Monterey

The main reason for spending two nights in Monterey was to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is widely billed as one of the best in America. I don't know who is responsible for cultivating that general opinion, but they've obviously never been to AQWA (Underwater World). It didn't help that we were there on Veteran's Day, the 11 November public holiday, along with every school-aged child from the area.

Jellyfish

Sardines

The Sea Otters were easily the (only?) highlight, and unlike anything we've ever seen before. These marine mammals were nearly hunted to extinction for their thick fur - there are only a few thousand remaining off the Californian coast today, all of which are descended from a single colony of fifty discovered near Big Sur in 1938.

Sea Otter

Sea Otters

The most exciting thing that happened in Monterey was Daniel nearly getting eaten by a raccoon after dinner. We were walking back to our Motel along a footpath next to some trees. I, being closest to the trees, spotted the creature and announced "look, there's a raccoon just there." Daniel's reaction mirrored the way my mother reacts when she comes across a snake. He jumped, screamed, grabbed my hand and tried to pull me into the middle of the road. Perhaps he thought the oncoming traffic posed less of a threat than the terrified raccoon, which had now retreated further into the tree and was trembling as it watched Daniel flailing his arms in panic. Poor little thing. The Raccoon, that is, not Daniel.