Monterey Bay

I better post some pictures before they are outdated – these days my kids grow like weeds, so pictures from one day to the next frequently seem almost obsolete! 😉 and I’m certainly behind on weekend roundups, so I’ll just start with this past weekend. Basically, my birthday being valentines and all doesn’t work out well for dinners out or hotel get aways – not only are they always booked, if they aren’t, they sure are pricey! So, I was searching for a weekend escape deal on Thursday evening and found that the only weekend in February that wasn’t a fortune was this weekend! So, Jesse and I jumped on it and booked a quick Saturday overnight in Monterey! 🐳🐠🐟🐬

I’ve been wanting to take our kiddos to the Aquarium there, and it just worked out. We were even upgraded to an ocean view room with a fireplace! We thought it’d be perfect for a rainy weekend, but as it turned out, it was perfect weather as well for most of the stay!
The kids (& Jesse & I) LOVED the aquarium. Here’s a few of our favs:
First up, wave tunnel. Crashy wasn’t so sure at first. Then he REALLY was sure…that he didn’t like it! Progression below:

The Selah-sized tuna was a bigger hit:

We made the otter feeding time, and the kids were so-so on it. We certainly weren’t the only visitors, and so the sheer number of people was a bit overwhelms at first. An otter rests near Selah:

Asher was pretty memorized in Daddy’s arms at the kelp forest fish:

One of the special exhibits they had this time was the Jellies Experience. It was a favorite of the kiddos as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLdvMBIPl-Y

The deep sea exhibit was probably the absolute favorite, at least from Daddy & I. Hammerhead sharks, giant turtles, manta rays, and white tip sharks. The pictures certainly don’t do it justice, although it captures the playful kiddos still:

I’m not sure if you can tell which is the real giant clam in these two pictures, but I think you’ll spot the pearl:

Asher didn’t fully understand the telescope concept…or maybe he just wanted to be seen close-up:

Another all-time favorite was the octopus. Crashy still is talking about it two days later:

http://youtu.be/khFb9ATqiVc
We headed back to the hotel for done downtime before dinner. Asher was pretty worn out:

Don’t worry, I only let him watch a few shows that way 😉
Dinner was at a great little place a few blocks from our hotel. Again, Asher was a little tired: