Today's experience along the boardwalk in La Jolla was slightly uncomfortable. The weather felt heavy with dark ominous clouds and a storm-sized surf. It was crazily busy, as usual, with little kids running into other tourists as their sugar highs kicked in.

I was surprised when I reached the Children's Pool, garnished with a huge "OPEN" flag inviting visitors into the calm and incredibly bacteria-filled water. People crowded the inlet keeping the seals offshore. Unfortunately, one seal decided to bask on the beach and the responsible tourists found it appropriate to poke it and run to assure themselves that the seal was awake and easily bothered. I was decently certain that as soon as the seal's tolerance level wore down it would notify the guests with a nasty bite.

Interestingly, the seal advocates selling paraphernalia at the street level of the pool seemed unbothered by this clear animal rights violation, and instead focused on their sales. It is clear that things are different now and priorities have changed since the seals' eviction.