Monterey, Part 2

Day 2

Night before day 2: Lincoln was teething and had a cold and was in a new place. He slept terribly and screamed lots...which gave me lots of anxiety about thin hotel walls and exhaustion and whatnot. Anyway, we survived. Bryan was a champ. Also, thanks to Elmo and a king sized bed that helped us

After a lovely (?) continental breakfast at our hotel, we started our morning back at the Aquarium!

Touching a sea star

Touching a sea cucumber. Not pictured: Lincoln grabbing the giant strands of kelp-- the one protecting all the creatures-- and trying to pull them out of the tank. That's Lincoln for you. :) 

This was one of my favorite things! Lincoln was not being a patient child, however, so we didn't get to watch the giant octopus for long.

These fish were so cool. They were just kind of floating there in the kelp forest, rising and falling as the water and kelp rose and fell.  

That school of fish was mesmerizing.

Lincoln chasing the birds. We have lots of crows at our house so he's perfected his "caw!" that he uses to call them. 

At this point we were getting hungry and Lincoln was tired. We headed back to the hotel, ate lunch, and got Lincoln to take a nap.

After all that we took a bike ride up the coast to some awesome beaches and views. I don't know that I've ever seen such magnificent views before... if you are going to retire somewhere that costs a bajillion dollars to live, the houses with the following beaches as their front yards are the place to be.

Click on the picture to make it bigger.

Cute boys.

Lincoln LOVED exploring the tide pools, especially finding the hermit crabs. 

 This video captured Bryan's favorite moment of the vacation.

Lincoln chasing a seagull...the poor guy still managed to get away even though he had a bum wing and couldn't fly.

Cushy ride

How we got around all week.

Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University

After we got tired of the really cold wind, we headed back toward the hotel we spent a few minutes back at the aquarium.

I could have watched these for a long time. 

Lincoln is obsessed with buttons. Doesn't matter what they do. If something cool happens after he pushes them, all the better, but not necessary. :) 

These were like the creepy earthworms of the sea. My irrational fear of snakes was on alert. 

This was a sign with a video of some kids playing on a beach... I don't know if Lincoln thought they were real kids, or what, but he loved this sign. We frequented it. 

After Lincoln was tired of being in public, we left and decided to hurry to a little restaurant near the pier for dinner.

As we got near the restaurant and parked our bikes, we looked down and saw a huge seal on the dock. It was barking super loud and sunning itself. We ran down and got a few yards from it and watched it! Don't mind the GIANT CARPET OF BIRD POOP we were standing in. Eww. After we left the restaurant there were no fewer than 6 seals on the nearby dock, and DOZENS in those little dark areas under the dock across that little part of the water. It was loud and amazing. I have absolutely no idea how they get themselves up on such high docks and platforms.

This was about 15 seconds before Lincoln had HAD it, threw a giant tantrum, and motivated us to get take out boxes and eat our cold food back at the hotel. 

We got a slightly cheaper hotel room because we took the unbooked room with the shower with wheelchair access...meaning no tub. Lincoln had all sorts of fun anyway.

The end (of day 2).