Thursday, May 12, 2011

the day there were no seals at san simeon

 look behind us. no seals.

last october, robert and i drove down the west coast. let it be known that we are both from the tiny town of wallburg, and are not experienced travelers. myrtle beach was a big time to us. so to be out west? absolutely exhilarating. i spent months making a travel binder. that is a blog post in and of itself, my friends. i even used sheet protectors. sheet protectors!

one of the highlights of the trip was supposed to be the seals lying along the banks of san simeon, just up from hearst castle. we drove into the little town around 11:00 at night. the only restaurant open was the empty one in the motel. we slunk into a little table on the side, right by the window, black with midnight. we ate oyster stew that cost $8 a cup. we went to bed excited with the promise of seals in the morning.

but morning came. and with it, our trek along the muddy waterside. our peering over the guardrails and driving along the shore. and there were no seals. i think we went at the wrong time of the year. either way, my heart sunk as we drove away.

but later that day, we came upon santa barbara. with its gorgeous old mission and taquerias. and i forgot all about the seals, or lack thereof.

i was taught a lesson that day. that looking forward to things is fabulous. my office calendar is littered with yellow and purple highlights, markings of things to come. but sometimes, expectations fail. and it's fine. sometimes there are no seals, no matter how hard you look. but sometimes, yes sometimes, you come upon a santa barbara, something even better than you were looking for. ten times better, even.

has anyone seen the seals at san simeon? are they real? a myth? please do tell.

10 comments:

Blondie's Journal said...

I have never been to that area, Courtney, but I had a friend that lived up in Oregon that saw seals frolicking everyday. Another trip, maybe?!

XO,
Jane

Brandi said...

I've never been to San Simeon, but I can tell you we do have seals here in La Jolla, CA. Year round.

Amy @ AGirlCalledBeloved said...

great reminder. Sometimes I get my hopes up and forget that there might be something even more amazing that will happen instead!

Dee Paulino said...

nice reminder, I have never been to San Simeon but I have heard the place is famous for its seals...

Jeska said...

great story and reminder!

Southhamsdarling said...

Unfortunately, I have never been to San Simeon (or America!!), so I can't really help you there about the seals! Disappointment for you and Robert, yes, but better things around the corner for you to discover. A lesson there for all of my my friend.

kimbirdy said...

oh sad! there are a lot of seals all along the coast of california, but they mostly beach up in northern california, where it's safer to have their babies {fewer people to disturb them}. i've been sea kayaking near san simeon and came across plenty of them out in the water, but i've never seen them along the land. there are a lot sea lions that hang out on docs along the coast {especially in san francisco}, and there are tons of otters which you can see from the beach. they twist themselves up in the seaweed and just lie around in the water. so cute!

Erica said...

for some reason, all the seals even in northern california just kinda dissapeared someday. no one knows why or how, they just kinda left.

see..http://articles.sfgate.com/2009-12-29/bay-area/17461999_1_sea-lions-seals-boxer-shorts


:(

Kaylia Payne said...

I agree, I think looking forward to things is the best part anyway :) And even better is when you stumble across something magical that you weren't even looking for!

Unknown said...

i have not seen the seals yet, but maybe someday we will :)

great post. you have the gift to see the positive in that day - you saw santa barbara, not the missing seals :)

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