USA day 4 - Año Nuevo

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Today daughter no 2 has lab time booked – lab time makes her very stressy so we say we will entertain ourselves, then return via the shops to buy/prepare food, so at least when she comes home, dinner is sorted (this is our intention – in reality, she returns to find us in the jacuzzi drinking cocktails).

We are now well acclimatised to the US; not only do we sleep until 7.30, but we have blueberry waffles for breakfast. Waffles consumed, and daughter no 2 despatched to the lab, we head to the west coast, droning down Route 1 to Año Nuevo State Park. Here, you can follow a trail to a bay where elephant seals breed. Mating season is in December - we arrive just as the male seals are starting to come ashore to find good spots on the beach to wait for the ladies (it’s a bit like Germans putting their towels on deckchairs).

Our first stop is at Pescadero State Beach, where a rock just out to sea is covered with pelicans, coming and going between diving into the sea in search of fish. I don’t feel I’m properly on holiday until I’ve spotted pelicans. We descend onto the beach where I manage to slip off the edge of a sand mound and land on my arse. Not quite what I planned – plus it scares the pelicans into inertia.

We continue to Año Nuevo, park and obtain the necessary permits to access the observation point. It’s a 2 mile hike along a trail and then across sand dunes to the viewing point. The first part involves walking between the ocean and a lake, basically under a pelican flight path. This time I manage to remain upright and we watch the birds as they come overhead so low, that water dripping out of their bills drips onto our heads.

At the first viewpoint, there are telescopes pointing at an island so you can view sea lions on the rocks. At sea, daughter no 1 spots a sea otter. The telescope is powerful enough that we are able to watch the otter lying on its back, washing its face as it bobs around in the waves.

After a bit of a clamber over the dunes, we reach the beach where the seals congregate before moving on to the breeding beach.. At first I think the beach is empty, because the seals are (a) much paler in colour than I’d realised and (b) they cover themselves with sand to protect their skin from the sun. In fact, there are around 70 seals lazing around in the sun, just chilling before the action of mating season begins. There are very informative wardens on hand, so by the time we leave, we are elephant seal experts.

After a quick stop at Pigeon Point to see the 19th Century lighthouse, we drive back up Route 1, taking a 2 mile detour inland to Pescadero to Arcangeli’s grocery store. According to Lonely Planet, a trip to Arcangeli’s to buy their speciality garlic and artichoke bread is a must. We order build-your-own sandwiches from the deli. I opt for herb focaccia with Swiss cheese, pepper Jack cheese, chipotle Mayo, pickles and sweet peppers – a winning combination, although to be honest, I was expecting bell pepper rather than chilli peppers, so it’s pretty hot and my mouth is burning by the end. Daughter no 1 is so hungry she wants to sit in the car park outside the store and eat. I want to return 2 miles up the road to eat by the ocean in the actual park rather than a car park. After a brief hangry argument, I win and we eat our lunch at Pescadero Park, watching pelicans swooping off the rocks in search of their own lunch.

We drive back to Palo Alto, stopping at the farmers market to buy vegetables to go with our famous garlic and artichoke bread. Back at the flat, we (daughter no 1) starts preparing dinner. Then we (I) decide that we’re on holiday and a trip to the pool/jacuzzi is in order. We finish our swim, and are in the jacuzzi sipping cocktails when daughter no 2 finishes work and tracks us down. Then it’s back to the flat to finish dinner and check out if the bread is worth the hype – it is indeed very tasty. To be honest, at $7.99 a loaf, it’s probably the most expensive loaf of bread I’ve ever bought, so it ought to be!

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