For our final hoorah of summer vacation, we went for a quick day trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Some people paint with oil paints, I like to paint with flowers, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium paints with marine life.
Some sea creatures are works of art in their own right:
Who would have guessed that piers could support so much wonderment?
The amount of time and dedication it must take to create and maintain coral tanks like this is mind-boggling to me:
Rescued birds flawlessly complete a canvas of native wildflowers and driftwood:
These touch pools remain gorgeous even when children of all ages move these creatures around all day long:
Old favorites are still mesmerizing:
Because it is a relatively new installation, the “Secret Life of Seahorses” exhibit is still somewhat crowded. Nevertheless, I highly recommend a visit to this magnificent display of sea creatures.
Rescued birds flawlessly complete a canvas of native wildflowers and driftwood:
These touch pools remain gorgeous even when children of all ages move these creatures around all day long:
Old favorites are still mesmerizing:
Because it is a relatively new installation, the “Secret Life of Seahorses” exhibit is still somewhat crowded. Nevertheless, I highly recommend a visit to this magnificent display of sea creatures.
17 comments:
Spectacular.
Renews my determination to visit the New Jersey
Aquarium just across the river.
this is fabulous !
I have actually been to this aquarium... many years ago...like ummm 17 to be exact....and my camera meant nothing to me at that time, so my photos suck !
But these are amazing !
Oh, the colors and the detail! So gorgeous. I'm captivated by the anemones and the jellyfish. Wow.
I love the aquarium and we visit ours on Coney Island several times a year, but nothing can compare with the inhabitants of the California coast.
Such a beautiful post.
i can see why you totally loved this 'art'. like a living museum of the highest order! wonderful descriptions!
XO
I was there in May and just loved it. Your pictures bring back memories.
There are mesmerizing patterns, designs and colors there. I could stand for hours at each tank. No doubt everyone could.
Wow! So pretty. I can get lost in places like this.
Dear CC,
I do hope you visit soon. I know that you could give those seahorses some personality on your drawing board.
Dear Beth,
Well then it's high time that you return!
Dear dianamuse,
Why thank you! I didn't know Coney Island had an aquarium. I will try to visit it next time I'm there. My son and I went to see a Brooklyn Cyclones baseball game last year.
Dear robinbird,
A living museum is exactly what it is! May I borrow that term?
Dear Marilyn Miller,
I hope you got to see the seahorses!
Dear Ruth,
I find the giant jellyfish and schools of sardines particularly mesmerizing.
Dear Kris,
We thought we would only spend the morning here but we ended up staying the entire day.
Fab, colourful pics - is that a Carl Zeiss lens you're rocking? I love this aquarium and used to see a lot of their "behind the scenes" research work when I spent four months living in a cottage three blocks from the beach in Pacific Grove. What a beautiful place! Now I feel homesick (but remembering the expense and how the sea air caused locks to rust and my knee to ache reminds me that it's a great place to visit; less wonderful living there - unless of course you own one of those gorgeous old Victorians overlooking the sea. :) But oh, the beauty! And Asilomar. Sigh.
i love aquariums & the monterey bay one is a true gem. we just visited the oregon coast one a couple weeks ago. so much splendor & majesty is in our gorgeous oceans! thanks for sharing your lovely photos
Hello,
I come visiting via Relyn's blog... I'm so glad I did, you are an amazing photographer... think I'll stay a while if you don't mind...
:-)
well-wishes,
me
Geez!! You do take the most amazing pictures! So glad you are home, dear friend. We have much to catch up on.
whoa, these are great! you capture the colour so amazingly. love them.
Excellent shots--The fuschia anemone and mandarin goby are stunning!
Once again, I'd like to say thank you for visiting the Aquarium. You may be interested to hear that we now have a white shark on exhibit:
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_whiteshark/whiteshark_ours.aspx
You can see it live on our web cams, if you are interested:
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/efc/efc_outerbay/outerbay_cam.aspx
Thanks for your wonderful post and pictures!
Adam
Dear paris parfait,
Yes, the Carl Zeiss lens is one of the chief reasons why I chose this camera. We love the aquarium also. When the kids were younger we used to go several times a year. A house on the beach anywhere along that bay would be heaven.
Dear studio wellspring,
I bet your little Miss Peach would enjoy exploring this aquarium.
Dear Pixie Dust,
Mind? Mind? Would I mind a little Pixie Dust on my blog? Welcome!
Dear Relyn,
I'm glad to be home, even though we had the most incredible vacation. Look forward to catching up.
Dear margie,
Thank you for your visit!
Dear Adam,
Thank you for letting me know the name of the mandarin goby! There was another fish in the same tank I tried to capture but it was too swift for my camera. It was blue-green with a long nose.
Thanks also for answering our question about the anchovies' life span and for the great links!
i'm only now catching up on a whole summer's worth of blog reading...but WOW on those photos at the aquarium. my aquarium pix never turn out, but yours are stunning. thank you for sharing them, it is like artwork in those tanks!
Dear julochka,
I'm desperately trying to catch up also; I think I'm only five weeks behind now. Thanks for diving back to see this post and thanks for the very kind compliment.
Post a Comment