Ocean Adventures, Part Five: Lost and Peed, or The Adventures of the Baby Seal Patrol

I thought about that baby seal all week! I headed to the beach and spent hours walking, picking up shells, wading in the uncommonly warm ocean water, scanning the shoreline for lumps and studying the waves for bobbing seal heads. I'm not going to keep you in suspense, NO baby seals as far as the eyes can see and then some.

No baby seal mutilated carcasses or even body parts either. The baby was reunited with its mother and we have ourselves a happy ending! The weather was much better than last weekend. I have a feeling seal mamas prefer to beach their babies on dark, rainy days.  The tide was coming in, too. Maybe seal mamas prefer when the tide is way out that way the babies can't swim after them? And more people on this sun-filled day. Seal mamas don't like people. My one baby seal encounter has changed me forever. From now on I will be The Baby Seal Patrol. I'll need to get myself a coat, or t-shirt, or hat so people will know who I am.

On the way back I got lost! I could not for the life of me find the entrance to the trail where I parked. Then I had to pee. Badly. So like any dog running the beach without a leash, I found a secluded place in the dunes and did the duty.

I stop and ask directions and as I'm headed back to my vehicle, this horrid woman is walking toward me with two very large unleashed dogs. One of them tears off toward me and the woman is screaming its name over and over again. Obviously, she is too stupid to actually train her dog so she has no voice control over it. The dog reaches me, runs around and jumps on me repeatedly. When the woman gets closer I say, "You need to have your dog on a leash!" She replies, whining pathetically, "That dog isn't mine" pointing to the other dog that wasn't jumping on me. Not sure of her rationale I say, "But THAT dog IS yours!" pointing to the one who won't leave me alone. She's still yelling its name and chasing it around ME so I say, "Last weekend there was a baby seal sleeping on the beach right over there. Your dog needs to be on a leash! You are responsible for it." She looked appropriately embarrassed and drug her dog away. I'm pretty sure after twenty feet or so she let it loose again. Idiot!

I did find out between April 15th and Labor Day that whole section of beach is closed to cars which is why I never saw any cars on the beach. I know it's to protect the clams for clam digging, but I'm glad it helps the seal babies, too. I went to the next beach up the road where I see signs about vehicle closure, but I see cars on the beach? People are so stupid.

At the next beach one must pay a "day use fee" to park and stay. Really? I left instead, and then my ABS light came on! What's an ABS light? I didn't know. I look it up in the manual and it's the anti-lock brake system. The manual says if it comes on don't drive or you'll have an accident!!! I'm out in the middle of no where! What am I supposed to do?  I stop in this little town's teeny, tiny grocery store and the kid at the counter offers to call the local mechanic. Even though it's a Sunday he comes. He looks at the brakes and says it's fine. No worries. Doesn't charge me anything! I got back in the car and the light didn't come back on. Jeez.

Check out the signs ocean people display in front of their houses:

This guy is very passionate about whales.

He's not too keen on the local grocery store...

...Or the local meth house.

I think it would be fun to use your house as a personal billboard for all your outlandish opinions and have everyone think you are crazy. That's my goal.

Can you sense this guy's frustration? He was out mowing the lawn so when I asked permission to take a photo he told me about his house which is now vacant soon to be up for sale. Thieves have been dismantling the house taking everything including copper piping and pawning it. Police can't or won't do anything. The owner lives a few hours away so he's hoping the sign will inspire some crime watch in the area. He also plans to put up some more signs. Maybe I should have told him about the other sign guy who could share some advice or loan him a sign or two?

Wonderful adventurous day at the ocean!

What should my home billboards say about stink-saturated people?

Ocean Adventures, Part Four: Snoozing

Today was my fourth ocean adventure. I didn't want to go. I was tired. Although it's been my intention to try to visit a different beach with each visit, it takes time to drive further and further up the coast in search of a new one. Today I just felt like being a couch potato and forgetting the beach. But it was the end of the month and there is nothing like public guilt in the form of a blog to keep one motivated toward keeping a New Year's Resolution.

In addition to not being enthusiastic, I was afraid it would be another beach much like the last and the one before. Sand, water, dunes....beautiful, fresh air, but maybe this time I wouldn't find an adventure?

I went to the beach my grandparents claimed was the best clam digging on the coast. Along the shoreline there were holes in the sand filled with water from recent diggings. I had to watch where I walked as not to fall in one. The beach was actually much cleaner than others and no traffic access which was nice.

Birds are migrating home so I thought I'd expand on my bird theme of the previous week as a back up to no adventure. YAWN.

Not a very exciting theme even with thousands of birds on the beach. YAWN.

Lots of broken shells, but few whole ones.  The tide was way out, but coming back in.

I walked down the beach, circled around looking for shells. Out of the corner of my eye I kept seeing a lump on the sand, but didn't think anything of it. I wandered toward it slowly thinking it would give me something to explore. A piece of driftwood, a log, a dead seagull. And then I got closer...

A SEAL BABY!!!!!!

I froze, staring, dumbfounded. There are warning signs on some beaches (not this one) about the baby seals, but I've never seen a real baby seal all the years I have been beach combing. The warnings say to stay away from them, at least 100 feet. Their mothers have dropped them off to rest while they go hunting. You can see her tracks in the above photo. Unfortunately, I was already within 20 feet. I was in such shock I almost forgot I had a camera with me. Then it dawned on me, maybe it was hurt or dead? He looked dead, laying on his side all stretched out. As I stood contemplating the situation, the little baby stretched, yawned, wiggled his fins, then went back to sleep. OH MY GOD! Nope, just snoozing on the beach.

I took this picture with my close up. I was really too afraid to get much closer.  So pretty - silky white fur and a big, fat tummy. Then I felt incredibly protective, not sure if I should guard the baby or just leave be. I looked around for people or dogs running loose, but only a few people around and far away so I headed back to my vehicle.

On the way back I did run into a couple with dogs on leashes. They told me they came across a baby seal that started crying and trying to follow them. They were horrified. The woman said she was so upset that she started crying. They didn't realize they weren't supposed to touch them so they drug the baby by its fins to the water and it swam off. Hmmm...that gives me nightmares. Like dragging a toddler to the street and letting him loose to run free in traffic. Anything could come by and eat the baby in one gulp. Hopefully, the mother was just off shore watching.

So I left the baby right where he was, hoped mama seal would be back soon, and that everyone would leave him alone.  I can't stop thinking about him and hope he is alright.

Hooray for a really awesome ocean adventure!