Wednesday, August 6, 2008 --- 8:30 a.m.

FERNDALE, Wash. (AP) -- A sea lion made itself at home on a family sailboat -- twice. Lynnea Flarry and her family were picnicking on an island near Washington state when her daughter-in-law spotted a sea lion aboard the family's 31-foot boat. The animal had climbed up a ladder on the stern of the boat.

Flarry's son and grandchildren took a dingy out to the boat to try to coax the animal back into the water. When they got close, Flarry says the sea lion hid "behind the lifesaver like a little kid who hides behind a curtain and doesn't realize his toes are sticking out." Flarry's granddaughter stayed aboard, taking photo after photo of the sea lion swimming in circles around the boat.

Flarry says "she was so busy snapping pictures she forgot to bring the ladder up." The sea lion climbed back onto the boat, and the family returned to evict the animal once again. Flarry says her 5-year-old grandson begged in vain to keep the sea lion as a pet and promised to give up his bathtub if the sea lion could come home with them.