USA 2016: Dieren in de VS

When you visit another country, and especially another continent, you encounter different animals in nature than you do here in the Netherlands. For example, you see squirrels everywhere in parks. For those who've seen the movie Up!, we regularly had a SQUIRREL!!! moment. We Dutch don't encounter them often here, but for Americans, they're more of a nuisance. Someone we spoke to described them as "rats in tuxedos." Fun to watch, but they're still rodents that can cause damage. In Yosemite National Park, there were even warnings that they could carry the plague (yes, that scary disease from the Middle Ages). We also saw hummingbirds in several places. One morning, they were even constantly on the terrace of the hotel where we were having breakfast. Just a few meters away, they came to special drinking troughs. They're very small, fast-moving birds. Focusing was quite difficult because they're so small and move so quickly. Even when they flap their wings, you can't even capture them still in a photo with a shutter speed of 1/320th of a second, so it's pretty fast... One of the highlights of our trip was a boat trip from Monterey Harbor, California, out into the Pacific Ocean to watch whales. For a long time, it was unclear whether we'd see them. The ocean was rough at times, and there was a light fog. But after a while of sailing (and holding on tight), we saw our first humpback whales in the distance—the journey wasn't for nothing! Soon, they came up close to the boat, sometimes several at a time. You always heard or saw them spout water first, after which at least their backs would surface, and sometimes they'd flick their tails. Eventually, one even jumped a good distance out of the water, followed by a huge splash. I said, no bombs... Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of that for you because I was focusing on another whale. The same with dolphins; they sometimes appeared suddenly, but didn't stay long enough to get a good picture. Luckily, there were also plenty of sea lions and bird species to keep me entertained. All in all, a successful trip!