Monday, October 7, 2013

Anniversary Weekend Pictures

Monastery Beach

Spotting humpbacks feeding right off the coast

I swear there are whales out there!

I can't believe I've been married to this guy for two years!

Yup, went hiking on a cliff over the ocean. 9 months pregnant. In flip flops (not my best idea). I needed proof I actually did that!

Point Lobos State Park - those are harbor seals on the rocks. 

Seriously, I couldn't take a bad picture.

Those are whale bones. 

Gorgeous coastline.

I climbed those steps.

See? No bad pictures, right?

The sun was setting - it was the perfect day.

Stunning.

At the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I had this song going around and around in my head for several days a couple weeks ago. Pregnancy is weird.

Birds.

More birds.

Even more birds.

Fish.

Jellies.

Alex looking at jellies.

This is what Alex would look like if he was radially symmetrical, like a jellyfish. Aren't you glad we evolved a bilateral asymmetry?

Terrifying, right?

Hard to tell, but these jellyfish express a protein called "Green Fluorescent Protein", or GFP for short. The discovery of this protein was awarded a Nobel Prize not too long ago, and it's now used in millions and millions of experiments all over the world. Pretty amazing that the simple jellyfish held this invaluable protein, right? This is why basic science is so important!

More harbor seals and come cormorants.

Cormorants are the most beautiful birds. The have these feathers that are black, but when the sun hits them right, the feathers light up with this amazing sheen. Can you see the cormorant on the rocks with the green-ish sheen? Native Americans used their feathers for adornment because they are so beautiful.

More harbor seals.
We had a fantastic time just hanging out and re-setting in Monterey. I would say that Monterey is the absolute perfect weekend spot. There are a few things to do, but it's not overwhelming. You can find some pretty affordable places to say and eat (just don't go to Carmel...) and this time of year, the weather is lovely - warm and inviting, and cools off at night (but not too much). Plus, we avoided the summer crowds, which was awesome. It was a great weekend. I wish we could have stayed longer.

1 comment:

  1. Wonderful! I was just thinking you're on the dang two-week countdown, sister! WOOT WOOT!

    Happy anniversary! xoxoxo

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