Pebble Beach

After a very lazy start, we headed for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is so-said that this is the aquarium on which the one in 'Finding Dory' is based. Our Air BnB came with two free passes which would save us a nearly $50 entrance fee each! We were both particularly excited about seeing the sea otters. However, I have some controversial news for you- they are not half as cute, fluffy and small as all the photos suggest! I for one, was very underwhelmed. What overwhelmed me was the jellyfish. Unfortunately all of my decent photos are on the 'big camera' so you'll have to wait for photos of these wonderful creatures and proof that sea otters are not that cute. What did thrill me was spotting some wild sea otters out at sea from the aquarium balconies. They looked so much happier.

Following our aquarium visit we had a nice little mooch around the shops and Kate introduced me to Dipping Dots - quite the ice cream sensation!

I experienced an overwhelming feeling of calm whilst sat outside the aquarium this afternoon and I couldn't quite work out what had brought it on. The penny then dropped and I realised it was because it had finally sunk in that I am not returning to work - at least not for the next 15 months. What an uplifting and freeing feeling.

With a few hours of daylight left we decided to explore the coastline south of Monterey towards Pebble Beach and Carmel and experienced the scenic 17 Mile Drive on which we encountered pelicans, seals and a beautiful Californian Sunset.

Oh yes and I FOUND MORE PENGUINS!Read more