TURTLES, SEAHORSES AND JELLIES WITHOUT PEANUT BUTTER

One of the beauties of staying in Pacific Grove for us is that we take a day at a time with no planning ahead. However, it never hurts to take a map along, even though you think you know where you're going! So Papa got the map and we headed out on our next adventure.

The last time we were here, we drove to Carmel Valley and had a delightful time looking at the scenery and visiting wineries. This being the case, we decided to do this again.

The scenery along the coast is always breathtaking so we made several stops just to look at the waves and enjoy the cool, moist air. We arrived at Chateau Julien around 10:30.

They were getting ready for a large group to come for a tour, so they had the wine glasses set up to greet the visitors on their arrival.

This is a beautiful place and we always enjoy visiting here. Frank and I were greeted by one of the owners so we had her take our picture.

We were a few weeks early for the harvest unfortunately, so we just toured the grounds and tasted the wines.

This young woman explained the different wines we were to taste today and then poured us a small sample of each one.

The winery itself is very beautiful and the place where the tasting rooms are is a treat to visit. We didn't really care that much for the wines that they were serving that day, but we did enjoy revisiting the place.

After our tasting we went outside and rested in the sunshine for a while before we went into the village for a little lunch.

We had been to Cafe Rustica before, so we decided to make another visit and it was a good choice.

It's a quaint little restaurant tucked back in an alley, nestled among the art galleries and gift shops. Unlike here at home, people bring their dogs with them even when they go for lunch and nobody seems to mind. This couple brought their two standard size poodles who were very well behaved (the dogs, as well as their masters ;-)

While they enjoyed a leisurely lunch, the dogs waited patiently at their side hoping for a bite of something.

I decided to have Hungarian Goulash which was excellent and Frank had a sandwich. I make a pretty good goulash myself and this one was comparable. So far we haven't had a bad meal this trip and don't expect to have one.

After lunch we took another leisurely drive along the coast and made several stops along the way. There are always birds (especially seagulls) to see as well as a few fishermen.

People love to climb on these rocks to get a different perspective as they view the ocean. Wish we were still physically able to do this. However, we didn't do it when we could. We're really not the adventuresome types. We both like good solid ground under our feet!

We returned home in time for a nap. I don't usually drink alcohol at lunch because it makes me very sleepy. Today was no exception. After a lovely glass of wine with lunch, I was ready for a break and had my nap time that I have at home. I don't have to have wine at home to make me sleepy. All I really need is to pick up a book and in 30 seconds or less, I tend to doze off!

After our nap, we visited the Jacuzzi once again and then had an early dinner so we could watch the elimination process on Dancing with the Stars.
We were up early the next day and drove to Monterrey to the Aquarium. We ate at the Lighthouse Cafe again (more Eggs Benedict) and then went to see the fish.
The people at the aquarium were more than accommodating. We called ahead to see about parking and they told us where to park so I wouldn't have to walk very far. Once we got to this special place, we were greeted by a staff member and I was brought a wheelchair. It was like having our own private entrance.

I only had to walk a few steps and we were then taken through a back entrance and bypassed all the lines to get our admission tickets.

We love this aquarium. They have so many varieties of fish and the way that they are displayed is amazing and very well done.
As we waited for the diver to arrive, we were given some very interesting facts about this tank and also the varieties of fish that it contained.

We were there in time for a feeding in one of the tanks and that was very interesting. It was filled with ocean water and a kelp forest.

The fish and even the sharks were all swimming around this man with the food. I am always interested in the schools of sardines and anchovies. They glisten like threads of silver as they swim back and forth.

You can see the blur of silver as the school scurries around the tank looking for food.

Some of my favorites are the jellyfish. I can watch them for hours. It's hard to believe that these beautiful creatures can actually hurt you if you get in their way. They move along so gracefully as though they are in slow motion.

The one below is called and egg yolk Jellie for obvious reasons.

There are so may different varieties that I can't possibly begin to put them all in this post, but here are a few examples.

The way that they have the tanks lighted helps to display their beauty to the maximum.
I also love seahorses and they had a huge section with them in the tanks that wasn't there the last time we visited.

The above are Weedy Seadragons and they are also members of the seahorse family along with the Leafy Sea Dragons that I published in a previous post. Here are a few of the more traditional ones.

They are difficult to photograph due to a low light situation and they move so quickly, but I managed to get a few pretty good shots.
One of my favorite tanks is the fresh water one like you might have in your home. One of these days I'm going to have a large aquarium in our house where I can sit and watch my fish for hours.

I even found Nemo even though I wasn't really looking for him!

Years ago my father started the Fort Worth Aquarium Society so we had fish in our house, our backyard and everywhere else imaginable! He was instigative in the aquarium that is how housed at the Fort Worth Zoo. It was one of his many interests.
We covered almost every inch of the aquarium from the penguins to the turtles and the flamingos.

After attending a lecture on Jellyfish, we had some lunch and then finished our tour. We decided not to go the main dining room, but to have a light bite outside the sandwich shop.

Sometimes soup and a seafood sandwich really hits the spot!
We took a short drive along the coast once again and were home around 6:00. It's was a long but very rewarding day. Looking forward to tomorrow as we have booked a place on a boat where we can go whale watching. that should be fun! It doesn't take a lot to amuse us old folks :-)

XOXO, Pcasso