Something Fishy's Going On

We decided not to completely waste the three day weekend by sitting around the house, so I gave my sister a call to see if she wanted to get together with the kids. She and her husband Chris have a family pass to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which comes with comp passes. She was able to borrow a couple of additional passes from some friends, and treated us to a day at the aquarium.

I hadn't been there in a few years, so it was cool to go back and see what they've done with the place. I was surprised at how few actual fish exhibits there were. They do have the Outer Bay tank, which has two massive sun fish, a couple of Hammerhead sharks, and a juvenile Great White shark. There was a lot of construction going on in the main pavilion where many of the primary exhibits are, so a lot was unavailable for most visitors. It wasn't bad, I guess I was expecting more.

The kids had a blast. They got to hang out with their cousins and be kids. They all loved the otters and bat rays. An exhibit that allows the kids to touch starfish, seaweed and crabs was also a big hit.

After a few hours at the acquarium, we all joined my dad and Mrs. Kim for dinner at the Chart House right on Cannery Row. This is a nice restaurant with a great view overlooking the Monterey Bay. We didn't realize it, but it was their 20th anniversary, so dinner turned into a celebration of sorts. It's hard to believe that they've been together that long. Time seems to be zipping by.

Dinner was great, but the day came to a close, because the kids had school the next day and we had a long trip back home. We took Hwy 1 north to Hwy 17, where a slushy sleet was falling. They would get up to a foot of snow that night. We got lucky, missing it before it got heavy up there.