Family Trip: Monterey Bay Aquarium

Sep 29, 2008 at 5:24 PM
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Two weeks ago, Dan, James, and I decided to get out of the house and take a mini "stay-cation" to Monterey. I had won four tickets to the Monterey Bay Aquarium a few weeks ago at a kids festival in Pleasanton, and we thought it would be a good time to get out and enjoy a day off before the onslaught of work began again.

This was Jame's first time to the Monterey Bay Aquarium (or any aquarium for that matter!), and judging by the way he reacted there, we know it won't be the last time we'll go!

James is about as big as the whale's white eye spot!

We spent a good amount of time hanging out and looking at the Kelp Forest exhibit. James seemed especially intrigued by the fish near the top of the tank (particularly the Opal Eye Fish).

Jame's first look at an aquarium

Daddy looks at the big fish, James looks at the baby fish

In the aquarium, there is a huge kid's play area. While we didn't let James put his hands into any of the mini tide pools to touch the little fish, he did get to play on giant clam, play dress up, and climb through the many little tunnels there.

Mommy's Little Pearl

I'm a clownfish!

So proud to be a seahorse!

While the kid's area wasa cool, Jame's favorite exhibit (as well as mom and dad's!) was the Outer Bay exhibit. Unfortunately, the 700 lb tuna was no longer there, but we did get a good look at the 300 lb-ers, as well as Dorados, Bonitos, and the Sunfish!

The Anchovies are Super Cool!

The outdoor exhibits were a hit as well - look how baby-friendly these domes are!!

So James Friendly!

Of course, after seeing so many ~~delicious~~ beautiful fish, we decided we had to walk around Cannery Row and find a good place for dinner. We ended up going to Fish Hopper and enjoyed a yummy risotto and a seafood pasta.