A California sea otter, wrapped in kelp to keep from drifting too far from nearby friends similarly draped in seaweeed, lies in a bed of his own making on an early Sunday afternoon, near the mouth of Morro Bay, California.

Do you ever wonder about your own life, how well you've anchored yourself to the familiar, and what might happen if you let yourself drift away from your world? Unlike the human species, sea otters seem to be able to have their cake (or at least a clam, oyster, sea urchin or abalone) and eat it, too. They
stay put with ease when they want for as long as they wish, rolling over a few times with a strand of kelp clamped in their teeth until they've made a blanket of seaweed. Then, when the mood and hunger strikes, they can swim for miles to hunt for shellfish below the rolling waves of the open sea or in quiet coves along the central coast of California.