Visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Our visits up the California Coast are never complete unless we make a stop at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Located in what I like to call my "heaven on earth," The Monterey Bay Aquarium has been recently been named the Best Aquarium in the World by Trip Advisor, the worlds largest travel site.
Besides the beautiful vistas because of its location, both my hubby and I are fond of the Monterey Bay Aquarium because of its rotating special exhibits.
On our recent #UnminivanMoments #CaliforniaGold road-trip, the Monterey Bay Aquarium had recently unveiled their Tentacles Exhibit and still had the Jellies exhibit, which we had seen on our previous trip up the coast. Whereas our previous trip up the California Coast was in the earlier part of the day, we say different sea animals later in the day than on our previous trip in their two-story tank.

The one thing we did miss this time around was the live feeding, but we got to see the sea otters frolic as they usually do and the giant octopus. How we missed it the first time around is beyond me, because during this visit I couldn't stop staring and making eye contact.

A few other exhibits that are always a favorite of ours include the sea otters and penguins, and of course we always grab a quick bite at the aquarium restaurant. Which, surprisingly, has a big food selection, most sustainable and fresh.
I also noticed, rather we noticed, that later in the day although it seems more crowded, it really isn't. There's less kids and families, and more adults and couples. This environment allowed for, mind you, some romantic gestures without worrying that we'd scare the toddlers. It was actually quite beautiful to see all the handholding as we gazed into the large tanks full of beautiful creatures.

Our afternoon at the Aquarium was only made more beautiful when we walked outside to gaze at the Monterey Bay. Stunning. Absolutely stunning.
We ended our day by taking the shuttle, rather the tram, directly outside the Monterey Bay Aquarium, it was easy to head back to our hotel before getting ready for dinner and after dinner drinks.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Details886 Cannery Row
Monterey, CA 831-648-4888 (information)
831-648-4800 (main number)
Hours:Open every day except December 25
Cost:Check current admission prices + add-on tours