Dancing With the Starfish

On my vacation what did I see?

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Dancing Stars!

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and...

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Jellies Gone Wild!

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and, drum roll....

Octopus on the Move!

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These fabulous marine specimens are at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, Calif. It isn't an aquarium but an educational facility that teaches more than 100,000 students a year about the biology, geology, ecology and maritime history of the ocean. They have a research boat and two tall ships--replicas of an 1800's brig and schooner.

I learned that lobsters shed their skin. I saw skates and rays that looked tie-dyed, and I found out that elusive blue whales (at around 100 feet in length they are the largest creatures on our planet) have been visiting the coast off Dana Point for the last six years. It is thought that changes in the ocean have brought them in close to land to feed on krill. Gray whales, who are half the length of blues, are seen along here every year because they migrate about 12,000 miles from the Arctic to their nursery lagoons in Mexico.

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My trip included contemplative moments and splashes of sunny delights. I walked barefoot in sand, scrambled over rocky cliffs, poked around tide pools, drank margaritas, made a shell bracelet, ate clam chowder and crepes filled with melted chocolate and topped with berries. Did I write, you may ask? Did I complete Sea Daughters? I didn't finish, but I did write 3,000 words and inched up closer to the end. It was a fine way to spend a week.