My first days in California

I arrived last Saturday in San Francisco. After a long flight I checked into my hotel, refreshed up a bit and went out again. Into the sunshine. And of course did some shopping. The first thing on my list was a Stillman and Birn sketchbook. I heard really great things about it in the Facebook group. Up to Aarons brothers. I bought a sketchbook from the Alpha series, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" is the size. And I did bring  a 50% off coupon with me, but did not need it, the sketchbook was in clearance and I am a happy camper.

During the night I experienced my first earthquake. I woke up and the bed was shaking. Very strange, I even sent a Whatsapp to my sister, telling her about the earthquake. And then went back to sleep again.... not realizing that the earthquake was a big one, causing a lot of damage a bit further up north.

On Sunday, I left the hotel after breakfast.

Driving south to Santa Cruz, where I visited the arboretum from the University of Santa Cruz. I walked around and followed the hummingbird trail. I did see a few hummingbirds but they were too fast for me to catch them on camera. I saw lots of beautiful exotic plants.

And then continued my drive next to the coast. I was a beautiful day, very sunny and because it was Sunday, lots of people walking, hiking, strolling and surfing. I stopped a few times to enjoy the views along the coast near Santa Cruz.

Then I continued the trip south to Monterey. I stopped at Moss landing to see if there were any sea otters to spot. And yes, I did see one, the picture is not very clear (it is difficult to keep the camera still with a big zoom).

I hope to show you some better pictures of a sea otter later this trip. I did the grocery shopping and then it was time to go to my home for the next few weeks. I unpacked, had dinner and went to sleep early. Jetlag! See you later.