Monterey Bay and Emily

Emily and I had a really nice time at the coast. We stayed at Motel6 in Watsonville. I had forgotten just how big the Monterey Bay is, and how far apart Monterey and Santa Cruz were. I thought Watsonville (which is in between Monterey and Santa Cruz) was just a hop-and-a-skip from Monterey. Turns out its a bit further than that. About a 30 minute drive. But still, it was worth it for the price difference and the money we saved on the room.

Oh, by the way, the weather was awesome! Upper 60s, low 70's at the coast, with fog most of the time near Watsonville. Monterey was sunny and cool. Just thought I'd share for you 100-degree sufferers back here in Sacramento.

First night there we hit the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot, which turned out to be a total head trip!

I got some photos where two people simply change positions about 18 inches apart, and seem to gain or lose 5 inches!! The tour guide proved the ground was level, using a carpenter's level, right in front of our eyes. Two people stood face to face, one of the "inside the Mystery Spot", and the other outside. The they change places, and the person inside the Spot looks crazy short!! Again, right in front of my eyes. It was weird!




Later, we went through the strangely angled house, and everyone seemed to be leaning at an odd angle. The tour guide claimed it was a 17% lean, but whatever, it was, again... weird!



That evening we drove down to Monterey and made a stop at Moss Landing. We found a neat marina just full of seals and pelicans. We also found the ugliest jellyfish I've ever seen.



The next day we hit the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and had a really nice visit. The aquarium is just huge, with tons of things to see. I highly recommend it if you ever get out to the West Coast.



Wednesday evening, Emily and I went to Marina State Beach, just north of Monterey, at dusk. We collected sand-dollars in the surf, and found a dead, beached, baby Dall's Dolphin. It was sad looking at the little dolphin, all torn up, but it was a vivid reminder of just how wild and uncompromising mother nature can be.



We came Thursday afternoon, returning to the heat and pollution of the Sacramento Valley. I really enjoyed my time with Emily. She had trouble sleeping in the same room as me, since apparently I snore pretty bad, but that's a story for another time!

It's good to be home!

Now then... tonight I'm off on another adventure, for which I'm very excited. It's of a personal nature, so I'm not gonna blog a lot on it, but just suffice to say - I'm looking forward to it!