Monterey Bay Aquarium

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Todd Swank's Diary Entry for June 27, 2016

On our second day in California, we arrived in Monterey and went straight to Fisherman's Wharf.  We like seeing the crabs give us the finger.

I always love thinking about tsunamis right when I get to the ocean.  It really keeps my anxiety in check.

The kids started riding each other over a lot of little things, but we just tried to ignore them.

I tried to teach them how to get crabs which creeped them out a little bit.

The sea lions are so much fun to watch.  The locals say they are a real nuisance, though.  They're constantly barking, making a mess on people's docks, boats, and other property, and I guess they can be pretty vicious if they're feeling threatened.  We didn't care.  How can you not love a dog that floats? 

Avery really loved them and even climbed down a rickety ladder off the pier to try to pet one.  He's braver than I am.

Eventually we rode the trolley from Fisherman's Wharf to Cannery Row.  Dave thought he needed to be hitch-hiking to ride for free, but I don't think it was all that necessary.

We arrived at Monterey Bay Aquarium and were all geared up for excitement.

I've been to some beautiful aquariums in my day, but this one is right up there.  We even spotted a couple of humpback whales off in the distance while we stood on their incredible balcony.

The kids were loving it outside, so we had to drag them in to go and see the critters.

They had lots of fish here.  Which I guess is probably to be expected.

I think the sardines were my favorite.  When they opened their mouths like this I figured they were yelling for the guy in front of them to speed it up a bit.

Dory's parents didn't seem all that concerned about missing any children.

Can you see the eel's head and it's tail?  He's outgrown his hole.

Eel has something to say.

Now all we need is peanut butter and we can make a sandwich.

I love Red Lobster.

The sea otters are dang cute.

These tanks are fascinating.

Dave and I could watch these fish swim in circles all day.

We got pretty tired from all that walking.

Luke is so strong.