By: Kevin
When we made a visit to San Francisco last year, we went down to the docks and Fisherman’s wharf to try and see the sea lions, but for whatever reason we were unsuccessful in our efforts. Yes, we have seen sea lions at SeaWorld, both here in San Diego as well as Orlando, FL, but it is just not the same as seeing them in their natural environment.
We were told that the beaches at La Jolla frequently have sea lions sunning themselves, so we made the short drive out to the beaches to see what we could find. The kids heard the word ‘beach’ and immediately changed into their swimming gear, piled way too much stuff into the van, and were ready to go.
On arrival to La Jolla beach, our first hurdle was to find parking. The beach was busy, and due to construction in the area, parking was even tighter than normal. We lucked out and found a car pulling out right at the beach and I was able to swing into the spot before anyone else snagged it. This time, we were successful! There were many sea lions swimming, sunning, sleeping, and playing on and around the beach. There were animals of all sizes and one could hear the barks and calls as they conversed and challenged each other. They didn’t seem to mind people being around either. While I doubt they would let you pet them, they couldn’t care less as we walked among them in the sand. The thing that surprised me the most was the stagnant smell. While I fully understood that there was no zoo keeper tending to them and cleaning up after the sea lions, the stale smell of salt and feces was stronger than I expected with the prevailing sea breeze. We could clearly see droppings around the rocks, sometimes liquified in pools of trapped water atop the rock formations. Miss Kicky Feet was heading straight for these pools of liquid poop and had to be redirected more than once to ensure our van did not smell like sea lion poop for the coming days or weeks.
Despite the smell of nature, the sea lions were actually pretty cool. Watching them “walk” around on the rocks with their two front flippers and kind of wiggle their hind end around was entertaining for me. They were more agile than I would have otherwise thought. They of course are avid swimmers as well, even is strong surf and waves between the boulders and rock formations they swam with ease and grace.
We spent approximately an hour taking pictures and videos of the sea lions and their cubs before moving on to our next activity of the day. All of us enjoyed our little dose of nature in action on the rocks by the sea. If anyone is in the area, the sea lions hang out on the rocks of La Jolla beach most of the year, if you care to visit them too.
The Ready Rovers 