Last weekend Bjørn headed off to San Francisco to visit Doctor Nick. Nick and I were best mates when living in Bruxelles 2003-5, and considering the number of dubbels, trappists and other exquisite Belgian beers and frites we have consumed together it is remarkable that we still look as young and handsome as we do… 😉
So it was only appropriate that already the first night Nick took me to a Belgian place to have some – guess what – beer and fries. On Saturday Nick I went for a long walk along Ocean Beach, where we watched some surfers and admired the vistas. That night we prepared Nick farewell-party (he’s leaving the US just before xmas) including making a deadly gløgg of only four ingredients (oranges, ginger, red wine and vodka!).
On Sunday Nick and I and Sarah rented a car and went down to Año Nuevo which is the home of the biggest elephant seal breeding colony in the world. December is the fighting season (obviously they fight over ladies), and we were hoping to see some blood, but that was limited to some sparring amongst the younger males (the older ones can reach 2,500 kilos!).
They are very lazy, yet impressive animals that have made a comeback after finding themselves on the brink of extinction. Today, there are more than 160,000 elephant seals while some 100 years ago they were down to 10- 100 individuals.
Thanks for a great stay, Nick and good luck fighting the tobacco lobby cretins in your new job in Heidelberg, Germany!
ChezLyngstad 