Pajaro: Day Three

Good thing Lucy has the kind of grandparents who insisted on adding the sincerity of funds to their "Have fun on your vacation!" wishes. Because otherwise, she (and the rest of us) might not have experienced the glory that was the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

So, Grandparents, here is a hearty thank you, and an... investment report, if you will. There was much to see (most of it un-captured. Picture taking in an aquarium is a trick and a half)! (Jelly fish=so cool. The big ones are so beautiful and these tiny, glowing guys? Oh my word.)

(I think the Outer Bay exhibit was my favorite. All the big guys. Sharks, barracudas, rays, and who knew tunas were so huge and fierce? Good thing for the glass...) And there was much to touch too!

It was, in a word...(In fact, a hopeful Lucy said to me yesterday, "Maybe we could go to the aquarium on Thursday!")

After our pricey party with the fish, we curled up in our cars and drove 17 miles of beautiful CA coast. There were lots of great look-out points.

But looking out was not so much fun as looking down...

at the squirrels...They were worth the whole trip. Our favorite was a little fat one that Lucy named Shampton. (Heath, I was thinking a "CH" too, for some reason. But I have to defer to Lucy and her adamant "S-H-a-m-p-t-o-n.")
There was another, skinnier one that Lucy named Starvinelle.I tell you what, the squirrels were a hoot! We could have hung with them all day!
But we had one more stop before dinner: the famous (or so I was told) Lone Cypress... ...where we performed the famous Lone Cypress dance (you know it, don't you?). And then. For dinner.Phil's famous (as in Bobby Flay famous) fish market.

Finally, we headed home, where everyone over 4 got to stay up late for a bonfire. (Which Michelle lit pretty much singlehandedly.... ...while the rest of us gave opinions from the side lines.)
Follows: story telling, sentimentality, a little star gazing. And after convincing Ryan that putting out the fire was the right thing to do, we walked back to the beach house for a few episodes of The Wonder Years. And if that's not the perfect conclusion to a fabulously fun-filled day...

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Tomorrow...
Pajaro: Day Four Wherein we have a magical breakfast, discuss literary themes and motifs, get put in our place by the pizza guy, and...pack up.