Then We Drove Home

We checked the weather for a few days to find the one day without rain in the forecast to make the long drive home. We picked Thursday, and it worked! We waited until after the crazy bay area commuters were safely at their desks before we hit the road at 9:30 in the morning. We could have left much earlier; we were awake at 5:00 am, but we still would have arrived home by 4:00 in the afternoon. The commuter traffic is a nightmare that adds hours and hours. We were on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge by 11:30. Stopped at the vista point and watched lots and lots of people taking selfies there. What a scene.

Then we looked west to the Marin Headlands where the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito is located. We waved hello and shouted out our good wishes to Oreilly, the rescued Elephant Seal. We told him we plan to stop by and see him on our next trip to the beach house (probably in May) if he is still there. I've been reading about Elephant Seals on the Center's website. Right now they have 59 seal patients, 43 of which are Elephant Seals. Of course it makes us wonder why. Here is their explanation:

Northern elephant seals are the second most common patient at The Marine Mammal Center. From mid-February through the end of June, the Center's rescue and rehabilitation work focuses on orphaned elephant seal and harbor seal pups. Usually these pups are washed away from the rookery during a storm or have not learned how to forage. As a result, the pups are often severely underweight. Weaned elephant seal pups should weigh 250 lbs (113 kg). Our patients are often admitted weighing less than 100 lbs.

Oreilly weighed in at only 85 pounds. He was really a very tiny pup. As of this writing he is still alive. The Center has a success rate of 60-80%. So we are pretty hopeful that Oreilly will survive and thrive and someday be ready for release. It may take a while. So we're also hopeful we'll get to see him in May.

Then we drove through wine country for a hundred miles and then through the beautiful redwood forests for a hundred miles. It's a long trip, some of it on winding two lane roads where the cliffs above are eroding rock by rock onto the highway, and the drop below is eroding in the same way. We follow the speed limits there and make our way home.

As predicted it rained on Friday. We did get out for a nice four mile walk at the marsh on Saturday. It felt good to be home. We were greeted by our feathered friends and were delighted to see them.