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

HOLLANDAISE, HUEVOS AND HOMES

As I have said in my previous post, we just returned from nearly 2 weeks in sunny California. Our travel day was a long one as our flight was delayed nearly 2 hours. We landed in San Francisco and then had to drive to our first destination. We were looking forward to some great seafood, but opted for a good old greasy burger at Denny's for our first lunch on our trip.

It was not a very romantic spot but the burger tasted pretty darned good! They don't feed you anything on flights if you're in coach so we were really hungry.
We arrived once again in one of our favorite places on the West coast, Pacific Grove, mid-afternoon. It's called Butterfly Town USA since that is where the Monarch Butterflies migrate each year

The famed breeding habitat for the Monarch butterfly is situated in the southern part of town embedded in residential neighborhoods in mixed oak forests. These Monarchs migrate 2000 miles to reach Pacific Grove after their summer in Canada, often soaring as high as 3000 meters. The black-and-orange butterflies spend much of the fall and winter in the local Monterrey Pine trees, roughly from Halloween until Valentine's Day. It's wonderful to watch them come in. You can't see them at first and then when a new butterfly arrives, the whole tree starts to shimmer as the one that are already there are moving over to make room for the new arrivals. It's fascinating.

We always stay in a condo that is only blocks away from the butterfly sanctuary on a quiet little street only a few blocks from the ocean. One of Frank's favorite things about PC is that fact that there are only 15,000 people there and the speed limit is 25 mph and 15 on the main street. No traffic and no rush to get anywhere, It's a wonderful sleepy little town .

We went to a local restaurant for a bowl of soup and a salad and turned in early since it had been a long day and travel days are always lost time for us.
We got up early the next morning and went to a restaurant on the main street called Holly's Lighthouse Cafe.
Pacific Grove is known for its Victorian homes, Asilomar State Beach, its artistic legacy and the annual migration of the Monarch butterflies. The city is endowed with more Victorian houses per capita than anywhere else in America; some of them have been turned into bed and breakfast inns.

The city is also known as the location of the Point Pinos Lighthouse, the oldest continuously-operating lighthouse on the West Coast.

I'm sure that's why the named Holly's place the Lighthouse Cafe.

I consider myself to be an expert judge of Eggs Benedict. For years I have always said that the best Eggs Benedict in the world are at Katy's in Carmel, California, Well ... Katy's just lost the number one spot to Holly's Lighthouse in my humble opinion. These were without a doubt the very best that I have ever tasted, and I have eaten them all over the world ... literally!

They even brought me an extra bowl of the most delicious Hollandaise sauce that I have ever tasted. I was in heaven!
After breakfast we decided to take a drive along the coast to Pebble Beach for lunch.
Pebble Beach is best known for its luxury resorts, golf courses and stunning 17-Mile Drive tour which passes through the Del Monte forest. To access this haven, you must enter one of five guard gates in Carmel or Pacific Grove where you pay just less than $10 per car. As you pass through the shady entry gates, you are also given a brochure with extensive information and a map.

There are approximately 20 stops along the well marked route, each with a landmark of interest and paved parking for your vehicle. From the trademark Lone Cypress tree to the Restless Sea, Seal Rock to Spanish Bay and Spyglass Hill, you are guaranteed to get a thrill. We have visited the Lone Cypress and photographed it many times.

The well trodden road was once a trail in which covered wagons carried guests from a hotel to picnic grounds along Pebble Beach over 100 years ago. Though a century has passed, some things are timeless in this enchanted forest. Today, tourists continue to enjoy the crashing waves that hit rugged rocks below vistas where pine trees frame each photo perfectly. Picnics are still "in" as are strolls along the sand near Seal Rock lookout. And golf continues to be the number one sport here for over 80 years.

I'd love to be able to go inside one of these mansions and see what they look like.
We then went to the Market which is by the Lodge and bought sandwiches for a picnic.

We shared a sandwich and green tea (I was still full of Eggs Benedict) and then strolled over to the Lodge to look around.

It's a lovely place and they always make you feel so at home whether you're staying there or not.

We have stayed here several times in past years and Frank has played all of the golf courses along 17 mile Drive at one time or another. I decided to have a glass of wine while Frank had a beer as we enjoyed the view of the ocean.

We had so much fun watching this big fellow trying to steal food from people's tables. They're really beautiful birds but a real nuisance most of the time.

We got home in time to go for a dip in the Jacuzzi and then we dressed for dinner. We went to a little Asian restaurant that was near our condo and had some really delicious food. It was still early so there weren't many people there yet.

Before we ordered our meal, two ladies who were dining started visiting with us. They lived in Pacific Grove and frequented the place so they suggested what we should eat and their suggestions were a great choice.

Frank had the stir fried rice with seafood and I had the Kung Pao chicken. Both dishes were excellent.
We then hurried home after dinner so we could watch Dancing With the Stars.

It's just like home ... our lives are governed by some TV shows that we love even when we are on the road!
More soon, so stay tuned.

XOXO, Pcasso

LEAFY SEADRAGONS AND OTHER WONDERFUL CREATURES

We have been in California and were at the Monterrey Aquarium two weeks ago when I fell in love with this wonderful little creature. They call them animals, but I think they look more like a creatures from another planet.

I had so much fun photographing the aquatic life there that I couldn't wait to post this photo as well as the following movie. The leafy sea dragon or Glauerts Seadragon, is a marine fish in the family Syngnathidae, which also includes the seahorses. It is the only member of the genus Phycodurus. It is found along the southern and western coasts of Australia. The name is derived from the appearance, with long leaf-like protrusions coming from all over the body. These protrusions are not used for propulsion; they serve only as camouflage. The leafy sea dragon propels itself by means of a pectoral fin on the ridge of its neck and a dorsal fin on its back closer to the tail end. These small fins are almost completely transparent and difficult to see as they undulate minutely to move the creature sedately through the water, completing the illusion of floating seaweed.
I will start my posts of this trip some time next week once we are unpacked and rested, but I wanted to say hello and show you a little of what we saw on our trip. If you click on the arrow in this video you will be able to see the magical qualities of these little creatures.

Have a great week. I'll be back soon!

XOXO, Pcasso