Early in the afternoon, I heard on the radio that a young grey whale had washed up onto a beach. Several dead whales have washed ashore in the past year, but they have usually been on beaches that were relatively hard to access. Houda Beach is a beautiful spot that is much easier to visit.
Looking down at the beach from the road.
Heading down the trail. (that's not our dog pictured)
North walked up to the dead whale and began to pet it. The skin felt like plastic and was bouncy to the touch. The skin was tight over the layers of blubber. 
The whale had been ashore for about a day. I think its body had moved around on the beach. It had quite a few scratches on it. Tomorrow a class from the college will dissect the carcass to try to determine what killed it. 
North touched the baleen.
Earlier that afternoon while North napped, I roasted two Cornish game hens and prepared cheese, crackers, carrots, and apples. After viewing the whale, we found a nook out of the wind and ate our picnic dinner. (No, we didn't wash our hands first. We were outdoors! Germs don't count when one is at the beach!)
After eating, we explored the beach as the sun went down.
Since it was low tide, a cave had appeared under some rocks.
North and I climbed a big rock.
We watched some surfers.
And then the sun went down and we went home. It was a very nice visit to the beach.