Monterey

We are camped at the Laguna Seca RaceTrack, which is also a county park. It is up in the steep hills above Monterey with great view of the surrounding hills, and a distant slice of the sea. The road going in is a 16% grade ! Both trucks roared heartily and made it up. We can look down on the infield and part of the track on the other side. It is a Grand Prix auto track which means it loops and doubles back so the drivers have something more serious to do besides turn left all day, and it goes up and down too. I walked out to one nearly 90 degree corner that looks as if you would be quickly and seriously airborne if you missed it. It’s quiet now, but down on the infield guys are putting up huge tents and fussing over the track. It would be cool to be here for a race.

The Aquarium here is world class, so off we went to see it. It is part of a spiffed up, wharf area known as Cannery Row. Once full of fishing boats and fish canning factories (and chronicled by John Steinbeck, local hero) it is now full of gift shoppes with a salty theme, like the Fanuel Hall Market area of Boston.

In the Aquarium are the usual eye level tanks of some invisible creature, and a lot of information for us about saving the ocean and the world from ourselves, and several belt level tide pool petting zoos. I get to meet my first abalone, with a black fringe of short tentacles all around. They have two huge two-story tanks, one of a kelp forest, one of open bay, where a lively assortment of fish go round and round.

The kelp forest really is a forest, the stems of these vertical vines can be as tall as 60 feet and can grow a foot a day, straight up towards the light. California redwoods in the sea. The “canopy” of this forest is the home of sea otters, three of which have their own tank and are twice as big but just as charming as their fresh water relatives. Grooming themselves while afloat with multiple summersaults, zooming around in the water with ease and speed, and a familiar dog like, whiskery face.

There is a wave machine that sends a big breaker crashing over you as you stand under plastic, and at your knees nearby starfish and small fry put up with the excitement. Very cool, especially with the sun shining through.

Most spectacular, a jelly fish area. Here the jellyfish are in tanks with a deep blue back ground, and some current, and they are lit up with orange light. This is not aquarium, this is ART. We can see every detail of them, and there are many different kinds, large to small, umbrella-ing their way along, trailing lines and ribbons and tentacles in a mesmerizing frame. We are not bombarded with their life stories or dinners, or niche, just left to wonder at them, slack jawed in the dark as they swim forever on stage.

Two other exhibits of sardines and anchovies put us in the midst of an ever-swimming silvery cloud, best of all in a dome over our heads, lit up so that they shimmer like stars in the night sky.

It’s a wow. And so was lunch with the waves crashing under us, looking right down into a real tide pool and watching cormorants and seals.