If you met Bobbie on a typical Sunday afternoon,
you might think she’s just another retired school teacher,
baking cookies
and enjoying her garden.
But Bobbie has a secret.
[LOUDSPEAKER] "How long do the eggs incubate before they are ready to hatch?"
Bobbie is a grunion greeter.
What’s a grunion?
It’s a fish.
They show up on the beaches of Southern California each year to spawn.
Millions of them.
Every April, Bobbie heads over to Cabrillo Aquarium to volunteer at their Grunion Festival.
Families arrive from all over California
complete with home-made fish-themed foil hats.
And Bobbie is ready for them.
"Okay!"
Her goal?
To teach them about their environment
and share her enthusiasm for the ocean.
Even though she’s been doing this for 24 years,
when they head down to the beach,
she’s just as excited as the little kids.
“To see the joy on the faces of kids who haven't seen this...
They don't believe there's actually gonna be fish in there - you can tell - in the beginning
but then when the fish start coming out, they’re just blown away.”
When she’s not volunteering at the aquarium
You can often find her in her kitchen
"Okay! So these cookies are going to be for the docents
down at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro.
I work there every Tuesday morning and so Sunday-Monday I have to bake cookies -
I don't have to, I LOVE to bake cookies
and they love to eat them."
But to be honest,
there’s someplace she’d rather be.
"A day on the water is so much more fun
than a day sitting at home!"
Which is why, several times a week,
Bobbie volunteers as the naturalist on the Cabrillo Whalewatch expeditions.
"It's so much fun to see dolphins in the wild.
They hear the boat and they come over to swim with us.
They turn on their sides and look up at us. And it's amazing.
You wouldn’t think it, but Bobbie is 78 years old.
And has three children, eight grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.
She’s also written a book about the marine life in the area.
When Bobbie does something, she’s all in.
But if you really want the scoop on Bobbie,
ask her husband, Don.
They’ve been married for 56 years.
"She’s one of the best fisherwomen I’ve ever seen in my life.
She can catch trout like gangbusters.
One of the things I really enjoy is we're able to enjoy life together -
do the things that we both like.
It's just been - I couldn't ask for anything better."
Is there anything she’s not good at?
"Housekeeping."
[LAUGHTER]
Takes care of garden.
What about him?
“He’s probably the last honest man…”
Bobbie has no regrets.