The water is clean and blue here in Monterey Bay. Vince and I love it here.
It's just on the other side of the bay as Santa Cruz, the circus town we stayed in on our way down. We spend almost an entire morning coming into the bay. Good thing we did because there's a storm warning just out of the bay.
There is free anchorage here, and the harbor masters are really nice and friendly. Getting a spot on the guest dock is about as expensive as Santa Barbara, but at least there are safe options for sailors that are free.
On our kayak commutes, we are usually joined by curious sealions, their babies flip out of the water and the females corkscrew right under us. The males pretty much don't raise an eyebrow at us as they do not want to risk their sunbathing position to one of the littler ones trying to get a piece of sun themselves. The otters here are very friendly and curious, too. It's so great to see an entire ecosystem thriving. The water here is much clearer and healthier than morro and Santa Barbara. We inspected the boat after our arrival in the bay and found fist sized oil spots that hit our deck in the waves, though natural deposits, they sure are nasty.
Here, I could just sit on my kayak and look into the kelp forests, in that blue green water that reminds me of my grandma. Harbor seals, as shown in this picture, segregate themselves from the sealions, who prefer the docks and buoys. The harbor seals have spots and inverted ears, more related to weasels than their canine counterparts. This morning I saw what looked like a white rock the size of my arm, then it moved and I realized it was just a very puffy and warm harbor seal pup. Their spots come in as they age, but when they are dry, they are like bleach blond beach bums.
adorable.
Vince and I tried to go to the aquarium here, it is world famous, but it's got world famous prices, 40$ each. And students only get 5$ off. (lame).
oh well, we can get most of our aquarium experience by sailing and kayaking.