We went to Zuma beach early yesterday morning with the hopes of seeing a California gray whale make their way back up the coast to Alaska from Baja. The weather was perfect, no wind, the ocean was calm and glassy and the sky was overcast, perfect conditions to spot wildlife in the sea. Hung around the beach for a couple hours and saw several sea lions romp around and catch fish while dodging greedy sea gulls. We were actually about to leave when we spotted a gray whale flipper just over the breakers, maybe only 100 feet away! Apparently the gray whales come incredibly close to shore right in this area. The whale hung around for 20 minutes, feeding off the ocean floor, rolling around, spy hopping and generally putting on a great show. Then he was off up the coast, we followed him for a few more minutes but then he was gone. Pretty damn amazing… Photos below by Angela Heine.