DAY 219 WEDNESDAY 16th APRIL 2008

Monterey, CA (Miles to Date: 21815)

Today for a change rather than head north up to San Francisco we decide to head south on the Pacific Coast Highway to the town of Monterey, some 70 miles south of where we are staying. The weather is sunny again today but there is a chilly wind coming off the ocean so we stay well wrapped up. Like San Francisco, Monterey does have its own Fisherman’s Wharf but this one is small, but perfectly formed and there is ,as you might expect ,plenty of shops and restaurants. Very cutesy and a bit more cosy than its' San Francisco namesake! We are amused by a sign we come across which reads “Dogs, cats and other pets must be on a leash at all times”. Oh! I wish we had bought a pet goldfish or ferret with us, mind you- not sure what we’d have used as a leash.

From here it is about a half mile or so along a walk way to Cannery Row which used to be the commercial centre of the town's fishing industry. Here a dozen or so large factories processed and packed fish like sardines and anchovies fished from the local waters. This was a tough business and it’s heyday is memorably captured in John Steinbeck’s book, “Cannery Row”. Today the old canneries are out of business: the buildings still remain but now they are shops, restaurants or apartments. Even the distinctive bridges across the streets where the packed fish were sent across to the warehouses still remain, giving the area a unique appeal.

At the very end of Cannery Row is the Monterey Aquarium one of the finest in the United States. As we had arrived quite late (it was about 1:00pm) and the entry cost was high we decided not to go in – Emily was very disappointed. We passed by the entrance to the overlook of the ocean where you can see frolicking sea otters, swimming amongst the kelp forest. As we stood there a gentleman came up and said would we like go into the Aquarium. He was a member and had a pass for 4 extra people. He must have heard us deliberating outside the entrance and then decided to treat us to the experience. This was such a generous offer – we were taken aback by this act of kindness.Karen questioned him closely ...just to be sure it wasn't another timeshare offer. Emily was thrilled!

Having been given this wonderful opportunity we obviously wanted to make the most of it. Our first port of call was the auditorium where we are treated to a live lecture by a researcher on the deep sea fish found in the 2 mile deep canyon not too far off the coast of Monterey. The footage of these weird and wonderful creatures were taken by a robotic submersible. This literally wetted our appetite for the rest of the day so we slowly wandered our way around the exhibits including several huge tanks with sharks, rays and a large assortment of other fish from the local waters. For us the highlights were the sea otter exhibit, the giant octopus and the sea dragons. In general giant octopuses are nocturnal creatures so when you see them in aquariums they are hiding in corners or under rocks. Luckily this octopus had other ideas and for some unknown reason was extremely active and seemed content to swim from one end of his tank to other, giving us the most amazing display. Karen was particularly consumed by our eight legged friend and it was a real struggle to drag her away. We were also lucky with the sea dragons, who were also unusually active. Sea Dragons are arguably the most spectacular and mysterious of all ocean fish. Though close relatives of sea horses, sea dragons have larger bodies and leaf-like appendages which enable them to hide among floating seaweed or kelp beds off the South Western Australian coast. So often when you see these splendid, delicate creatures in aquariums they, like the octopus, are elusive, hiding in the vegetation. Not today -they are out frolicking. We have a wonderful day thanks to the kindness of some total strangers.