Cute Little Animals

Michael And here comes "Rundi," the newsletter supplement for our dear young newsletter readers! You little rascals, in California, the Pacific Ocean is practically on your doorstep, and you don't need to go to the zoo to see the cutest animals. I already mentioned once that we saw whales from the beach near the Point Reyes area, frolicking in the water and spouting water fountains. Recently, we were down in Morro Bay and walked along the beach. Suddenly, there was a splash in the water, and we looked out to sea: there were actually dolphins in the water, jumping around! In the photo with the arrows, you can see the black tail fins of the two flippers sticking out of the water. It's a bit hard to see in the printed version, but on the internet, you can enlarge the picture nicely. If you don't have internet access, pester your parents until they sign you up with AOL!

You don't need to go to the zoo to see seals, either. Right in the middle of San Francisco, they swim to Fisherman's Wharf and sunbathe on some wooden decks. Down at Big Sur, right by "Highway 1," there's a beach where the somewhat larger elephant seals bask in the sun--and you can get really close to them. No kidding, there were at least a few hundred lying there last time we were there. They do smell a bit fishy and grunt indecently, but people are thrilled.