Mommy iMoments

Ocean Adventures

Once upon a long time ago, when I was a rookie mom, I used to plan trips to the beach. Strategically I would chose toys and objects that we would play with once we finally pushed the BOB- bobbling with objects over its sides down to the sand. On a good day, Cj would play with one of those toys for a few seconds, and be done. Inevitably, one by one the toys would be offered up to the sea, or sand, until all we had left was a broken sifter and a half of a shovel. Predicting what he would do at the beach was harder than picking two lottery numbers. If I brought a boogie board, he would climb the rocks the whole time. If I brought a chair for him, he would join a gang of boys digging a gigantic hole.

So now, we pack the car with ourselves, and a bottle of water, and we are there. On low tides we come home with pockets full of treasures, and on high tides we almost always get wet, but each time we go, we have a totally different adventure.

Last week, we headed down to the beach with the intention of taking a few quick pictures of Cj’s moppy head before he gets his spring buzz. CJ raced ahead of me and began climbing the rocks. As a lady approached him on the rocks, I instantly rolled my eyes, thinking to myself, oh boy-what now? But she then came straight to me to let me know that there was a baby seal in the cave. Cj and I were thrilled. So exciting to see animals up close…..right? We cautiously entered the cave, and there in the back slinking away from us was a baby elephant seal. He was tiny. If you looked carefully you could count each and every rib along side his back. But he was so cute.

Another mom and I authoritatively assessed the situation, and ended up calling the Pacific Marine Mammal Resuce since we came to the conclusion that we do not have the slightest idea on weather or not he was ok. With in a few minutes, they were there. They brought a crate, and a huge net, a beach community version of the dog catcher.

The workers let CJ carry up towels and nets behind them into their truck. And just like that our friend was gone.

After a little investigation, we found out that they named our little baby Emma Swan, and she entered in critical condition. Immediately they started feeding her through tubes to get her healthy again. Despite the tireless efforts of the volunteers, we called the next day to find that she didn’t make it. What a sad sad discovery for us, but a wonderful experience for CJ and me as we fall deeper and deeper in love with this wide and unpredictable ocean.

So, until next time dear ocean. We may build towers upon your sand, search for treasures, see a whale riding your waves, meet a friend, or go for a swim in your freezing waters. But we know one thing for sure, we will have a wonderful experience with you as our friend.

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