The ocean is one of my favorite places to be. I always wanted to swim with the dolphins as my career. That's what brought me to UC Santa Barbara to study aquatic biology! I loved my days living on the beaches of Southern California, but family brought me back home to the landlocked Central Valley. So, I jump at the chance to visit the beach. Monterey is absolutely beautiful! We were fortunate enough to have perfect weather to enjoy the Monterey Bay Aquarium both inside and out.
While we were waiting to get in (We were a bit early for the 10:00 am entry. We even had time to stop by a pastry shoppe for a delicious freshly baked danish, muffin and peach smoothie.), we stepped up to the viewing decks behind the aquarium. Jeff spotted a sea otter out among the kelp bed either feeding or sunning itself. Allison tried to get a look at the furry little critter too.
Once we made it inside we watched those playful sea otters from the underwater view. They looked to be having so much fun swimming with each other while we all looked on. Then one of our next stops in the Aquarium was a visit to the jelly fish. They are so beautifully mesmerizing to watch. Although you can't really see Jeff, Emma and Allison in the photo, the jellies are truly spectacular.
At one of the kid zone areas the girls loved becoming a sea creature. Allison flapped her fins as hard as she could so she could swim like a whale. Then they both tried to flap their tail fluke as fast as they could. Both agreed being a whale and swimming fast is hard work!
The touch tanks are one of my favorite parts of the Aquarium. I think they bring me back to my Sea Center days in Santa Barbara when I was a docent on the pier. I loved showing the public the amazing creatures that lived below. I now love being able to teach my girls about all of the beautiful plants and animals in the ocean. They both loved to touch the bat stars and kelp!
The girls have turned into baby penguins. This larger-than-life egg shell created the perfect place for one of my favorite pictures of the girls. Their smiles are so happy and real.
Here the girls were testing to see which sea animals stay still when a wave comes by and which move about. They caught right on to the fact that anemones don't move and the fish float around. They could see this because the pretend anemones had suction cups on the bottoms to keep them in place while the fish floated about. I love that in this area the Aquarium provides water-proof blue smocks to keep the kiddos dry from all the wave action.
Time for another sister pose, but this time in the clam shell. This one they weren't too eager to get in and smile for me. Oh well, at least I got my penguin smiles :)
Emma thought she spotted some more sea otters when we stepped outside for some fresh, salty sea air. Sure enough, Jeff took a look and found another 3-4 otters snacking in the Bay.
Aren't these critters cool?! We had just seen the show Life (narrated by Oprah!) on Easter about the sea dragons. They are so beautifully camouflaged that they are difficult to see floating among the kelp and other plant life.
One of the best parts of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is that there are so many hands on things for the kids to do. This makes it all so memorable and real for the kids. Allison was so proud of her sea dragon that she camouflaged using kelp magnets. Fun stuff!
Back to the touch tanks again. This time the girls got hold some abalone shells and touch a real chiton. They also touched more sea stars, bat stars and kelp.
Near the touch tanks was a slight tunnel to walk through. Over your head you could see the waves from the ocean crash on top of you. Emma loved it, but Allison wasn't too sure. The first time the wave came over she came running to me. Emma asked her to come back because it wasn't scary. This time Emma held on tight so Allison wouldn't run away. After seeing the waves on the inside, we went outside to see them crashing on the rocks. Allison didn't like that either. She stuck by my side while Emma got as close as she could. She loved that the water even sprayed her a bit! My future aquatic biologist?!
Last week Jeff took the girls to the lake in our neighborhood to go fishing. Allison caught her very own rainbow trout so she was so excited to see them here. She shouted, "Look Daddy, that's rainbow trout I caught!"
At school, Emma just finished writing her expository research report on the flamingo. She loved learning all about these elegant pink creatures. Her report writing culminated in a trip to the zoo and the creation of a diorama at home. Being that she just finished this project before spring break, we were thrilled to see the brand new flamingo exhibit opened the day before we arrived at the Aquarium! Perfect timing to see those Hot Pink Flamingos! A perfect ending to our day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium!
April 6, 2010
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