Whereupon my San Diego adventures begin and my expectations are shattered...

 "What are some things that you REALLY want to do while you're in San Diego?" asked Savannah as she careened her car at 80 mph through the darkness that would eventually tether the airport to her apartment. "I just REALLY want to see my daughters," I gasped, gripping the armrest (which should be actually called arm-alerts and terrifieds) "and a koala and some free-range sea lions," I quickly added. I leaned into her hairpin turn, praying her tires to the road.

So Friday dawned, bright and early, with Savannah's two-pronged, adventure-filled itinerary designed to meet my simple, seeped-in-reality expectations. We arrived at the famed La Jolla beach whereupon my first set of expectations were immediately shattered. "Mom, the seals are over there," Savannah pointed while I directed my eighteen dollar camera at a set of seaside squirrels. I squealed, "He looked at me!" "No, he's looking at the seals," Savannah said.

"Oh my gosh," I exclaimed, grabbing my daughter's arm, "Look! Pelicans!" I then embarked on a thirty minute philosophical reflection of my self-discovered love of pelicans. "I am a girl born of Western New York," I began, widening my arms to embrace our scenery, as we walked along and Savannah, now bored, counted seals and sea lions

like a slumberer counts sheep, "raised beneath the shadow of migrating Canada geese winging their way, weather-wise, across the sky..." Savannah stopped us before we drew close to the sleepy seal less then ten feet away from us. I was looking to the heavens. "I knew the silhouette of these wardens of winter," I sighed, "they sleep in my soul and re-awaken each spring."

Giving up, Savannah sat on a bench. "But the outline of a pelican in flight," I continued, "is a frenzied flash of frivolousness...a pelican packs a surprising punch as it meanders its way, without concern, over rocks and waves. It is...," I stop short upon this sudden and startling revelation, "my FAVORITE bird!"

Thrilled to have discovered this about myself, I was ready to move on to the next phase of my adventure. Savannah slowly
followed me back to the car, answering her father's text asking for a picture of me with my much-anticipated sea lion. "She saw a squirrel," Savannah typed, "I couldn't get her back." She looked up to discover I'd disappeared. Leaning over the stonewall, I was astonished to discover twenty or more nests of web-footed black sea birds raising their babies. "I believe that they're cormorants," I told her, "and I think they are my favorite bird."