Even though our destination was Monterey, we had found so many diversions along the way that we didn’t arrive there until almost 3 PM. This left only two hours to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a world class facility not to be missed even if one only has a few hours. There are many spectacular marine exhibits in the museum and among our favorites was the huge tank housing the giant kelp forest. This over-sized brown alga grows in coastal waters Santa Cruz to Baja. The marine productivity in this habitat is rich and abundant. Seeing this display makes one want to take up scuba diving!
In the Rocky Shores gallery we were treated to all of those colorful marine animals that cling to the rocks in the intertidal zone.
And most enchanting of all were the tanks housing the most spectacular jellyfish we’ve ever seen. The exhibit was aptly called “Living Art.” It was truly a combination of art and science. Photography was difficult if not impossible between the graceful movement of the jellyfish and the glass walls of the tanks but we tried anyway.
Spotted Jelly (Mastigias papua)
Of course, the aquarium closed long before we were ready to call it quits. On our way back to the car, we walked through the old cannery area (of which the aquarium is a part) and noticed that Doc Rickett’s house (a real person and colorful character in John Steinbeck’s novels about the area) was still intact although now surrounded by large, modern buildings. This was no longer the Cannery Row we remember from our visits in the 60s and 70s.
Doc Rickett’s House and Laboratory
We decided to return to the Bay Area via the coastal route (1) and were rewarded with a beautiful sunset over the Pigeon Point lighthouse.
All in all, a great day along the California coast.
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