California 2022 - Day 5/6

Don't forget to read the blog posts for California 2022 Days 1-4 first!

Good Morning

Jeremiah and I had our alarm set for 6:30am to get up for whale watching. At 6:10am, however, my mother knocked on our door wanting us to get up, even though the plan wasn't to leave the house until 7:30am.

Jeremiah and I were ready by 7:00am. We offered multiple times to help pack lunches and get everything ready, but our offers were ignored.

At 7:20am, Leo showed up with Starbucks. Thank goodness. He had written "BECCA BOO" on my cup. Apparently he had learned it was my family nickname, and I thought it was very sweet of him.

Moss Landing

We left the house around 7:40am and made our way to Moss Landing. We all had regular tickets, which get you on the main level of the whale watching tour boat. I ended up getting a free upgrade since it was my 30th birthday. The upgraded ticket allowed me to go to the upper deck. My mom went and got everyone upgraded tickets so we could all stick together. Almost the whole California family was present: My parents, Jacqueline, Leo, Giovanna, Orazito, Marcelle, Jeremiah, and myself. We boarded the Sea Goddess, ready to see whales!

Out at Sea

We immediately saw an otter in the pier.

As we left the pier, we came across a group of dolphins. Trivia bit: a group of dolphins is called a pod. They didn't surface, so we only got to see a bit of their backs as they came up for air.

We went further out into the bay where we found a humpback mother (cow) and her baby (calf). The calf breached a few times for us, which was incredible!

It was time to return to the pier. On the way back we saw sea lions and another otter.

Moss Landing State Beach

We all loaded back into our cars and made our way over to Moss Landing State Beach. 

Jeremiah somehow spotted an otter near the rocks on the coast, all wrapped up in seaweed. It was so well wrapped that I was convinced he was mistaken until I was within ten feet of the otter. The otter had entangled itself so that it wouldn't float away while it napped. 

My parents stayed near the car, but the rest of us were down on the rocks admiring the otter and other sea creatures we could find. Marcelle spotted a huge purple starfish in the rocks!

Santa Cruz

The group all went into Santa Cruz for coffee. We went to Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company. They make excellent blended coffee. We also did a little shopping but didn't purchase anything.

Back at Home

We went back to the house, where Jeremiah and I played Matching with Orazito for a few rounds. We also completed four puzzles with him.

King's Fish House

One of my requests for my 30th birthday was to have a seafood dinner. We all went out to King's Fish House, where Leo very generously paid for dinner.

My 30th Birthday - It's a Wrap

We returned to the house. My mother had baked me apple pie for my birthday (my other special request). The family sang me happy birthday, and we had the delicious pie. Seriously, my mom makes the best pies.

I opened my gifts after we were done eating pie. I received a Polish pottery piece that was a pitcher with a bunny design on it from my parents. Jacqueline and my sister Katy (who was in Montana at the time) gifted me a baseball tote purse and baseball Keds. Leo gifted me a gnome from Germany that he had purchased when he was there a few weeks prior.

It was a lovely birthday, and I'm deeply grateful for my family.