The Vista

I'd never had a burning desire to visit the USA, but I'd thought that if I did, I'd want to do a road trip in a convertible. When I ended up in the States I knew that it had to be done, and decided to drive up the west coast, from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The only convertible the rental company had was a brand new, bright red Mustang, which seemed highly appropriate, so off I roared. The wind was in my hair, the sun was shining, and I had a fantastic mix CD that was perfect for singing along to at the top of my lungs. I drove along beside the ocean, through the forests, marvelling at the varying landscapes.

I passed a road sign that said "Elephant Seal Vista," and thought it an odd name for a lookout, since there couldn't possibly be any elephant seals. However when I approached the lookout, there were quite a few cars parked, so I pulled over to check it out. A couple of seconds passed before I realised all of the large rocks on the beach weren't rocks at all, but massive seals. It was nap time as there was barely any movement, and the thought crossed my mind that perhaps there'd been some freak accident and they were all dead. But every so often, a giant rumbling sigh would escape one as it wriggled around and rolled over.

I stood watching them for quite some time, and as the minutes rolled by, I could spot more action. There were two ginormous males having a tousle in the shallows, a little baby awkwarding sliding after its mother. But the vast majority were like the ones above, happy to laze around enjoying the sunshine.

Nibbles

Squirrels are adorable. We don’t have them in Australia, and it wasn’t until I first went to England that I saw them bouncing around Hyde Park. This though, is an American squirrel. I was there in early November and think I experienced some unseasonably warmish weather in Washington D.C. I’d spent the day wandering around the monuments of the city, marveling at how they were all free, and soaking up the sun. It was getting later in the afternoon as I strolled along the reflection pool (swallowing the temptation to yell “run Forrest run”) towards the statue of Abraham Lincoln, and then on to the Vietnam War Memorial. It was as I was making my way towards that long black wall, with thousands of names etched into it that I heard some noises in the trees. Sure enough, there was this squirrel, happily gorging itself on the bright red berries. He wasn’t the first squirrel I’d seen on the trip so far, but was extremely endearing.