I'm back from my kayaking adventure on the west coast. The trip was great, with amazingly good weather, great people, and a nice mix of exploring the sandy beaches and time on the water.
We saw many sea otters, but never close enough for me to get a good picture. At one campsite, there were two otters that hung out and ate just off our beach at dinner time. Some shorebirds are starting migration south, and I saw some small flocks of semipalmated sandpiper and black turnstones. Lots of driftwood on the beaches, and some interesting plants, like the big-headed sedge below.
The first day was very hot and sunny, and then the fog moved in and kept it a little cooler, but I think I spent the entire trip paddling in a shirt and shorts. We were a big group on this trip, and Ali and Luke, our guides, did a great job keeping us on track and feeding us.
But the day before we were picked up by the water taxi had to be the most spectacular in terms of wildlife. A small group of us went for an afternoon paddle after setting up camp. We were crossing to another island, when one of the group called out "Orca!" and we watched a large male and a smaller companion swim right past us and out towards the ocean. Amazing.
