Allans Beach was our destination, off the coast of the Otago Peninsula, where it is rumored that sea lions and penguins call home. Many of the beaches here are protected for this reason so parking is a good walk from the shore. It was a beautiful, easy walk over a grassy hill and we were there.
Immediately we spotted the massive sea lions lazily rolling in the sand. We approached with caution, last time John was at this beach a group got too close and they were actually chased off by one of the more aggressive sea lions. All though, this particular group didn't even seem to notice we were there. The day was a little breezy and a bit overcast so we were the only people on the beach for a little while.
We also learned that in addition to being immune to jet lag, Grace is also immune to cold water... The water was freezing and she was in it up to her knees. She coaxed John and I in a few times, I got in up to mid calf, that is until my ankles began to hurt so bad I couldn't stand it any longer. So I returned to photographing my lovely family as they played in the ocean.
Grace was excited to see the sea lions, but anyone who knows her is aware her love is for the penguins... We weren't able to hang around to catch any; we had privileged information that the best time for catching a glimpse of the little dudes was around 7pm, when they are returning from their long day of fishing. We decided to commit to making a mission one night to see them. We called it on our day at Allens Beach and decided to head home. We stopped by Dominos on our way and grabbed a couple $5 pizzas. It's funny the little things that don't change in traveling around the world, we enjoyed our pizzas and watched the Goonies. I crashed out right about the time Chunk was sharing his BabyRuth with Sloth, after sleeping in airports all I needed was the knowledge that we had made it home and my sleeping bag... Around 9pm or so Grace finally went off to bed, John remained awake and watched TV for a little while, I was completely unaware, immobile, asleep, snoring on the couch... I slept in till 11 today, Grace and John were both awake taking bets on how long I would sleep. (I went back down around 3pm for a 3 hour nap)
We had a great first day home, at the beach and our first day with each other in a long long while... It was so nice to be back together as a family doin' what we do best... play!
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