One of the side trips my Dad and I took was to La Jolla Cove along the coast where the seals are taking over the beaches. My aunt and uncle joined us. I was the only one who ventured down onto the beach due to the various 'conditions'. First Dad dropped us off to go find a parking space (rarity along the coast even in the middle of the day) - since he'd turned his ankle naturally he drove and hobbled. Once out of the car the lovely aroma of ode to marine life wafted up and tried to suffocate each of us quickly. The Cove is a protected environment for marine life. And after a lengthy legal battle the seals that whelp along the edge of this once lovely spot are not considered nuisances but special.
It must be noted at first they were only closing the 'Children's Pool' built decades ago to keep a small area safe for children to swim and avoid being shark dinner (by mistake) but as time and tempers flew the section of shore gave way to many more seals. For a long time the lifeguards would put up barriers and ticket anyone near the creatures but from my observation that has gone away. I actually watched while tourists backed up nearly with their tushes in the face of momma seals protecting their little ones while snapping selfies and group shots.
The other reason nobody ventured onto the actual beach was the fact signs were posted saying the water is contaminated with possibly deadly bacteria as the ocean is pretty much the seals toilet and rarely fully flushes. I snapped a few pictures and scrambled up the stairs when the tide rose and began to spatter those close to the toothy seals. I did find myself advising the twit challenging her boyfriend to be the first to hug a seal with an offhanded comment of, "I don't think the tickets are that much as these are a protected species but the mother seals do tend to bite." I had to...I mean really those seals don't need twit breath now do they?
We walked along the top of the beach and talked about the coastal changes. The tide pools we used to walk along and glimpse small fish, sea life and other tide pool fun had been decimated by the seals. I called the tide pools the seals dinner plates. Not a sea slug much less a crab to be seen. The mossy green slime was coated with well...shall we say smelly 'stuff'?
We did enjoy the walk once the wind blew the other direction. My uncle felt obligated to say that the sharks weren't doing their jobs very well given the number of seals we saw. The sharks were taking bites out of sea life just not the seals but silly surfers.
It was one of the nice breaks in my time out in California. So many of the days were spent dealing with loss and death. Circle of life sucks some times. But like the tree below from the park we make adjustments and continue on upwards.
