Whale watching

Last weekend, I took my in-laws on a whale watching trip in Monterey. I knew they would find it interesting and fun. I personally wasn't too excited about it as I knew there is no guarantee of seeing the whales. Since I found a decent groupon deal, I decided to give it a shot.

I booked the trip through Seagoddess whale watching. A quick google search told me that morning tours have the best probability of seeing whales so I picked the 10am slot. It being the Gilroy garlic festival weekend, we started earlier at 7.45am to avoid traffic. To our surprise we didn't face any traffic and reached at 9am. There is plenty of parking although it costs $8!

We checked in and received our tickets. They offered us donuts and coffee. As I had heard that the waters can be choppy, we decided to take some sea sickness tablets. It was an overcast day with a heavy layer of smog about us (there was a very big forest fire in the Big Sur area that week). We wore several layers as we were told that it gets really windy and cold on the boat.

 

The cruise started on time and we kept our eyes peeled for whales only to be told by the marine biologist on board that we are quite a distance away until we actually locate them. On the way we saw otters, sealions, cormorants, seagulls and various migratory birds. The playful sealions could be easily mistaken for dolphins.

After about an hour, we reached the whale territory. Within minutes we spotted a humpback whale followed by a blue whale. We could see the splash caused by the whales coming out and then the huge grey/black body before it dived back in. It was an amazing site and hard to believe how large in size they were. There were a few babies too. It was so quick that it was hard to click any pictures. Anytime there was an announcement of a whale sighting in a particular direction, everyone ran to that side and crowded. That made it a little hard to actually see them unless I stood on my tip toes or elbowed my way to the front.

We then made our way back and reached back by noon. No sickness but a terrible drowsiness took over us which kind of ruined the rest of the day. We grabbed some lunch at a nearby restaurant and made our way to San Juan Bautista.

What: Whale watching
Where: Seagoddess whale watching 7881 Sandholt Rd, Moss Landing CA 95039
When: Multiple trips during the day
Cost: $45, cheaper if you get a Groupon

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Labor day weekend and we had no plans for several reasons. No car, no energy after the endless shopping trips, need for relaxation at home, more shopping. However, our neighbors had already made a plan and invited us to join them. And we did :)

The plan was simple-start on Sunday morning and head to Monterey Bay Aquarium, then the beach and finally end the day watching the fireworks at Great America. But the only thing that we did manage to do was the Aquarium.

For starters we started from home more than an hour later than decided (expected due to kids and 4 families involved in the plan). Next, the freeway was jam packed and it seemed everyone was heading out to Monterey beach. The journey that was supposed to take an hour and a half took three hours.

The Aquarium has two floors and is huge-the biggest I've ever seen. The 'Jellies Experience' was  one of my favorite exhibits. It displayed a wide variety of jelly fishes and they were gorgeous to look at. They looked almost surreal. I could stand there looking at it for hours.

Jelly fish

Sea Dragon

Another fascinating one was the 'Secret lives of sea-horses.' With heads like horses, tails like monkeys and pouches like kangaroos, these tiny fishes are such interesting creatures. Their ability to change colors, the male fish giving birth to young ones and the mating dance are all so intriguing.

The giant Pacific Octopus is a sight to behold. It is gigantic in size and one of the main attractions of the  aquarium.

The 'Open Sea' is yet another awe-inducing exhibit. The different types, shapes, sizes and colors of fishes underwater can be seen in the open sea.

Anchovies

There was also a touch pool where volunteers would explain the different the creatures and visitors were allowed to touch the fishes. This one was the favorite of all kids.

Overall it was a very educative and fun visit. The place, however was very crowded and noisy due to kids.

It took us about 3 hours to tour the entire place. After which, we headed out to the Monterey downtown. We bought a fridge magnet and got ourselves a hot chocolate. It was already six and we skipped the rest of the plan and came straight back home.


What: Monterey Bay Aquarium
Where: 888 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA
Hours: 10 am-6 pm (check website for holidays & specials)
Admission fee: $34.95