It was standing room only at the observation platform at Point Dume over the weekend, and no wonder -- a cluster of sea lions had abandoned the rocks in favor of the shallows, where the adults lazed on their backs and the youngsters frolicked.

My favorite part were the guesses by each new group of hikers about what, exactly, they were seeing in the water.

"Otters?" one man said.

"Beavers!" a little boy yelled.

Nope, sea lions, basking in the sun in the blue, blue, blue Pacific.