Monterey Bay Aquarium (Day before 1st Day of Kindergarden)

Fetterman Family at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  It is the day before David's first day of kindergarden. We had some business to take care of down in Monterey and David was so good we asked him "What would you like to do?"

He said the aquarium, so off we went. We have a membership so we could just walk right in (very important as you know when you have a 4 1/2 year old).  Long lines don't work too well.

So here we are inside and all smiles.  We know the place pretty well by now. We got married there and we go there all the time, (almost every time we come down to Monterey).

We also know what we want to see (the big fish and the jellies and that stamp machine that prints fish on those cool aquarium cards for you).  We also know exactly how much time we have.  It is called a parking meter and they do ticket.  So what is the first thing you see in an aquarium regardless of your agenda - fish, a lot of fish (and beautiful blue water).

David was pretty focused like usual - check out those fish.

And then all of a sudden - sharks and lots of them.  That was an eye opener.  (It certainly was for him - as you can see below.  We thought it was pretty cool too.)

This aquarium is something else. It also has interactive stations.  Below you can see what a fish larva looks like.  More to the point, you find it swimming around on the screen, touch it and a blow up shot appears.  Then you can move it right side, left side, and upside down and all around to see all the dimensions of the larva.  

The startling part is that David walked up to it and starting playing with it right away. It took him no time to figure it out.  He has grown up on an iPad, the iPhone, and his own computer, so he thinks the rest of the world works this way.  He even knew how to touch the X on the image to reduce it.  We take it for granted that our kids are going up in the digital age, but there are little things like this that remind us of how powerful the influence is all around us and how differently he will think than we do.

Ok, back to reality.  Here is a classic nettle or jelly.  This is what I like to watch - very soothing, calm and almost like a ballet performed in ocean water.

That is not to say we did not enjoy the really big fish. This is where we had our wedding reception.  I remember turning to this wall and watching the gigantic sun fish for a second during the reception and thinking no one could get bored at that wedding.

Well that's all for now.  Just wanted to share a fun day with you.  Between Facebook, Google +, and blogging it is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family around the world.

Bye!