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In a world filled with the magical, colorful and swift, the star of the show is bashful, plain and something of a plodder. But when a sea turtle rises from an unseen depth and deliberately strokes to the surface of the water in the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Outer Bay exhibit, it’s like the appearance of a movie heartthrob at a Girl Scout camp. “Look, there he is, there he is!” shout both of my young marine biologists and most of a visiting youth group from Japan as the turtle hovers overhead. Although the ancient reptile seems to be the celebrity animal in this million-gallon tank filled with lightning-quick yellowfin tuna and soupfin sharks, the turtle is only one of Monterey Bay’s unbelievably diverse lifeforms, nearly all of which are on display at the aquarium located on Monterey’s historic Cannery Row. From sea birds to otters to groupers to deep sea anglerfish and most everything in between, this place is like Disneyland for anyone interested in marine life. (And like Disneyland, it’s virtually impossible to see and do everything in one day, too). For those who prefer a hands-on experience, the aquarium’s oldest wing the facility opened in a former sardine factory in 1984 features a touch pool where visitors can feel squishy sea cucumbers, let hermit crabs cling to a finger and examine the intricate undersides of starfish. For the littlest explorers among us, the Flippers, Flukes & Fun room has cool interactive exhibits designed to teach and inspire. A tank with a towering kelp forest, hovering blue rock cod and disciplined schools of anchovies swimming circles around the leafy strands, and the large Monterey Habitats tank holding a spectrum of fish ranging from halibut to leopard sharks are also highlights. No wonder the aquarium attracts more than 1.2 million visitors a year. From the aquarium’s sweeping decks, visitors can take in the scope of Monterey Bay from above. Hidden is the 3,000-foot-deep Monterey Canyon (think of a deeper Grand Canyon). The Aquarium’s Deep Sea exhibit downstairs features bizarre creatures that thrive in a pitch dark, pressure-packed environment. Aside from the sea turtle, the jellies and the sharks, another memorable sight is the ethereal ocean sunfish in the Quter Bay exhibit slowly and quite literally eyeballing you through the glass. Which leads one to wonder: Just who’s checking out whom? With three-quarters of the planet covered by water, the Monterey Bay Aquarium provides a great way for us to get acquainted. The National Steinbeck Center If your seventh-grader is about to tackle “The Pearl,” your high school freshman is about to crack open “Of Mice and Men,” or from your own schooling, “The Grapes of Wrath” left an indelible impression, a trip to the National Steinbeck Center is a must. Celebrating the life and literature of Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck, the museum is located in historic Oldtown Salinas, a scenic 17-mile drive northeast of Monterey (it’s an ideal bookend to a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium). The Steinbeck Center features dozens of interactive exhibits and artifacts that help the author’s powerful descriptions of the human condition and insight into the strength of the human spirit spring to life off the printed page. Steinbeck’s greatest novels, including “Cannery Row” and “East of Eden,” and his nonfiction journal about driving across America, “Travels with Charley,” are showcased in seven theaters and art exhibits of the Salinas Valley and Monterey, the location of most of his writing. Steinbeck’s famous GMC truck “Rocinante” is parked in the center and the writer’s family home, a large elegant Victorian, is only a block away from the center and is now a restaurant. A museum devoted to an author celebrated in the 1960s and famous for writing about poor farm workers may not sound like a must-see destination for your family, but after a visit here, the young scribes will have a whole new appreciation for the power of the written word. Dennis Steers of San Luis Obispo is a photographer, editor and designer. His cover story on the Central Coast ran in the April issue. IF YOU GO Ticket prices to the Monterey Bay Aquarium are $19.95 for adults, $15.95 for students (13-17 or college ID), $8.95 for children 3-12 and free for children under 3. Monterey Bay Aquarium 886 Cannery Row, Monterey, California 93940 24-Hr. Info: 831.648.4888 Español: 800.555.3656 www.mbayaq.org National Steinbeck Center One Main St., Salinas, CA 831.796.3833 www.steinbeck.org TRAVEL TIP This book with great title offers happy trails: Sometimes a book’s title gives you hope that you can plan the right vacations, and a lot of them, in a lifetime. That’s the call of “1,000 Places to See Before You Die,” by Patricia Schultz. Sure, some of the ideas are over the top (a balloon safari over Masai Mara can be more easily and economically done with the annual balloon rides offered near Albuquerque, N.M., which also is mentioned), and some just won’t work for families with young children (Antarctica). But within the 1,000 ideas, good, bold and boldest, are numerous choices that may already be on the family agenda, or spark an interest. If nothing else, the thick paperback is a great travelogue of places both exotic (expedition up the Amazon) and exceedingly worthwhile (The Getty Center in Los Angeles, which has several exhibits focused on children; also, San Francisco and other close-enough suggestions). In fact, one of the reasons we ordered the book was to read about the Oregon Coast, a trip we hope to make in the next few years as a family. There also is a page on Cooperstown, and we’ll be there this summer with our baseball-loving son. If there is a negative to these pages, it is that the United States section is too limited, given the author’s scope to reach deep throughout the world. It would be a good idea, and probably a big seller, to do a companion piece: “1,000 Places in the U.S. to See Before You Die.” Meanwhile, use this as a geography/history lesson for the children, and as a hope chest of ideas. In fact, as soon as this review has been written, the publisher of this magazine will get a copy of the page about surfing the sand dunes of Natal, Brazil. “1,000 Places to See Before You Die,” by Patricia Schultz, Workman Publishing, 992 pgs., $18.95. By Craig Reem |
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