Weekend Report

It was a weekend o' fun for me and Jiggity. We decided to take a mini-vacation, which included camping at Fremont Peak State Park and a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

I should note here that I hadn't been to the aquarium since I was 13 years old, when my whole family took a trip to California to coincide with a conference my dad was attending. Mind you, at the time I thought that all Californian's spent most waking hours wearing bathing suits and shopping at outdoor malls, activities I planned to take full part in when we lifted off the ground in Cleveland. Little did I know that "California" comes in many varieties, one of which is the foggy coast and chilly climates of San Francisco and surrounding areas. Needless to say, beach bumming was not a focal point of our jaunt in 1989. We did more "mental building" activities, including our trip to the aquarium. Being 13, I refused to have a good time at the aquarium and spent the entire afternoon pouting on benches near the exhibits. With my return visit at the age of almost-30, I marveled at the fact that I had such a horrible time at 13. The aquarium KICKS ASS!

Back to the weekend, with some highlights:

1.) Climbing up the "peak" that is Fremont Peak - Jiggity and I had a lovely hike after pitching our tent. We followed the Fremont Peak Trail, which led us along several switchbacks to the highest point in the surrounding area, allowing us to view the coast of Monterey as well as (supposedly) part of the Sierras. Lovely. The trip included a pass by the Channel 8 tower and some minor wildlife sitings (grasshoppers and lizards). Here's our view from the top:

2.) The sunset and the sly devil of a thief - After eating a delightful dinner of ham and cheese sandwiches, salad, and backed cheetos, Jiggity and I decided to check out the sunset from a clearning near our campsite. Little did we know we left the makings for S'mores on the picnic table ... or maybe we just figured it wouldn't be a problem. In any case, by the time we returned, the plastic bag containing the goods was on the ground, with unopened fruit cups scattered into the brush. The entire bag of (unopened) marshmallows had disappeared, apparently providing a very sugary dinner for some very happy animals. I blame the fox who visited our site during dinner. He sure was giving us a beady-eyed glance. The loss of marshmallows was worth this, however:


















3.) THE AQUARIUM!!! - Dude, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is WAY cool. I don't know that I needed to tell you that, but I was astounded by how much friggin' fun I had learning about life at sea. My absolute favorite exhibit was the otter tank. We were lucky enough to catch a feeding, which rocked my world. There were many other wonderful sites as well, some of which were captured on film...


OTTER ON FILM! Check out her bone! She LOVES playing with that thing!











And here we have some jellies! There are TONS of jellies at the aquarium. You wouldn't think that jellies are so exciting, but the are! Believe me!














And the excitement doesn't end there! Here's a view of the kelp forest, with a really rockin' school of fishies (probably sardines):
















4.) If in doubt, fry it - And finally, I'd like to share with you a shot of the best meal I had this weekend - Fish'n'Chips. That's battered and deep-fried Mahi Mahi, folks. Yummerific!
















Well folks, I hope you've enjoyed a tour through my Crazy Weekend of Fun. By now, I'm sure you're wondering what Jiggity looks like, since it's beginning to appear that I like him quite a darn bit. Well here you go ... a final shot of us doing the robot (I call this shot Robots in Disguise).