Friday, April 25, 2014

Monterey Bay Aquarium-the starfish and the shore

April 2014
At the Monterey Bay Aquarium 
Such a nice variety of starfish-this purple was the most colorful all day

on the move



There are a couple in the actual ocean that you can spot from the balconies

maybe not the best camouflage

The aquarium has more than just fish and starfish

penguins

Sea otters are super cute-reminds me of my cats-here they are playing with ice cubes in the big bucket.

there is a lot of ocean viewing from the aquarium

This is the pool of easy starfish spotting

There is an exhibit that showing the waves crashing into the shore.  It is always crowded with kids shrieking and screaming.  This was the first time I realized you could see it from up above-ah ha!




If you have time, eat at the restaurant-you know you are getting sustainable fish!


Fancy cream puff desserts with mini fruit bars-nice!

 Unforgettable campfire pie.  Cookie crust with a marshmallow fluff topping, marbled with chocolate, almond and caramel.

The restaurant has great ocean views for wildlife spotting.
is this a sea otter or just a rock?

Lovely California poppies in downtown Monterey

And this is how you find the Tentacles exhibit!

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Monterey Bay Aquarium-All the Jellies!

April 2014

Jellyfish are always one of the highlights of a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Sea nettles



Moon jellies!


lots and lots of moon jellies


comb jellies have reflective bits that shimmer and pulse


I'm always surprised they don't have more knots...


the sturdy jelly, no delicate tendrils here



These jellies lay upside down on the sea floor-laziest jellies yet

Teeny tiny like a penny


jelly selfies!


Once again the last 30 minutes of the day were fantastic-no one else in the exhibit!

Monterey Bay Aquarium-things in the water

April 2014

A visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium
No one can resist being mesmerized by the sardine school-they go around and around and around.

We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium because they just came out with a new exhibit, Tentacles, showcasing octopi, squid, and cuttlefish.  Here comes the cuttlefish!



The octopi generally hang out in a cave, but this guy was out moving around that we got great views of all sides as he passed back and forth a couple times




Spiny lobster


Sand dollars

Anenomes

The Kelp forest
must be something interesting right there


this guy sat in the perfect lighting

not so much this guy


go up to the top and you can see the mechanism that pulses the water to simulate waves

then watch the kelp sway in the 'breeze'

Eels also usually hang out in caves, maybe dinner time?


watch the school move out of the way of the predators

The Deep Ocean

sharks!

We came back to our favorite spots during the last 30 minutes and no one was around-brilliant.

oh the sunfish-you are just not pretty, but I love you!