On Wednesday we met up with our friend Sierra and his girlfriend Nina to camp in Big Sur. We met them at the campground after midnight. They had already gone to bed, as well as the rest of the campers around. I didn’t know, and Ryan failed to tell me that we had to hike (or walk) to the campground about half a mile from the parking lot. It wasn’t that big of a deal, ‘cept that we had to carry all of our crap. I could have planned and packed much lighter if I knew, but in the end it could have been worse. I love you babesss.

We got there, set up camp, cracked open a beer and watched the phenomenal sky. Billions of shiny glittery, sparkly dots in the dark “bluish looking thing” surrounded us. Happened to see a few shooting stars. That never ceases to amaze me. The weather was pretty perfect, not windy, but chilly. Another jacket would have been perfect.

Look how close I got to this gofer!

The next morning we woke up and the sun was beaming. I can’t believe it was so hot. I really though we would be freezing, since we were close to the water. I imagined fog and wind, but the sun was shining!

On the walk back to the car, we saw so many wild creatures! Squirrels, bunnies, a gofer, a quail, a wild eety beety mouse, newts, annoying crows, blue jackets, chipmunks…I think we saw more “wild life” here in one day, than in Alaska…hahaha!

We drove to Monterey and got on a whale watching tour. It was magical. The boat was packed with tourists craving to see a whale. We saw a bunch. It as a sight to experience, I don’t even know how to put it into words. We didn’t see the whole entire whale, I don’t think you usually do, not blue whales at least. Apparently all these blue whales swim all the way from Costa Rica (possibly) to CA and feed on krill from June – October. There’s an unusual number of krill right now in the bay.

Blue whales are the largest animal ever to live on earth–they feed only on krill, which is one of the smallest animals of the sea. Whales eat millions of krill each day. They are also the loudest of the sea, their sounds can travel thousands of miles underwater. Their tongues can weight as much as an elephant…their hearts as much as a car! (National Geographic facts)

We got to see them pretty close but the closest were the humpback whales. We saw a few, they came out of the water more, probably cause they are smaller. Humpbacks also feed on krill but on other fish as well. When different species of whales are together feeding, each species usually sticks to themselves.

It was an experience I recommend for every person on earth.

After our whale encounter, we walked over to have dinner and later got our student discount membership for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. WHAT AN AMAZING PLACE. Whoever designed and helped make this place what it is, is a genius. It’s a like a zen! It is remarkably fascinating. I could live there. It is surrounded with glowing lights that resembles natural light going under the ocean. The fish are glowing, the music makes you want to sit there and do nothing but look, feel, listen and meditate. I can’t describe this either. It’s just plain beautiful. We were only able to look for 30 minutes before they closed though. I’ve been really wanting to go see the Secret Lives of Seahorses. I think after turtles, they are my favorite animal. They’re truly magical creatures. My personal favorite: the Weedy Sea Dragon.

The student membership is pretty much awesome. It pays for itself if you were to go twice. There are tons of events throughout the year and the best part so far: you can sleep over at the aquarium!!! By your favorite exhibit!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t wait for that one. Seahorses…mine.

We hugged goodbye and wished safe travels to our friends. We’ll see you in August! We headed home, our faces red like beets, our legs and back were exhausted. Ready for some R&R. But not til Friday night after class.

Sunburn Day 3

I forgot to mention that we didn’t realize until after the boat tour that we had a pretty good sunburn. Good in a bad way. We all did, I don’t know how Sierra and Nina are dealing with it but Ryan and I looked like beets that day and the next. It’s been getting better with each day but we thought it was going to bubble up at some point. Ryan got it worse, he wasn’t wearing any long sleeves and he got his face, neck, arms and hands burned. My forehead is bad, his nose is terrible.

Enjoy the photos.

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