Happy Thanksgiving....

Every day I am so thankful for so many things, but during this time of year, I am even more Thankful for so much.... Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving full of blessings...




Michele

Morro Bay....

Our favorite spot for a getaway weekend...

When we need a break from all the daily whistles in life, we escape to the beautiful small town of Morro Bay. It's a little more than 2 hours north of Ventura, where we live now. When we were in Tehachapi it was a little over 3 hours west. It doesn’t matter which town you leave from though; either way, it’s a beautiful drive. Unfortunately, when leaving from Ventura, you don't want to leave on a Friday afternoon heading north on Hwy 101 due to the traffic. Leaving from Tehachapi for Morro Bay on a Friday was much easier because the route doesn’t have the traffic that Ventura has.

We haven't been in quite a while. I think last spring was the last time we went, so we are way over due. :)

Morro Bay is a very quaint little town and at times can be a very touristy town. It sits in a harbor along the beautiful central coast of California and is only 20 minutes south of Hearst Castle. The marine life that live in the area consist of our favorite; the Sea Otters. There are also lots of jelly fish, birds, many seals that wait for the fishermen to arrive from their morning fishing trips to get food.

Down along the harbor is the embarcadero which is full of little touristy shops, restaurants, and a few clothing and sports shops. There are only a handful of places to stay on the water and most of the hotels and inns are a block or more up a hill overlooking the harbor, coastline, Morro Rock, and the embarcadero. It's a beautiful view.

We haven't experienced much of downtown Morro Bay, but there seems to be a variety of small town shops. There are a lot of places to stay in the town including campgrounds, hotels, inns, and bed and breakfasts. The town also has a golf course, museum, a very small aquarium, boating, whale watching during the summer, harbor tours, etc. The Fish Hut is one of my favorite places to eat and is an outdoor type place which works well for our situation.

One thing we really love is driving the car down to the embarcadero and park, so we can walk along the harbor, look at the shops, eat either breakfast or lunch, and search for the otters. After we spend some time in the area, we head off in the other direction walking along the waterfront out to Morro Rock where there are a lot of seagulls, squirrels and an otter or two, sometimes as many as four. They hang out in that area a lot, eating, sleeping, and bathing. It's just inside the break waters of the entrance to the harbor. The road leading out to Morro Rock has a south side which is the harbor and the north side is the ocean with surfers, beachers, and the start of the coastline again.

Lots of people go out to the rock; bird watchers, fisherman, otter viewers, surfers, and many other people. If we are going to spend more than an hour out there, we will drive the car and park right beside the rocks, just above the water where the otters are. Kayla loves to lay in the back of the car with the door open to look out. She lays there and plays with her toy, looks out at the excitement that is going on, watches mom take photos of the otters, and really enjoys her time there.

Morro Bay is a perfect place for us to go to. The town is quite accessible keeping us from having to drive everywhere we want to go. It allows us to walk all over, has beautiful weather, gives us both something we enjoy doing, and allows for us to spend quality time together.

If you have any questions or want some recommendations, please feel free to email me at creativephoto2@gmail.com.

Hope Everyone is doing good and has a GREAT weekend! :)

Giant Pandas....

If I can't have Orcas then it will have to be Pandas...

My daughter had a four day weekend, so we jumped on the opportunity for some R&R and went to San Diego to meet up with a friend and ended up at the San Diego Zoo. The weather was beautiful. Friday was a bit cloudy with bright, blue skies to accompany the clouds. The temperature was warm, being neither too hot nor too cold. Saturday was another beautiful day with blue skies, though a bit cooler, with a slight wind from the Santa Anas.

It had been a good year or two, since we had been to the San Diego Zoo. There were a few changes going on there which left only part of the zoo accessible, but we still had a great time and got to enjoy the animals that we did get to see.


We saw a handful of animals, but the favorite of the trip were the Giant Pandas. Go figure, black and white. :)

Giant Pandas are mammals and are classified in the bear family native to China. Thankfully, China has allowed the San Diego Zoo to be a part of their research breeding project and in turn have loaned them a few Giant Pandas. We were able to see three of them: SuLin, BaiYun, and Zhen Zhen.

SuLin is the first Panda you see when entering the Panda exhibit. She is 3 years old, approximately 175 lbs, and was born at the zoo on August 2, 2005. She is the third cub born to her mother, BaiYun, and the second-born to her sire, Gao Gao. She was conceived via natural mating and is now old enough to be independent. Since she is now 3 years old, she is awaiting her time to return to China.


The next two Pandas on exhibit are BaiYun and her fourth child Zhen Zhen. BaiYun was the first successful birth of Giant Pandas at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center in China. She is 17 years old and weighs approximately 214 lbs. She is on loan from China as part of the breeding research program at the zoo.


Zhen Zhen was born on August 3, 2007 from the natural mating of BaiYun and Gao Gao at the San Diego Zoo. She is still very young at 14 months old and still needs her mother. When she turns 18 months old, she will be separated from her mother to start her life on her own.


BaiYun's only son, Mei Sheng, was born in 2003 at the zoo and is doing very well since being returned to China in October of 2007. Mei Sheng's father was also Gao Gao and was also conceived via natural mating.

Gao Gao is a wild-born animal and arrived from China in January of 2003 to be a part of the breeding program at the zoo. He only has two successful offspring both via natural mating: Mei Sheng and SuLin.

The first giant panda born in the United States to survive adulthood was Hua Mei. She was conceived via artificial insemination between Shi Shi and BaiYun and was born at the zoo in 1999. Hua Mei was returned to China in 2004.

Now a bit more about the Giant Pandas...


When Giant Pandas are born after a gestation period of 95 to 160 days, they only weigh about 4 oz and can barely fit into the palm of your hand. They are born blind, fur less, and are mostly white with a pinkish tint. The cub nurses from its mother's breast 6 to 14 times a day for up to 30 minutes at a time. When they are about 7-14 days old, the black saddle and ear patches begin to emerge and darken. They will start to take on the appearance of a more typical panda only much smaller. The hair on the cub is still sparse and predominantly white. A month after birth, the color pattern of the cub's fur is fully developed. The cub begins to crawl at 75 to 90 days and mothers play with their cubs by rolling and wrestling with them. Cubs can eat small quantities of bamboo after six months, though mother's milk remains the primary food source for most of the first year.

There is approx 25 species of bamboo, but the zoo only produces 2 types.
The average adult Giant Panda eats as much as 20-30 lbs of bamboo shoots a day. When the Pandas eat, they do so in a very relaxed manner.

Giant Pandas are very solitary and live alone except during the few days when mating occurs. Adult pandas sleep about 14 hours a day and spend the rest of their time mostly eating, while cubs sleep about 18 hours per day. Male Giant Pandas are 10-20% larger than females.

At the San Diego Zoo, the adult pandas, which are solitaire, are rotated every two weeks to be out on exhibit. The Pandas are very sensitive to unfamiliar noise and direct sunlight.

Of the eight living species of bears, the Giant Panda is the only one currently classified as endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. In fact, there are less than 1,000 Giant Pandas left in the world today.

The "Other" Residents.....

From May to October, there are three pods of resident Orcas commonly seen in the Northwest Washington Area. The three pods are known as J-Pod, having about 28 individuals; K-Pod, having about 19 individuals; and L-Pod having about 54 individuals. They are classified as the Southern Resident Community and are found in southern BC and Washington. One of the pods stays in the general area of the San Juan Islands and Salish Sea all year long. Those are residents of J-Pod. In the winter, K & L-pods travel more widely in the outer coastal waters being observed as far south as Monterey, California and as far north as Langara, Queen Charlotte Island. During the summer, K & L-pods are seen throughout the Northwest Washington area, including San Juan Islands and areas of British Columbia.

To my knowledge, I only encountered members of J & L-Pod on my trip. Some photos of the Orcas are unidentifiable, but I am 99% sure that I only saw members of J & L-Pod.

So... let's meet them! :)

J-1 (Ruffles). Ruffles is the oldest male in J, K, L-Pods with an estimated birth date of 1951. His dorsal fin is approximately 6-feet and it's quite wavy. He is the most photographed and filmed Orca and in fact, was one of the Orcas in the wild in the movie "Free Willy". Ruffles is also anti-social and quite mellow, traveling mostly alone, and at times leads the pod a 1/2 mile or so out from the others.


J-8 (Spieden). Spieden is a female with an estimated birth date of 1933. She is very distinctive from other Orcas due to her wheezing sound when breathing through her blowhole.


J-14 (Samish) Samish is another female with an estimated birth date of 1974. Her grandmother is Granny (J-2) and her great-uncle is Ruffles J-1) who are the two oldest members in the Southern Resident Community. She has had 5 children. The only survivors of her children are: Riptide (J-30), Hy'Shqa (J-37), and Suttles (J-40).


J-27 (Blackberry). Blackberry is a male Orca with an estimated birth date of 1991 and is quite young compared to the others I encountered. Mike (J-26) and Blackberry spend a lot of time together playing as they are both the same age. Blackberry can be a very mischievous teenager.


J-2 (Granny) who is mentioned above. I think one of the breaching photos in the gallery is of Granny, but I am not 100% sure. It seemed like every time she was around, she would breach. Granny is believed to be the oldest female Orca in J, K, and L pods with an estimated birth date of 1911. Like Ruffles, she was also one of the Orcas in the wild in the movie "Free Willy".

(Sorry Granny... No images at this time to share of her...)

L-53 (Lulu). Lulu is a female Orca from L-pod with an estimated birth date of 1977. She is one of the most active whales in L-Pod. She travels mainly with her mother Canuck (L-7).



L-57 (Faith). Faith, despite the name, is a male Orca. His mother, Asterix, died in 1996 leaving Faith as the only member in his immediate family.

Have a great weekend!! :):)