Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Tremendous timing! Serendipitous seal sighting on Kauai

As Katie and I came back to our beach and snorkeling spot, having treked to bathrooms on the developed portion of the beach, a monk seal was settling in on shore.  Katie stayed to watch and I ran up to the car for my camera.  I got back as other tourists were heading over to see, but not all that many gathered and virtually all kept a respectful distance.  The boys came and joined us for a bit, too.

A very nice girl asked if I could help her with her camera, which had firmly decided to remain on a timer setting no matter what she tried.  Our cameras were just similar enough that I was able to fix it for her and felt quite proud and knowledgeable for a moment.  We chatted about sea turtles and states we'd both lived in and she hollared helpfully at the folks who stepped right over the seal.  One in particular was a complete turd, stopping right next to the seal to glare at her with an intimidating and arrogant sneer.  Another looked at her and went right up to it to take pictures.   People stink but seals are neat and if we'd tried to find one we'd have failed, so the timing was great.