Under the Sea

Because we were in desperate need of a day away and because there seemed to be about a dozen good reasons to do it, today we became members of the world class Monterey Bay Aquarium.  We can't wait to spend a whole year getting to know this place and the amazing creatures that dwell inside of it better!  And we're excited to share it with friends since our membership comes with reusable guest passes!

The big story is the Great White Shark the aquarium currently has on exhibit.  He's part of a shark conservation program, as his very presence at the aquarium makes a million visitors appreciate sharks more.  He's hard to get a picture of, though, especially since we were warned to not use our flash.  I decided to settle on a fuzzy picture instead of breaking the rules and angering the Great White Shark!  We spent a long time watching him and his Hammer Head buddies glide around the huge Open Seas tank.  This is one animal we've never seen before, so it's extremely cool to now say we have.

The sea turtle tank brought back happy memories of snorkeling in Hawaii.  Delia made friends with one turtle here who kept following her and putting his nose up to the glass.

We loved the soothing sea horse exhibit.  Here we marveled at what a great artist God is.  Each tank showed us one more interesting kind of sea horse after the next.  Above, Ella shows off our favorite Leafy Sea Dragons.

There were some neat movies and interactive displays teaching us about how the sea horse dads carry and give birth to the babies. This whole exhibit really brought our beloved Mister Seahorse book to life!

Delia just couldn't wait to get to the penguin habitat.  In the lookout bubble, it seemed like the penguins were checking her out!

 On the aquarium's wrap-around observation decks, we had another huge treat-- sighting a pod of about 100 dolphins out in the ocean.  Aquarium workers told us that the pod has been hanging out here all week.  The naked eye showed us a ton of splashing in the water.  The telescope helped us see the dolphins actually jumping and breaching the water in play!

I am completely intrigued by the Giant Octopus, who we learned from a video are mysterious, shy and super intelligent.  Today they were both out and suctioned to the glass for us to get a good look.

The touch pools are aways a hit.  We felt star fish, urchins, crabs, kelp and this mushy sea cucumber.

We saved the Splash Zone play area for last and it was just as fun for the girls as we expected.  They quickly dressed up as sea creatures and had a ball running around the play area and getting soaked in the water tables.

 The glass room with the big wave that crashes over it took a good chunk of our time too.  A look at the girls' faces tells you how this delighted them, which of course delighted their parents.

And no trip to Monterey is complete without a stop at the beach.  There are a lot of reasons why my soul is well, but the fact that I regularly get to dig my toes in sand and see, hear and smell the ocean is one of them!