Our third day in California started with our departure from San Francisco. We had explored the city for two full days and saw so much that I didn't leave feeling we'd overlooked anything. No, we really crammed it all in. So it was actually kind of nice to get up and hit the road on a misty gray morning with nothing better to do than sit back and enjoy the scenery down the coastal highway. We were on the way to Monterey, about 2 and a half hours south of the city and even the rain couldn't dampen our mood. Well, at least mine and Nacho's. The girls did great with their bag of toys and such. We gave in to electronics only about an hour into the drive. And then they both passed out just about 30 minutes before Monterey. It wasn't much of a nap, but at least they snuck one in. As we pulled into the parking lot, the clouds literally parted and the sun came peeking out. It was glorious and such a nice feeling after a sleepy start to the day. I had heard good things about the Monterey Bay Aquarium and if their ticket prices were any indication, this was like the Disneyland of Aquatic Life. We didn't splurge a lot on the trip, so this was the one thing I felt like we really needed to experience and enjoy spending the money on. From the minute we stepped in and saw a huge circular ceiling with fish swimming past, I knew we were going to have a good time. The scale of the exhibits was really great and the diversity of animals and ability to showcase them all so well made a great impression. The sea otters were adorable, the sea turtles and jelly fish absolutely elegant, the sharks fascinating if a bit intimidating. And just by stepping outside the aquarium to the patio, we could see from side-to-side of the big, beautiful bay all the birds and seals you could imagine. Even the girls $28 lunch (of bullshit organic hot dogs, fruit seltzers and yogurt) couldn't make me upset that day. Things were just too pretty.
Leaving the aquarium we really didn't have much of a plan. Fortunately all my photo posts on Facebook prompted a few friends of ours to comment on nearby places of interest that they had visited. So just like that, we had crowd sourced the rest of our afternoon. I love spontaneous shit. And that's exactly how it all felt. We made it to the Dennis the Menace playground literally minutes away and let the girls run wild for an hour. After that, we heard we had to check out Point Lobos State Park just south of the bay. And boy, was it a treat. The seal pups were just recently born and so there were lots of warnings about not spooking them and keeping quiet. It was such a beautiful sight. I really felt like the girls were awed which is hard to do on a nature walk. So much of our trip involved them fighting off boredom. But not this day. Nope. Our whole time in Monterey was pretty magical. We hiked and found another hidden cove with more pups and enjoyed a chat with an older couple who knew the area well. I really love that we got to share this experience with the girls at this age even if the highlight for them was the stuffed animals they got at the aquarium and the McDonald's dinner we promised them for dinner. The day was just about perfect. Then we packed up some snacks and groceries from Trader Joe's (in preparation for our 2 days in Yosemite) and settled in for the drive to Merced. That was our half way point to Yosemite and it made sense to get there and sleep off such a long and wonderful day. Ready for the next!
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