A stopover in California, adapting plans in SoCal, and making the most of it

It's mid-April and we are on the way on our next mega-adventure (Australia). The trip is long, so we planned to fly from home to Los Angeles and have some time there to experience some of the Pacific coast before continuing our journey.

Intention was to seize the opportunity to visit Channel Islands National Park. This planned visit was the first trip inspired during another one of our adventures. We first learned about Channel Islands watching a nature show on the return trip from Santiago in January. Never has a Garth Brooks narrated show captured my attention, especially when there's a miniature fox that could climb trees on the screen and plenty of sea wildlife.

However, circumstances did not allow for it. Our ambitions were a little too big this time and we just couldn't fit in the extra drive to Ventura and the ferries to and from the islands. So, we did what we do, audibled. And we made the most of it!

Since we were staying in Hermosa Beach, we did some quick research and identified a seal hotspot about a 20-minute walk away in King Harbor marina. And a seal hotspot it was indeed!

The happy couple. It's nice of the third seal to be a "flipper rest".

It was really cool to find such a pocket of sea wildlife so close to such a populated area.

Morning workout routine for a pelican in Redondo Beach

Later we added a visit to South Coast Botanic Garden. It was a typically gorgeous southern California day. The gardens were remarkable; it was astonishing that such a diverse range of plants could flourish in a single location.

As we strolled through the gardens, we encountered several hummingbirds. One of them, in particular, gave us quite a show.

"Remember to remember me - Standing still in your past - Floating fast like a hummingbird" - from Hummingbird by Wilco

All in all, a great to be in a place with so much to offer. This made adapting plans in SoCal very simple. We'll just need to find another excuse to come back to the area and explore Channel Islands National Park. (And we'll likely add others to the list)

Never a bad idea to enjoy some California sunshine

Since we started our heavy travels in January, this was a visit to our third ocean. Of course, the Atlantic Ocean we are more or less natives to, we encountered the Southern Ocean on our way to Antarctica, and we made this stop to the Pacific.