Swimming on Cannery Row

We most certainly are ...

The family took advantage of an unusual three-way day off on Monday and headed down to Monterey, where we visited the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium.

We drove down Monday, stopping in Campbell for lunch (where Claire claims she was introduced to the wonders of Wienerschnitzel for the first time, although I swear she's been with me to one in Lancaster) before getting to the hotel in the late afternoon. Ian and I (amended to add "and Claire") had a great time in the heated indoor pool, then we went out for a nice family meal. (Though why Claire wanted to go to CPK when we had all the wonders of Cannery Row to choose from mystifies me.)

After breakfast and a brief swim (kid's gotta learn to hold his breath sooner or later), we drove down to the aquarium. Biggest hits were, by far, the otters. Between their antics ("That one's chasing his tail," Ian chuckled many times), the feeding we watched and the fact we all love Otter Pops, a good time was had.

Suddenly Ian wanted a peanut butter and jellyfish sandwich.

We also checked out the giant aquarium tanks, notable inhabitants of which included hammerhead sharks and a giant bluefin tuna that looked as if had swum through a meat grinder.

Dining at the cafeteria, we all eschewed the fish and chips and clam chowder in favor of more ... terrestrial fare. Didn't want to feel guilty about eating seafood.

We had a generally pleasant drive home, although Ian fell into the schtick of asking "How many minutes (until we get home)?" every five minutes. The boy was quite tired after the drive and went to bed relatively early.

After Ian was in bed, Claire and I watched the season 1 finale of Battlestar Galactica, "Kobol's Last Gleaming." She just became interested in the show and seems to be getting into it (although I don't think she can catch up by when the show ends in March).

How do I know she's getting into to it? She audibly gasped when (SPOILER!) ...

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Sharon shot Adama.