Germar's Monthly Updater

Four-National-Parks-Tour Day 12 In the morning of Day 12, we reached Highway One for the first time. We left the famous road after a few miles to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the largest marine sanctuary in the U.S. Most impressive is the huge Kelp Forest Tank featuring kelp (the basis of most marine life in Monterey Bay); sardines (the basis of Monterey's economy during the last century before the sardines finally disappeared because of over-fishing, as some say); and other colorful fish (the basis of today's tourist industry). The aquarium also does a great job in presenting less familiar underwater critters like these sand dollars. They are relatives of urchins, have no arms or legs, propel themselves by the tiny spines that stick out of their bodies, and live from organic material found in the sand. Another highlight was the jellyfish tank. The shape and color of these translucent animals is just unbelievable. After our visit to the aquarium, we enjoyed the other attractions of Monterey, including the Cannery (the former location of the fish industry, which has been converted to a shopping/dining mall); the Fisherman's Wharf (a good spot for harbor seal watching); and the marina (a good spot for millionaire watching). We headed to our next destination, the "17-mile drive", leading from Monterey Bay in the north to Pepples Beach and Carmel in the south. On the right side of the road was the most picturesque ocean scenery, and on the left side of the road were four golf courses, one following the next. As I don't play golf, I focus on the right side. The brown tube in the foreground of the picture below was once a part of a kelp plant. It's filled with pressurized air that provides buoyancy. When puncturing the tube, the air will puff out with a whistle. Further down the road, the landscape became wilder and wilder. The surf was up, and rocks and trees showed signs of wind and weather. At the end of the 17-mile drive, the sun went down, and we saw a storm lurking at the horizon. Indeed, the wind picked up, and by the time we passed the famous Bixby Creek Bridge, it started raining. We continued driving on Highway One to Big Sur, where we stayed over night.

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