Back in KC

I got back from the annual family vacation today!  What's that you say, you didn't know I was gone?  Ah well, it happens.  I decided not to announce it publicly beforehand.  Anyway, it's a nice surprise, isn't it, because now I can tell you about my adventures.

We spent a week in lovely California by the coast.  Major stops were Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Big Sur, and (for a day) the San Francisco area (though we only drove through the city itself).  Yes, I saw the Golden Gate...partially.  What I found out about CA is that if you're anywhere near the ocean...it's foggy.  Foggy and COLD.  My KC-accustomed self was shocked at the low temps!  A bit of a jar at first, I can't say that I didn't enjoy the change.  60's jeans weather with a sunny 70 further inland is my kind of climate.  I am questioning my parents' sanity for staying here, where it's hot and humid in summer and frozen in winter.  So are they.

I got the chance to see not only the Pacific (which I got a glimpse of a few years ago), but a colony of harbor seals, some sea lions, cormorants, pelicans, gulls, and--up close and personal--two sea otters eating their catch of crabs right next to the pier I was standing on at the time.  Ate some clam chowder and sourdough bread (them Calis sure like that stuff), stuck my toes in some freezing water and nice soft sand (as well as hard, pointy pebbles...ow), touched a Redwood tree (and got dizzy looking up at more of them), feared being hit by crazy Cali drivers multiple times, and heard three separate groups of people singing in public just because they could within a few blocks of Santa Cruz.

I'll post a few of my best pics later.  At the moment I'm pretty tuckered out...I hate planes, and also haven't slept well for a while...I'm sensitive to light and noise, and hotel rooms have too much of both, e.g. highways, people slamming doors, and lights attached directly outside my window.xD