California Creatures

Hello! Happy Friday!

My husband captured this scene during my first train ride. We travelled about 200 miles south from San Francisco to San Luis Obispo.

Workouts

Wed - Upper-body strength training.
Thurs – 30 minutes on the elliptical.

Animals of California

I don’t really have much “healthful bloggy” stuff today, but I did want to share some fun photos of creatures we encountered in California.

1) Bison in Golden Gate Park.

Bison have been kept in Golden Gate Park since 1891 [...] At the time, the animal’s population in North America had dwindled to an all-time low, and San Francisco made a successful effort to breed them in captivity.

(source)

2) Sea Lions at Fisherman’s Wharf.

3) Dog friend on the train! In San Francisco, there were dogs everywhere. Parks, plazas, buses – I even saw a German Shepherd inside of a Walgreen’s. Phenomenal.

4) Zebras near the Hearst Castle. Once the world’s largest private zoo, we were able to watch these gorgeous creatures from behind a fence along the road.

5) Elephant Seals near San Simeon Park. Elephant seals normally give birth in December and January, so we were fortunate enough to see a few babies flopping around.

The main differences between sea lions and elephant seals:

* Elephant seals lack external earflaps.
* Elephant seals can’t “walk” on all fours like a sea lion because their back flippers don’t bend forward like human feet. They move like an inchworm by pulling their heavy bodies forward with strong front flippers.
* Elephant seals swim by using rear flippers while sea lions swim by using their fore flippers. When it comes to scratching, it’s the opposite.
* Elephant seals have more blubber and are more streamlined.

(source)

6) Anemones  in tide pools near Cayucos. I could have spent all day watching the little dramas unfold. I was extra, extra careful not to accidentally squash any little guys.

Have you ever seen any interesting animals while travelling?

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