#1 in the world

I didn't sleep well last night. I was up all night worrying about my car not starting. So when it was time for the alarm to go off I was already up and turning it off before it woke LP up. I wanted to drive even though Cindy said she would because I wanted to be in control if the car was going to act up. I got in the car and said a silent prayer before turning the key. IT TURNED ON! I was so happy! Now let's see how far it goes...

The drive was really easy to get to Monterey. It only took us about 2.5hrs total which was a nice short drive. The aquarium wasn't even open yet when we made it into town so we found parking and stood outside the door waiting for them to let us in. I have the AZA pass so it was free for me to get in :)

Mola Mola

The aquarium was HUGE! It was two floors with floor to ceiling exhibits which were beautiful! They had a huge jelly fish exhibit too like the Shedd Aquarium but they had even more species I had never seen! I was mesmerized by them all. We also went over to see the Great White Shark they had. It is their 6th shark that they have had as part of their research efforts. He is tiny, only about 5ft in length and when it came in 6 weeks ago he was only 45lbs! So it was really awesome to get up close and see him because he was all next to the glass so we could see him. He lived with some Tuna, Scallop Hammerheads, Mahi Mahi, and the Mola Mola (my fav!). The Mola Mola is a giant sunfish and I have seen one in the wild deep sea fishing on the East Coast. They are still always very cool to see though!

Great White

We wandered our way around and we went to a shark presentation about the research they are doing with Great Whites. We also checked out the sea otters, and the Secret Lives of Seahorses exhibit which was one of my favorites. It was so well laid out and had all of these rod iron cut outs in each area... it was the first classy aquarium exhibit I have ever seen...almost like a show room.

@ the Warf in Monterey

After we left the aquarium we headed down to the Warf to find the Sea Lions. They were every where! There were more here then in San Francisco! Cindy was super excited and it was good to cross an item off her trip to-do list. On the way back to the car we stopped in a dive shop to see if I could find a water case for my camera and I actually ran into a girl I worked with at the Jacksonville Zoo. She was there when I was an intern in 2008. It was crazy to see her all the way on the West Coast! She is from here and now works in the area...it was fate to see her again (so bizarre!).

The next step of the day was to find the Hostel. Luckily, it was only about a mile away from where we were and we went and checked in and got 4-1-1. We had a code to get in the front door, a code to get into our room (which held a total of 8 girls), and tokens to take a shower. Each token was worth 4min and we got 3 of them. A 12min shower?! That would be a challenge! But I ended up only using 2 tokens :) and the girls from Germany and France had given me 2 more so I had 3 left over...souvenirs!

The girls are all fantastic. One is from Massachusetts, Nashville, Germany and France. I really like this environment because it is like being back in a college dorm. Everyone really gets along well and it's nice to meet people who are traveling and hear their stories. I actually met the woman from Nashville, Trish, and she is going to let me stay with her for a night when I go to Nashville so that is awesome! I am meeting some incredible people on this trip!

Tomorrow we are heading to LA and staying at another Hostel there. We have a 5.5hr drive tomorrow am so it will be a long morning. I can't believe my time in California is already coming to an end! I just got here!