Day 31

Day 31: 6/17/15 (Monterey)

 miles

For breakfast we made some toast with the sourdough bread we picked up in San Francisco.  The night previous, we were happy to chat with Amy and Rich and get some input for good places to visit around Monterey.  We were lucky enough to borrow their membership cards for the aquarium which we had heard a lot about, so we spent the better part of our day there.

Looking online Jillian found that there was a schedule of events at the aquarium including a sea otter feeding in the morning.  We caught the end of the show and saw what we could through the huge crowd.  After the trainer left, most of the people followed, but we stuck around to watch the otters float on their backs and chew on their scraps from the feeding – so cute!

Next on the schedule was the feeding at the Deep Sea exhibit.  On the way to the tank we passed several tanks of jelly fish of all different shapes, sizes, and colors.  We were late to join the crowd of people yet again as we settled in the corner of the viewing room for the show.  We thought we were going to see the sea turtles and sharks get fed, but they end up being fed at the surface of the tank where people aren’t allowed so we didn’t see much.  Though we didn’t leave totally disappointed because we got to see the sardines get fed which sounds boring but it’s actually pretty cool.  The caretakers dumped in some krill and after a few minutes, the sardines swam up from the bottom of the tank in a mass whirlwind and started eating the food while dodging the dolphin fish who would love to have a snack.  The trainer said the fish stick in a group so it’s harder to be tracked by their predators.

We also went to see the feeding at the Kelp Forest exhibit and this time we beat the crowd so at least we had a good view, but it was a bit overwhelming to be in the front once the crowd came.  We watched the feeding and decided that was the last scheduled event we were going to.  We’d rather take advantage of the crowd drawing feedings and experience the other parts of the aquarium more freely.  Among many types of aquatic life, we ended up seeing puffins, penguins, octopuses, and we couldn’t resist visiting the sea otters again.

We left the aquarium and walked the boardwalk before coming across a bunch of candy shops.  We just had to stop for the sake of Rico’s sweet tooth.  After refilling our meter, we walked up the street to find the sushi place that Amy and Rich recommended but it was closed for the afternoon L.  A little bit further down the street we found Hula’s, a Hawaiian fusion restaurant which was another one of their favorite places to eat. We had some happy hour apps and tiki drinks before walking to Cannery Brewery.  There we sat outside on the patio where there were some cool fire pits which were perfect for the cooler weather.  We had a couple of beers, ordered another appetizer, and talked with the waiter a bit about our travels.  He said he grew up in East LA so he gave us a few suggestions for while we were there.

The plan for the night was to go out to dinner with Amy, Rich, and Ian so we headed back to their house to meet them before dinner.  We spend some time hanging out with Amy and Ian while waiting for Rich to get home, and then we went to Peppers for dinner – a great margarita and Mexican food joint.  Once we were home and Ian was in bed, we chatted with Amy and Rich telling stories all night and getting to know each other better.

Day 31 Video

Fact:

 Otters eat a quarter of their weight every day - meaning a 180lb person would need to eat 20 full pizzas on their own

Lesson:

The keeper talks are pretty cool, but the crowds don't really make it worth it.

Eat Well; Travel Often

Rico & Jillian