We passed the windmills that dotted the East Bay on our way out from the
city, those minimal towering structures that for some reason reminded me of
Don Quixote. Almost four hours later, we were in Monterey Bay. The Monterey
Bay Aquarium and its two hundred galleries and exhibits was overwhelming. I
have never seen aquariums on such a scale anywhere else. My favorite was the
school of bait fish swimming around and around non-stop overhead.
Rarely seen jellyfish were eerily floating in large wall-mounted aquariums,
suspended in a way that was haunting and memorable. There were also towering
three-story aquariums that allowed all of us to see the sea turtles, sharks,
and barracudas as if we were diving with them. Sea otters were putting on a
show for the children in a two-story exhibit. There was also a splash zone
where the water would come in waves on glass ceilings above our heads.
From journal Doing the Bay the Right Way