Hi, Kids!

We had a lovely day on the water with a group of university retirees on a pontoon boat tour of nearby Elkhorn Slough Reserve. The seven-mile long tidal slough is a habitat for over 700 species of plants and animals, and the knowledgable guides are excellent resources. Although we didn't come close to identifying 700 inhabitants on our short cruise, we did see a white pelican, unusual for this area, several kinds of cormorants, egrets, guillemots, brown pelicans, otters and seals. The otters had pups, the pelicans dove in their spectacular pre-historic way (did you know they twist their neck to the left just before they hit the water in order to protect their esophagus, which is on the right?), and the seals made goo-goo eyes at the boat. The weather was perfect, sunny and warm with, thank goodness, no wind. 

The Extra is a view of the structure left from old salt ponds in the area.