Happy Birthday Green Bean!

July 25, 2007 = one of the best birthdays ever. A morning run in San Simeon State Park followed by the gorgeous drive up Big Sur kicked off Colleen’s 23rd birthday. Lucas—the ever-vigilant driver—spotted elephant seals off the coast, so we stopped to ogle at the blubbery 5,000-pound male seals (with trunks!) that spend the summer in Big Sur molting and fighting to establish alpha male status. We then set up camp at Andrew Molera State Park for an afternoon of chilling on the beach, reading Harry Potter, and exploring waterfalls, galleries, and spectacular vistas along the Big Sur coastline.

In honor of Colleen’s obsession with snacking, Nate and Merritt prepared hors d’oeuvres throughout the day—with a rousing round of Happy Birthday sung each time! The master chefs served delicacies such as goat cheese and sundried tomato spread, melon and prosciutto (with driftwood skewers), and a dinner finale of fresh salad, gado gado, and no-bake cheesecake! As we hung around the campsite chatting and laughing, it was decided that the BGB gang has found its groove, Colleen loves the amazing crew that gave her this best-ever birthday, and we should follow Nate in praising the glory of public land.

- colleen

Brent enjoys a day at the beach.

Fact-o-the-day: The Northern Elephant Seal is an extraordinary marine mammal. It spends 8 to 10 months a year in the open ocean, diving 1000 to 5000 feet deep for periods of 15 minutes to 2 hours, and migrating thousands of miles, twice a year, to its land based rookery for birthing, breeding, molting and rest. The Piedras Blancas rookery, on the California Central Coast, is home to about 15,000 animals. (www.elephantseal.org)