A big day of Adventures in Morro Bay

On our way from Los Angeles to San Francisco we stopped in a place called Morro Bay.  In the background of this photo you can see a big rock.  It is called Morro Rock. It is actually a volcano plug.  

We walked down into the village and found this huge life-size chess board.  Because my class is learning about old-fashioned games I decided to read the board that had Chess's history on it.  I found out that more than a thousand years ago a game with a king and queen, warriors, chariots and even elephants was carried from Persia to Europe by traders on the Silk Road.  Our modern game of chess is thought to come from a game first played in India 4600 years ago.

We had heard the beach was really nice and that you could do a walk round Morro Rock so we decided to head for the beach.  But as we drove in we saw something strange outside the car window.

The sky was full of colourful kites that were soaring and dipping in the wind.  It was a Kite Festival!  We were so excited!!! 

 

We saw a black and green dragon kite.  It had sharp spines that crept down it's body and tail.  It's leathery wings were puffy and thick.  It was soaring next to the ground and its tail was drooping and brushing the sand.  I was amazed because I had never seen such a big kite. 

There were so many different kites.  There were sea-creatures like dolphins, an octopus and a spinning spiky donut that was so huge the people looked like dolls. 

Flying the kites looked like so much fun - and then I found out we could make a kite of our own for free.  We lined up and the volunteers gave Isaac and I a plain white kite and stickers and pens. 

We went to a table and sat and decorated our kites.

When we were done, this is what our kites looked like.

Then it was time to fly!!!

Isaac and I had a great time flying our kites.

I let Dad have a turn too.

Before I knew it my kite was high in the air... and OH NO!!! It escaped!!!!

Thankfully my big brother Finn ran through the bushes, bramble and sand to save my kite!!!

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And then I let it go again.... and it went on to the road... and was hit by a car... but Finny STILL ran after it and managed to bring it safely back to me!!!!  What a great brother.

Once we'd finished flying our kites we decided to do the walk around Morro Rock.  The first exciting discovery was....

A SQUIRREL!!!

Then we found something just as cool.  Can you spot it in this picture - right behind my head.

A seal!!!  The seal had come onto the beach for a rest and the conservation workers made a big line in the sand as a border around the seal so people didn't come too close.

Then we went exploring on the rocks.

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After that we went to the Morro Bay Museum of Natural History.  A very kind volunteer told us all about Morro Rock and the area around it.  There was a big window behind her and you could see everything on the map as well as out the window.

There were so many things to do at the museum.  First I learned about the footprints different animals make in the sand.  Then I used special tools to make all the different prints in some sand.

There were lots of exhibits about the past and weather and what happened to the land and ocean.

There was also a table that had real Owl Pellets.  Owl pellets are basically owl puke.  They eat whole creatures, but don't digest parts of them like bones, fur, claws and teeth.  Then then regurgitate them up.  It made me feel a bit sick because it looked horrible.

Then we got on the road.  We were heading to our next spot - Monteray Bay.  But then we saw a sign and decided to stop...

After a very, very windy walk - guess what we saw?

Californian Elephant Seals!!!!!

Some didn't have much energy - like this one, snoozing in the sun.

After even more driving we stopped at a cool restaurant called Nepenthe which had amazing views!  The name Nepenthe comes from a book called The Odyssey and means to forget your pain and sorrow.

Finally we arrived in Monteray Bay.  I was so tired after a massive day.  When I saw my bed I realised it had a picture of Moon Jellyfish above it.  What a coincidence because a few days before that I got to touch a moon jellyfish at Long Bay Aquarium.  I had a great sleep! 

The end.