Monterey Bay Aquarium

There were twenty pre-school children smiling and hopping their way to the aquarium. They talked non-stop of all the animals they hoped to see.

We had a wonderful docent who helped explain life underwater and motivated the children to find things in the water tanks.

We saw Cuttlefish cuddling?

The Moray eel was smiling at the camera too.

Evan at the big tank with hundreds of underwater creatures.

Evan at the 40-foot-long touch pool, that kids can see and touch the many plants and animals that live in the kelp forest habitat, including sea stars, abalones, sea urchins, kelp crabs and more.

We went to the penguin feeding and learned how aquarists feed and care for the blackfooted penguin colony and the challenges these animals face in today's world. Also, we saw a baby penguin a few weeks old on the web cam.

Ahoy matey! Avast, on them there rocks

A terrible picture but the facinating Murre's (a bird) flight is strong and direct. They use their wings to 'swim' underwater. They are accomplished divers, reaching depths of up to 150 m and diving for up to four minutes at a time

And who would come to Monterey and miss the otters? We learned sea otters have sharp teeth for grabbing and flat teeth for chewing, they use their front paws to groom
themselves and to feel around for food, and they have “pockets” under their armpits
to store food or a favorite tool!