Monterey

(loads of pictures to follow)

We had a fantastic time in Monterey this past weekend. It was a perfect way to end the girls spring break! Even though it was a bit cloudy, windy, and cold, we had a great time. It only took about 2 1/2 hours to get there. We went straight to the Monterey Bay Aquarium to get our passes then headed to Denis the Menace Park so the girls could stretch their legs a bit. Brooke was under a year old last time we came here...things have changed since then, but it was still fun.




This is a real train they can climb on. Because we go to the Train Museum in Old Sac, the girls weren't duly impressed with it, but Austin thought it was funny seeing his sisters up there :)
The next day , we went to the Aquarium right when it opened. It wasn't too crowded so we had a pretty easy time of getting around. This is the tank that is 3 stories tall and takes up most of the center of the building. It was making me sea sick looking at it because they have a machine making the water/plants move.
Below is the tank that shows how the animals adapt to human trash in the water. They had pictures outside the tank of when they first built it. The trash was all new looking. Now, the boot that is in there is completely covered in moss and urchins,and other things have been made into homes. In the pic, you can really only see the fishing pole.

Here we could "play" with starfish.

Looking out the second story balcony. The video is of the tunnel they have that looks like you are under a wave. I love how Becca is kinda wondering why they are just sitting there lol.

We left the Aquarium at lunch time and there was a HUGE line outside of ppl waiting to get tickets. Thankfully we timed it just right. We went to Bubba Gumps for lunch. It was super tasty, I highly recommend it if you are in the area. Because it looked like the aquarium was going to get pretty crowded, we went to the beach instead of going back in. Below are pics from the Pebble Beach area. The girls found a few shells and played in the water a little, but the wind was picking up so we didn't stay long. Even though it doesn't have white sand or blue water, I still like Zuma....it has the warmth ;)
"Bring it on!"
The next morning we walked around Fisherman's Wharf, had clam chowder in bread bowls (it was perfect on the cold day), and watched the Sea Lions. Then it was time to come home :( At least we had a somewhat peaceful drive ;) (We were going to go to Gilroy Gardens on the way home. When we got there, we found out that it costs almost as much as Disneyland! We, of course, turned around. It may be cool in the park area, but I highly doubt its Disneyland price worthy!) We are looking forward to coming back over the summer. Since we got a family season pass (it was only $10 more than paying for our family for the day) we are going to make it a day trip next time. :)