on the left coast

Here is an irony for you: I travel across the country for the sake of a half-marathon - implying that I'm a capable runner - and I miss my connecting flight because I can't get from one end of the terminal to the other fast enough. OK, to be fair, my first flight arrived 35 minutes late at a different building, and there was no way I was going to make that flight. By the time I arrived, panting, at my gate, they'd closed the doors.

Grrrrr. I occupied the five hours til the next flight by walking the length and breadth of every wing of the terminal, twice. That took two hours. And then I bought a book...

 ... which for a newbie half-marathoner is like a nice dose of crack.

Eventually I got here to lovely Orange County, CA. Slept like a rock.

Our adventures today: Lynn - my fabulous sister-in-law - and I went for a run - the last one before the race. We did an easy three miles at a 10:27 pace. It felt slow compared to how I've been going lately, but that's just fine. We went to a small farmer's market and I stuffed my face with sample slices of peaches and nectarines while Lynn loaded up a basket with veggies. We proceeded to the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Canyon. 

Not a bad setting for any occasion, I think.

I swear, I ate a healthy lunch here.

Finally, hooray, we went to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. Naturally, we got to go behind the scenes, since between them, Dana and Lynn have logged approximately a lifetime of volunteering.

      

A Guadeloupe fur seal. Not usual for around here, apparently. Isn't he handsome? Apparently he can be a little tetchy at times. Today he was sharing a pool with three harbor seals.

 

 ...of whom this is one.

 

Two California sea lions. The one in the foreground was a research pup from the Channel Islands - hence the number on her side.

A couple of elephant seals.

It was a good day at PMMC - apparently one of the elephant seals had been refusing to get in the water, and today she finally got into one of the pools and enjoyed herself.

Gracie, a great egret, observed the proceedings with equanimity.

Tomorrow we head down to San Diego. I probably won't post again til after the race. Wish me luck!