Our trip to Monterey Bay

This is going to be one long post - you have been warned!!!!

On Saturday, the three of us - Aditya, Mahi & I decided to drive down to Monterey Bay. In a way, it was one of the longest drives that we have done in the US - about 100 miles each way - a total of 3 hours up and down.

Monterey Bay is located south of San Francisco, and is sort of a semicircular shape. It is home to many species of marine mammals, including sea otters, harbor seals, and bottlenose dolphins; as well as being on the migratory path of Gray and Humpback Whales and a breeding site for elephant seals. Many species of fish, mollusks such as abalone and squid, birds, and sea turtles also live in the bay. Several varieties of kelp grow in the bay, some becoming as tall as small trees, forming what is known as a kelp forest.

The prime tourist attraction here is the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is located in a former sardine cannery and a former brewery on Cannery Row in Monterey and is one of the largest aquariums in the world. It has an annual attendance of 1.8 million and holds 35,000 plants and animals representing 623 species.

Among the aquarium's numerous exhibits, two are of particular note. The centerpiece of the near shore wing is a 33-foot (10-m) high tank for viewing California coastal marine life. This tank was the first in the world to simulate tidal currents on a large scale, enabling the aquarium to keep live California Giant Kelp (water movement is a necessary precondition for keeping Giant Kelp, which absorbs nutrients from surrounding water and requires turbidity).

The second exhibit of note is a one million gallon tank in the Outer Bay Wing which features the world's largest single paned window (crafted by a Japanese company, the window is actually 4 panes seamlessly glued together through a proprietary process). Besides the above-mentioned million-gallon tank, another of the exhibits included a school of 3000 anchovies (a fish that was once the foundation of Monterey's economy), swimming against the endless current of a toroidal tank.

We had a great time watching all the different exhibits. We also got to see the feeding of the penguins, where 18 different penguins are individually fed by two of the personnel. What is amazing is that if while feeding, one of of the penguins happened to drop it's fish, no other penguin would grab it up. Each penguin is able to identify it's own fish. Each penguin too is tagged with a clip on it's flipper, and that's how the staff are able to maintain a record of their diet.

Incidentally, in the 33 foot tank, which is also known as the kelp forest tank, we also saw the Mahi fish - and you can be sure - Mahi was thrilled to see and hear about it!!! We also saw several different types of jellyfish, including a type which emitted rainbow colored lights. We also saw a type of fish called the sunfish. The largest one that they had weighed approximately 800 pounds - over 360 kilograms.

All in all, the trip to the aquarium was really well worth it. After that we stopped for breakfast, and treated ourselves to an all American breakfast - eggs, muffins, etc.

We then proceeded towards the Fisherman's Wharf, which had a lot of stores to look through, a replica of the customs office from 1859 and a whole lot of seafood. This is where once can pick up tickets to go on whale watching trips. Ideally these trips are about 2 to 3 hours, and one goes a good number of miles away from the shore to see whales. We didn't indulge in this as we had just had breakfast, and the last thing you would want to do after having food would be to go on choppy waters!!!

We then proceeded towards the famous 17-mile drive. This is a scenic road through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach, much of which hugs the Pacific coastline and passes famous golf courses and mansions. Entry into Pebble Beach costs US$9.00 per automobile.

The road runs adjacent to beaches and up into the coastal hills, providing scenic viewpoints. There are numerous turnouts along the road to stop, take pictures, or get out and stroll along the ocean or among the trees. Each visitor receives a small map that points out some of the more scenic spots.

There are many spectacular view points along the route; Bird Rock seems to always be covered with pelicans and other birds, seals and sea lions. Seal Rock Picnic Area is a beach area with a view of Bird Rock. Fanshell Overlook attracts harbor seals and is closed during harbor seal pupping season April 1 to June 1. Cypress Point Lookout provides a great view of the dramatic Pacific coastline along with an idea of the view enjoyed by some of the gated mansions along the route. Probably the most famous tree in the United States, The Lone Cypress has clung to its rocky perch for over 250 years and serves as the symbol of Pebble Beach Company—the developer of the 17-mile drive through Pebble Beach and the Del Monte Forest.

Just outside the lower Pacific Grove gate to the gated community of Pebble Beach is Pacific Grove's Sunset Drive (which becomes Ocean View Boulevard), which follows Pacific Grove's scenic coastline and is called by some the "poor man's 17-Mile Drive."

Pebble Beach has seven public and private 18-hole golf courses. Pebble Beach Golf Links, The Links at Spanish Bay, and Spyglass Hill are owned by the Pebble Beach Company and are all public courses. The other four courses in the town are Poppy Hills which is public, the private Cypress Point Club, and the private Monterey Peninsula Country Club's two courses, the Dunes Course and the Shore Course. Several of these courses are widely celebrated, especially Pebble Beach Golf Links, which is the most famous course in the Western United States, and the only course which has even beaten Pine Valley Golf Club to top spot in Golf Digest's biennial list of America's 100 greatest courses.

Aditya was very keen and excited to be at Pebble Beach Golf Links, so we snapped up a couple of pictures of him with the Pebble Beach Golf Links logo in the background.

We finally wrapped up by evening about 4 pm , I guess, and then drove back home. All in all a good trip.