Day 2 - Monterey

We woke up early for another tide pool adventure. This time it would be one of our historical favorites. Point Lobos State Reserve has an area that is loaded with sea urchins and abalone. We were one of the first people in the park. The rocks were covered with all kinds of seaweed. First Alex slipped and fell. Then Diane fell. Everyone was stepping gingerly. There was a park guide present, she called herself "Tide Pool Mary". She was very helpful.



The neat thing about this are is that it is a series of layers that have been uplifted so that they are almost vertical. The erosion of the layers leads to a series of cracks that are full of interesting tidal animals. Importantly, (according to tide pool Mary) the cracks are too narrow for otters to reach in and grab the abalone



Here you can see a bunch of black abalone in a crack. They are about 4 inches across. I like the two little crab hiding among the abalone.



This is a sea lemon that Tide Pool Mary found. I love the two lacy gills. Very neat find in a tide pool.



This is two views of the tide pool area called Weston beach. Low tide is the top frame. Two hours later as the tide rolled in the area we had been searching was submerged.



Then we took a walk to sea lion point. There was a big bloom of yellow flowers. Quite striking!



There were some california poppies mixed within the yellow flowers.



There are the rocks off seal lion point. You could really hear them barking.



This was a neat succulent plant that Diane found among the yellow flowers.



We could see some sea otters out in the kelp beads. They are located in the center of the image.



This is an electronic zoom of the two sea otters in the last image. I love the way they wrap themselves in kelp to keep from floating away while they take as nap.



We had a nice lunch at a mexican restaurant and then headed to the Monterey Aquarium. I had been there in the mid 90's but the rest of the family were newbies. It was as good as advertised! Quite the amazing aquarium.



They had a neat exhibit of sea otters where you could watch them swim underwater.



They had a number of very large tanks. This one was 3 stories deep and was a kelp forest. The way the sun came through the kelp was amazing. It really made the tank glow.



They had a variety of exhibits. One of my favorites showed off flat fish like flounder, sole, and halibut. Can you see both fish in this picture?



I also really liked this sand dollar tank. I didn't realize that they stood on their sides when the seas are calm.



These spiky crabs were really neat. The colors were really impressive. It was a real festival of colors.



Get up close and personal with a wolf fish.



A picture of Diane through the Kelp.



A big school of sardines was swimming in the Kelp forest. Sardines were a big product harvested out of Monterey bay. They still catch some today.



They had a great exhibit of jellyfish. UNfortunately, my battery died as we got there.



I was able to milk one last picture out of may camera in the sea horse exhibit. This is a sea dragon. Beautiful!

Day 1 - Santa Cruz

We took a late flight on Wednesday arriving in San Francisco at 9. A hour and a half later (and after a pickup at In-N-Out) we were in our room in Santa Cruz. Next day we got up early. Low tide at 6:30 am. We headed to Natural Bridges State Beach for a beach walk and tidepooling.




The skies were cloudy with a thick marine layer. But there were some nice tidal areas and pools.



Here is a nice anemone is a small pool. A couple hours at Natural Bridges State Beach was a nice start to our trip.



After a nice breakfast at the boardwalk, we went to Costco to stock up on supplies. It was a really big Costco and we got everything we needed. Then we headed up to Ano Nuevo State Reserve. Its about 30 miles north of Santa Cruz. Ano Nuevo is famous for being the place where the Elephant seals breed and calve. That happens around the new year (hence the name). IN the summer the elephant seals come up on the beach to shed their old skin. The seals are found after a mile and a halk walk through the sand dunes.




At the end oth the walk there was quite a gathering of elephant seals on the beach. I really like this picture of a small one.



Here is a close look at the biggest male who was there. He was quite big, but nothing compared to one of the largest males which can weigh a five thousand pounds and be 14 feet long. As the males mature they get a big shout which you can see on this one.



Here is a baby, throwing sand on its back while it basks in the sun.



In this group of seals you can see one with a GPS glues to its back. It also has the number 3053 on its back. The GPS allows researchers to monitor the migration and behavior of the seals.



Here is Diane with a fossilized wale skull at a little visitor center along the walk. Getting to see all the elephant seals was a treat.



After Ano Nuevo we went back to Santa Cruz to have dinner with a former lab member from the old days. She first worked with me as a high school student. It was great to catch up. Then we headed further south to Monterey for more ocean fun.

The Bakken's gather for a summer BBQ

Diane's cousin Lilly had a BBQ to celebrate the completion of her home remodeling. All of the local family on Diane's side of the family came together to eat ribs and burgers and catch up on what everyone has been up to. Here is a picture of the family. We all had a wonderful time.

Strasbourg, France. First trip to Europe in 2011

Tom had to go to a Europrise meeting in Strasbourg, France. Europrise is the group coordinating the European HIV vaccine effort. Strasbourg is located at the border of France and Germany. They have a really amazing gothic cathedral.



There was a spiral staircase that took you all the way to the top. Many, many spiraling stairs. I did make it to the top.



I have always thought that flying buttresses were so cool. Building this cathedral was stated in 1015 and the spire was completed in 1439. Amazing old structure.



View down on the main chamber of the cathedral from the top.



Just to prove I was there!

Member's Night at the Field Museum

We love the Field Museum. And it was the 60th Members Night. Its like a big science fair for much of the research going on at the museum. I talked to a bunch of graduate students who were doing their thesis work at the museum. You get access to the working part of the museum. This time we went into an area where we had never been before. Two floors of basements. The storage areas for the parts of the collection that are not on display. You can also get free passes to the temporary exhibits. We stopped in front of Sue for a second as were entered the museum.



Bart and Alex checking out some preserved oddities in the Mammals Research room.



Here is a fish that lives at great depths in the ocean. This one is a Fangtooth or Viperfish. It has the biggest teeth relative to headsize for any fish. Luckily they are tiny.



Diane with one of a bunch of large archeological artifacts in the storage area.



One of the traveling exhibits was called Whales. Prepared by New Zealand, it showed Whale evolution and the history of whaling and whale interaction with humans in the South Pacific.



They had a model of a whale heart. It was big and kids could crawl through the vessels and chambers. Alex loved it!




They had two complete adult sperm whale skeletons. Quite a sight. The male was 58 feet long.



They also had an exhibit called horses. It was pretty neat but after walking through Whales it seemed less grand. I guess I have seen many horses and ridden a few.



Bart and Alex pretend to be in a rodeo.



Time flew by and it was closing time before we got to see all we wanted. I saw these elephants when I was a kid. Its always great to see them again. Hopefully we can get back soon.

Bart's Art

This week Bart was part of an Art Show at his high school. He got a second place for his drawing of an angry grizzly bear. Pretty cool! Nice job Bart. Keep it up.

Mother's Day 2011 - Go Cubs Go, Oh NO!

Earlier this week I asked Diane what she wanted to do for Mother's Day. She responded by saying, "wouldn't it be fun to go to a Cubs game. Are they in Town"? Well they were and we were able to get great tickets for the game on StubHub. A couple bucks under face value (not counting the extra charges). It was supposed to be a nice day, and it was! We were ready for a great day at Wrigley Field with the Cubbies.



We were able to get a nice picture under the iconic sign. As we arrived it was shaping up to be a wonderful Mother's Day.



We had great seats in the 5th row of the field box section. First base side. Here is a fun shot of the field with the panorama feature on my little digital camera. Alex is in the lower left hand corner. Alas, it was not the Cubs day. The (now) 15-18 Cubs lost to Cincinnati Red 0-2. Bummer. But we still had a great day. Maybe we can try again next year (depending on the Cubs schedule).