Today's critter is an old acquaintance that I have photographed for years in different places in the world. My first up close and personal interaction with it was
one day when I was out surfacing at a remote California beach and it swam under me while I was on my board waiting for a wave. It swam so close that I felt the water
current on my legs. I looked down to see a gray bullet shape pass under me and my heart missed a few beats because I thought it was a shark (they do like to nibble on
surfers legs). As I was trying to decide what the quickest way to shore was, a very large Sea Lion surfaced about 10 feet from me, looked over and gave several barks
which I assume was his way of laughing at the way he scared the bejeebeez out of me. Since then I have always had a soft spot for these marine clowns.

Sea Lion