youcallmenny Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 This is the first time I've left the peninsula alone for any length of time but we needed to get out of town after my graduation. Some surfing tonight should hit the spot. We're going to the Monteray Bay aquarium tomorrow and I'm very excited about the open sea exhibit. Maybe we'll run in to Sigourney Weaver... 🤣 I'll post aquarium pictures here tomorrow. In all seriousness this aquarium had been on my list of things to do for many years. 😎 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Awesome - love that area. Been many years since I was at the aquarium but recall being impressed. Have fun! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krux Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 I had a membership for a few years when I was a research diver, I really miss that place, fantastic that you are going! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 5 minutes ago, Krux said: I had a membership for a few years when I was a research diver, I really miss that place, fantastic that you are going! Research diver eh? That sounds interesting! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted June 18, 2019 Author Share Posted June 18, 2019 13 minutes ago, Krux said: I had a membership for a few years when I was a research diver, I really miss that place, fantastic that you are going! Any suggestions for our first trip there? You should start a thread about that job for those of us that don't know. I'd love to hear more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntoTheMystic Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Get ready to be blown away. That facility is fantastic. Get the behind-the-scenes tour if available. It's the kind of place that fish geeks should go by themselves. That way, you can geek out and daydream as long as you like. (Spoken from experience!) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted June 18, 2019 Author Share Posted June 18, 2019 54 minutes ago, IntoTheMystic said: Get ready to be blown away. That facility is fantastic. Get the behind-the-scenes tour if available. It's the kind of place that fish geeks should go by themselves. That way, you can geek out and daydream as long as you like. (Spoken from experience!) I'm glad to hear it, especially from you Sid! My wife and I have our three little kids with us but we also have grandma down here to take them while we go. We were hoping for the tour but we'll make sure we do now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krux Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 23 hours ago, youcallmenny said: Any suggestions for our first trip there? You should start a thread about that job for those of us that don't know. I'd love to hear more. I haven't been there for many years, but if they still have a sarcastic fringehead display be sure to check it out... gram for gram it is the most vicious animal in the sea, by far the greatest fish ever. You may need to ask for help finding them, they are mud brown and the size of a hotdog. When they first installed the million gallon tank I would sit for hours watching the bluefin tuna swim around... that is worth your time, especially if you haven't hung off of a line with 2000 feet of water below you. I was able to see two of the whites back when they tried to keep those on display, but those days are gone. Do report back, maybe it is time I take the wife down to visit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuttleFishandCoral Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 Looking forward to pictures and congrats about graduating. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krux Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Pics or it never happened... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted June 20, 2019 Author Share Posted June 20, 2019 Here you go @Krux. Apologies about any potato-quality media. Behold! The Sarcastic Fringehead. 🌞 coral and blue-spotted Jawfish 20190619_172505.mp4 20190619_172348.mp4 20190619_171547.mp4 20190619_171452.mp4 20190619_171158.mp4 Squids with their eggs 20190619_165818.mp4 20190619_165022.mp4 20190619_165003.mp4 20190619_164837.mp4 20190619_164747.mp4 20190619_164708.mp4 20190619_164615.mp4 Moons Mackerel Look familiar @CuttleFishandCoral? Lettuce Nudibranch Snowflake The biggest Galaxia 20190619_160335.mp4 Kelp Forest feeding time 20190619_154008.mp4 This is the inside of a pipe. @SuncrestReef, this is what I used to think our downpipes all looked like. A truly amazing thing to witness. Godspeed momma cephalopod. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesmiles902 Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 This is the best post I've seen from most in a while. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorW Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 WOW!!! Sent from my BLU R1 HD using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted June 20, 2019 Author Share Posted June 20, 2019 Ta-daaaaa! Vicky took a bunch too. There's still some more coming when we get back home. We took the behind the scenes tour and it was so good. They showed us a whiteboard back by their kitchen with a Mater (Cars) saying 'I love the MBA!' It was drawn by one of the Pixar crew when they were there researching for Finding Dory and they never erased it. I totally forgot to take a picture of that though. We also met Hank. He is the longest employed person in the facility and Pixar honored him by naming the octopus from the movie after him. That last bad quality picture is a dying Giant Pacific Octopus that laid eggs. She just sat there, sadly caressing them. It was a breathtaking sight. The reef area was funny. I stumped a bunch of volunteers when I asked what kind of lights they used. They had to radio in to ask and then couldn't pronounce 'metal halide'. I id'd a bunch of stuff for them. It made me feel like a reef wizard and I thought of all of you. I told them about our club and that I was one of the lesser-accomplished and younger members. They had no idea people grew coral for a hobby. It was a funny conversation. Check it off the bucket list! We will be back for sure. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Wow, blown away, tons of good stuff there! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, youcallmenny said: The reef area was funny. I stumped a bunch of volunteers when I asked what kind of lights they used. They had to radio in to ask and then couldn't pronounce 'metal halide'. I id'd a bunch of stuff for them. It made me feel like a reef wizard and I thought of all of you. I told them about our club and that I was one of the lesser-accomplished and younger members. They had no idea people grew coral for a hobby. It was a funny conversation. That is hilarious and awesome! I would have loved to hear that conversation. You should have asked them what their water parameters are! 🤣 Edited June 20, 2019 by SuncrestReef 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted June 20, 2019 Author Share Posted June 20, 2019 4 minutes ago, SuncrestReef said: That is hilarious and awesome! I would have loved to hear that conversation. You should have asked them what their water parameters are! 🤣 I would have but I feared the answer would be 'better than yours!' Their sps tank was pretty impressive. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krux Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 I am glad you got to witness the sarcastic fringehead in all its hellbent glory! One of the lab guys that I dove for had a tattoo of one... commitment. Also, forgot about the sardine tank, that thing is awesome, and the mola mola is one of my fav pelagics, only been in the water with one once and it was surreal. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share Posted June 21, 2019 14 hours ago, Krux said: I am glad you got to witness the sarcastic fringehead in all its hellbent glory! One of the lab guys that I dove for had a tattoo of one... commitment. Also, forgot about the sardine tank, that thing is awesome, and the mola mola is one of my fav pelagics, only been in the water with one once and it was surreal. I went looking for a hot dog fish and this thing was over a foot long and as thick as my forearm. They had it in a ~30-40g tank. What a nasty creature. I'm glad to have learned about them! Thanks for the suggestion. I also now know how to tell the difference between Sardines and Anchovies! Pretty cool stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 Thanks for sharing Greg - really cool stuff. I looked like they had some pretty nice colonies in that reef display. I never fail to be creeped out by those sunfish though... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectra Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 10 hours ago, youcallmenny said: I went looking for a hot dog fish and this thing was over a foot long and as thick as my forearm. They had it in a ~30-40g tank. What a nasty creature. I'm glad to have learned about them! Thanks for the suggestion. I also now know how to tell the difference between Sardines and Anchovies! Pretty cool stuff. So what your saying is a big fish those forearms well Enjoy the vacation it must be nice................. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted June 22, 2019 Author Share Posted June 22, 2019 Very kind of you to notice... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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