Today, we started off our day by driving to Paso Robles to tour a farm called Adelaida. On the way, we researched about how climate change affects the grape harvesting industry, specifically in France. Climate change affects the soil, roots of the plants, and the yields of the crops. This led us to think of other questions, including how California farms handle the drought and other obstacles such as COVID-19. A woman named Ryan gave us a tour and shared her knowledge of not only how crops are harvested, but also how their business works. A real highlight for us was getting to meet Oliver, a dog that helps out on the land. We all miss our own pets, so petting him throughout the tour made us smile. We asked about how Adelaida battles climate change, and they shared that changing orientation to combat rising temperatures creates more shade, keeping the crops cooler. 

I enjoyed eating lunch at a local vegan cafe and juice bar before walking around a park in Paso Robles. We then went to an area of the coast with a very large number of elephant seals. Our group loves watching sea lions and seals, we could watch them for hours! I especially loved seeing the baby seals! Learning about their behavior and interactions with each other is interesting, because it is so different from animals we are used to in Nashville. 

We arrived at Camp Ocean Pines, the next place we are staying! The view of the ocean is breathtaking. We watched the sunset and ate a delicious dinner. I loved laying out and looking at the stars. It is great to have the opportunity to see the stars so well.

- Libby