We had a nice breakfast and conversation with Daniel's cousin and his fiancee before bidding them farewell and driving down the coast to Monterey. The town was adorable.
Our first stop was the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
We watched a feeding at the deep ocean tank. The tuna were so big, the sharks wouldn't even try to snag the food.
We obeyed, in all senses of the phrase.
The octopus was trying to get a crab out of that jar. The aquarium makes the feeding a challenge to keep it interested.
We also saw the kelp tank fed. The scuba diver took me back to the ocean dives I did with my dad in middle and high school.
So did the moray eels hiding in there. I saw one on my open-water certification dive. They always look like they know something you don't, and it's disconcerting to see that face pop out!
Daniel really wanted to see what was in this cave, so he crawled right in with the other kids. To his credit, there was a nifty eel of some sort ensconced in the corner.
We spent some time on the deck overlooking the water.
Daniel giving me a look for taking so many pictures of him.
Daniel pointing out dolphins as I continue to take pictures of him.
Dolphins again! I kind of wanted to be one of those kayakers right then. I kind of wanted to be one of those surfers the day before, too.
The penguins were the only animals whose scheduled feeding we didn't see. We spent some time with them anyway.
Both of us trying to get a picture of our reflection. Daniel's won, because his didn't make my legs look like they were unattached to my body. As much.
The giant whirling minnow room.
I love watching jellyfish. They're absolutely mesmerizing.
Daniel intently reading a display. When I was in fourth grade or thereabouts, I would have been all about the little blurbs printed everywhere. I used to read every single placard when I visited museums. Now I'm just so inundated with information that I just want to relax and look. Daniel carried the curiosity flag.
A coastal display.
An obliging coastal section docent took our picture and then really wanted to talk to us. I don't think he sees a lot of visitors, or at least ones tall enough to have a conversation with him.
The otters were fun to see, but I was a little disconcerted when a docent brought out a pelt for the children to pet. After seeing the live ones, wasn't a dead one a bit morbid for kids?
Some super neat tree frogs and orchids. I love orchids.
Really? A seahorse, right there?
The aquarium was holding a special seahorse exhibit. It focused mostly on the mating process, which personified the seahorses to the point of hilarity.
See "Getting Together" in the background? Ridiculous.
I loved the sea dragons, and Daniel's pictures came out superbly.
As we were sitting outside the aquarium, a trolley stopped before us. "Free" it said on its side, so we jumped on and rode to downtown Monterey.
We got sandwiches in a deli and day-old pastries at a bakery nearby. It happened to be the day of the farmers market, so we strolled the street and tried samples of marinaded artichokes, fresh fruits, and flavored oils and vinegars. We bought a loaf of spinach artichoke focaccia for dinner.
We rode the trolley back to our car and then began our drive up the coast.
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