismo Beach is known for their clams. All around the city there are GIANT clams that are painted/decorated by local artists for each major holiday/event in the area.

 

  

  

 

 

 Flooding from the rain that made it difficult to see the monarchs that were still there.

 

 (can you see it?)

(Oh look! There's TWO!)

 

(If you click on this one you can tell it's a monarch)

There is a trail you can follow out to the ocean. Near the end of the trail there were a bunch of really cool trees so we stopped for a little photo shoot and to play in the water.

 

  

 

The water was SO cold!

Popping seaweed pods

  

Izabella used my "big girl camera" to take her first "big girl camera" picture 

Later in the day we drove an hour north, to the San Simeon area, to check out the Elephant Seals and I'll be posting more on that later this week.

Have You Ever Seen A 3 Year Old Run??

Especially when she...

Is trying to keep her unzipped jacket on

Has been cooped inside for 2 days due to traveling and rain

And is REALLY excited to "see" butterflies for the first time?

This is something what it looks like. A video would do it better justice but hopefully this gets the picture across pretty well. She wasn't just running, she was doing this weird booty wiggle/gallop thing that had Sue and I almost falling over in laughter.

 

More on the butterflies and the other adventures we had this past weekend coming soon.

I introduce to you...Mr. & Mrs. Lonie Fink

This past Saturday one of my best friends got married to one of my really good friends. To say these people were born to be together would be an understatement.

I've known Mahria for about 6 years and Lonie for about 3. The two of them met when I was asked to go to dinner for a friend's birthday. Being the girl that I am, I didn't want to go by myself so I asked (see begged and dragged) Mahria with me. The two of them pretty much made an instant connection and evidently Lonie called people after dinner and told them he had met the girl he was going to marry (I know, I know stop with the cheese).

The two of them dated for 3 years and 2, 3 or 4 days before tieing the knot this past weekend and I couldn't be happier for both of them. I wish both of you all the best in the world!

Silverado Country Fair

I found out about a country fair a few months ago from my next door neighbor Nick who has his own business selling different flavored teas and beautiful tea pots. It's set back in the Santa Ana Hills/Canyons in a town called Silverado and evidently this was their 39th year having the event. When I decided to sell at the event I didn't know exactly what I was getting myself into, but upon arrival it soon became clear that Marie and I were in for a weekend of down home fun.

The people that attended the Silverado Country Fair were mainly locals or people from near by towns in the canyon. To say they were welcoming would be an understatement. Everyone was so happy, accepting and cheerful all weekend long it felt like we had escaped to a different land.

The event raises money for the community and the organizers, volunteers from the Community Center, went out of their way to give everything a country feel. There was a blacksmith making things on site, a pretend jail where you could have your friend "arrested" for $6 and a picture with their warrant printed out, rock stacking, a stage where local bands/musicians played bluegrass, western and country music, and various food eating contests were some of the highlights for us.

Here's some pictures from our weekend and I will definitely be going back next year!

My booth

A closer view of my new sign and plates

The corn and scarecrow in front of my booth were
VERY popular with the carnival goers

Saturday morning Marie notice a hummingbird who stopped by
and tried to "feed" off my fake flowers and bright colors.
Can you see him?

Rock stacking. The more you stack the more points you get.
The size and shape of each rock determines how many points it's worth.

Country Legend Rusty Richards
stopped by to preform Saturday morning

Saturday's Watermelon Eating Contest (she was 2nd)

Watermelon Eating Contest (she was 3rd)

Watermelon winners! The girl in blue won!



The blacksmith hard at work





One of his fantastic pieces

Sunday's Pie Eating Contest

This little girl was ADORABLE! She was sitting on her
Dad's lap and they were eating the pie together.

The guy on the top left ended up being the winner.

Through out the 2 days there was a raffle.
This is Wendy; she won the apron I donated.

Like I said, Marie and I had a great time at this country fair. If you are ever in the area, we definitely recommend a drive through the beautiful Santa Ana Hills/Canyons.