One fish, two fish, see fish, eat fish

Eighteen years on Long Island and I never stopped by the road-side attraction, The Big Duck. Four years in Manhattan and I never set foot on the observation deck of the Empire State Building. When Todd and I were in India in 2004, we almost didn’t go to the Taj Mahal.

Even though we’ve lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for eleven years and one of our best friends works at MBARI, Todd and I have never wandered through the otherworldly exhibits at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Enough of that.

If we’re going to travel the world, Todd and I have to suck it up and march along with the crowd, even if only for one site, one museum, one tour.

Todd and I had a chance to spend a night in Monterey so I could say goodbye to the members of the nonprofit that employed me until last week. The next day, we overcame the odd procrastination that makes locals like us avoid many touristy destinations and headed to the aquarium.

Before we saw the aquarium’s fish, we wanted to get a seafood meal. Instead of enduring one of the mall-like Cannery Row options, we hit Vivolo’s Chowder House, where the chowder was clammy, the crab salad sandwich was crabby, and the staff was on a first-name basis with all the other diners.

Then, on to the aquarium. We guesstimated it would take two hours at most to wander amongst otters, neon anemones, splendid garden eels, sea nettles and sunfish.

Four hours later, we shuffled out of the aquarium, star-struck and a little damp with one less do to do on our To Do list.

Tagged aquarium, fish, Monterey, San Francisco, Ted Danson