Monterey: Part 1

Brandon had 10 days off last week in between his 2nd and 3rd rotation...so, in between studying for his second set of boards and trying to give me a little break from chauffeuring, schooling, etc., we took a little trip over to Monterey with Brandon's parents.

Our first stop was, of coarse, the Aquarium. It. Was. Amazing.

I haven't been in a really long time, but I remember being impressed then, and I was equally impressed this time around. They have such a phenomenal variety and I learned a lot of interesting things about so many of the creatures who rely on our oceans for life.

They had great touch pools - I wish I could remember the names of all the animals they had in those things, but I don't. Sting rays, starfish, crabs...stuff of that nature.
Cool tunnel...I look like I'm falling asleep and none of the kids are looking at the camera...but this is our one family picture from the trip, so there you go.

Kids in a clam shell...obviously not real. ;)

Cute penguin. This guy was actually the oldest penguin they had there. I think they said he was 15? He was a serious people watcher. Cracked me up.

This tank was massive. It was at least 3 or 4 times the width of this picture and even held a couple hammer head sharks. I never did get a decent shot of them, and that's all Carter has talked about since that trip! Darn it.

Grandma helping Gavin color a whale.

Granddad and Carter racing the dolphin and school bus...guess who won. :)

Gavin loved these block shapes that you stick through this wall. I just loved how every time he went to grab a block, his little feet left the ground. Adorable.

So, that is just a snippet of our 4 hours in the aquarium. It was fabulous, and hopefully we make it back there again before we leave Cali next year!