two incidents

Despite the grey weather, we made for the water as soon as our tents were up.  The beach was damp and flat and hard, but we sprinted across it nonetheless, chasing Frisbees and leaping from the surf.  Shirtless and shoeless, I think we ran just to keep warm.  After we ran out of beach, we scrambled across the wet black rocks at the base of the cliffs that made up the east side of the cove.  At low tide, the rocks were covered in bull kelp, mussels, and strange little purple blobs.  We got to the largest rock and climbed over, up and around it until we found a cave leading from one side to the other.  At this point, I was letting loose yelps of pain every other step, as my feet could no longer tolerate the craggy rocks we were crossing.  I was relieved to get back on the sand, and looked back to see Chris planning his descent from a particularly big rock.  “Careful, those are really slick rocks,” I called out.  Chris, who possesses the balance and reactive coordination of a small mammal, was already making his first step.  That step lost its purchase, and Chris’s weight shot from underneath him before he could adjust.  A nasty fall: chest to rock, then head to rock.  He popped up quick, and though I’m sure it hurt like hell, I recognized that red-faced grimace [Oh, how well I know thee..] that told me embarrassment was chief among the injuries.  I figured it’d be best to leave him, so I caught up to Ryan and we sprinted towards a sand dune on the edge of the beach.  After fifty yards Ryan broke off laughing, and I ascended the small dune alone, pulling off pathetic back-flip at the top.  I rolled to the bottom, painfully, and as I raised my head to yell back at Ryan, I heard him holler “Sea lion!”.  Looking right, I saw the massive beast, incredibly, less than twelve feet away, its mouth open and teeth bared.  I screamed and scuttled crabwise away from the thing as fast as I could.  At some point during my awkward escape, my scream became a laugh and I flopped onto the sand in disbelief of what had just happened.  Picking myself up, I ran back for my camera, feeling thankful that I managed to retain my limbs.

Advertisement