Pacific Coast Aquarium

One of my favorite things to do when I travel is to visit aquariums. It’s funny, because I absolutely hate zoos, which are conceptually the same thing. But, visiting aquariums and seeing the sea life is like taking a trip to outerspace. Each time I visit an aquarium I find myself oo-ing and aw-ing—just like the children. And, I usually end up with a billion photos that I’m not really sure what to do with. I mean, some of the animals look completely alien. If given the choice of space travel or traveling 20,000 leagues beneath the sea, I’d probably choose the sea.In addition to the usual collection of bizarre looking sea creatures, aquariums often have fun animal shows. My favorite shows are the sea lions. I can remember summer after summer at Sea World, visiting the funny sea lion-as-a-pirate show. Sea lions are a fun animal; I picture them as the Dude of the sea world. They lay around most the day, sunning, but when the group decides to party—they know how to have fun. I also enjoy the dolphin and whale shows, but usually start to feel a little guilty about keeping such large animals in captivity.

Which brings me to another reason why I love aquariums; all of the aquariums I’ve been to have a serious “human impact on the environment” exhibit. The aquarium is a fantastic place to educate children (and adults) about human impact and provide examples of how to reduce that impact. As a social psychologist, I can tell you that people think about their impact on the environment when they relate their consumption to a detriment to that cute little animal they saw. For example, the spotted owl campaigns for the Pacific Northwest forests; those weren’t just about saving the spotted owl—there were hundreds of other species at risk due to deforestation. But, the spotted owl was something people thought was cute, and when they thought about taking away the homes of the spotted owl, they paused to think about their consumption. This doesn’t necessarily work long term, but it is a start.

Anyway, I digress. Aquariums always have exhibits about our impact on sea life; from fishing nets choking sea lions, to plastic islands contaminating sea waters—it gets the point across when you look at these animals and realize that getting that paper coffee cup and throwing it away infringes on the well-being of other earthlings, beyond humans. The BEST exhibits are the one that provide visitors with methods to reduce their consumption—not just recycle.

Given my enthusiasm for aquariums, it’s not surprising that I’ve already visited the Aquarium of the Pacific (http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/) twice. This is a great aquarium because it has all the usual components (e.g., pet the anemones and sting rays, sea lion shows, lots of tropical fish, feed the tropical birds), but it also has a shark exhibit and wonderful regional exhibits—including one on Long Beach. The shark exhibit is great because you can touch a lot of them (not something I really like to do, but given the crowds that I saw, others do like to do it) and they have a saw nose shark—that’s pretty Jurassic Park! The regional exhibits were great too. There is a tropics one (reminds me of snorkeling in Kauai) and a Pacific NW exhibit (reminds me of the homeland 😉 ). The best regional exhibit though, was the Long Beach exhibit. There is great historical information about Long Beach. For example, did you know that there is a large wall that was built in the 1940s to protect the Navy from torpedoes. The wall is massive, stretching nine miles at 50 feet high. Prior to the wall being built, Long Beach was a huge surf town. There’s ongoing debate about removing the wall..but well, I’ll let you visit the aquarium to learn more about that!

This post is already long, but I haven’t even said my favorite parts! The aquarium has 9 types of sea jellies (including some nettles). They absolutely take my breath away. And, they have a collection of sea horse and dragons. These animals are rad! Have you ever seen anything like it? The aquarium actually breeds their own sea horses and dragons because they are endangered.

When I went the second time, we happened to find a night where the aquarium was open late night. This was a stark contrast to when I visited the first time (midday Sunday) and the aquarium was filled with visitors. For a more intimate experience (and cheaper!)—check out the late night! It’s the perfect start to an educational and entertaining date night. Also, there are fewer children that you have to push out of the way to see the fish! And, once you work up an appetite—hit up Roe for some sustainable seafood!

Long Beach wall (and Belmont Shore!)

as small as a finger nail

beautiful

I’ve never seen jellies like this!

Sea dragon–serisously?!

Different type of sea dragon

pot-bellied sea horse

freaky!

you wouldn’t want to eat this guy!

Alamitos Bay Farmer’s Market

I’ve been pretty spoiled in Portland, where there are farmer’s markets literally every day of the week in the summer. I was definitely feeling sad to miss farmer’s markets when I moved to California; but I guess that was all for naught, as California has local fresh produce all year long. And the citrus! I have MISSED citrus! There are oranges, and grapefruit, and pomelos, and tangerines! And avocados!!My brother got me a juicer for christmas and I’ve been loving the fresh juices every day.  The grocery stores have lots of fresh produce, but there is just something wonderful about shopping at farmer’s markets. It’s great to talk with the farmers and get tips on preparing the fruit. Plus, it’s an easy way to try new produce that you normally don’t see. For example, do you have any idea how many vegetable are purple? You could have an entire meal of purple foods, including the purple brussel sprouts I saw today.

I feel so fortunate to have a farmer’s market within biking distance from my house. The Alamitos Bay farmer’s market and arts and crafts fair runs every Sunday from 9-2. This farmer’s market features local produce, plants, nuts, olives, olive oils. In addition, there are several food stands to get things like tamales, and empanadas, and fish and chips. The farmer’s market also features an arts and crafts section, with local artist creations. The farmer’s market is located in the Alamitos Bay Marina, right on the water. What a great setting!

Alamitos Bay

Beautiful orchids

Lots of plants

I love these cute heart collages.

Fun beach crafts

Food

delicious tomatoes–even in the winter!

purple brussel sprouts

Paddleboarding

One of my new favorite activities is paddleboarding (aka stand up paddleboarding). I tried paddleboarding for the first time last year when my family was in Kauai. It was a great way to see turtles and get out in the water. I went paddleboaring again this past summer on Lake Michigan. It was a high wind advisory day, so was a bit difficult, but still an amazing way to see the lake and the Chicago skyline. Paddleboarding involves standing on a board similar to a surf board. Using a long paddle, you can row your way through waterways. I’ve seen some people paddleboard on waves (like surfing with a paddle), but I’ve found it easiest and the most enjoyable on calmer bodies of water.

Since moving to Belmont Shore, I’ve paddleboarded several times. You can paddleboard through the Naples canals and around the bay. There is a great place to rent paddleboards: http://standuprentals.net/

Stand Up Rentals is located right on the bay. The first time you go, they have some videos and a brief training to teach you the basics. I found the training very helpful and the staff friendly. After your first visit, if you take an online quiz, you can become a speed pass member. Speed pass members get special discounts and don’t have to wait in line for rentals. Stand Up Rentals have a quick ipad check-in; you check in, grab your lifejacket, and your board and you’re all set. During the winter months, they are only open during the weekends, but during the summer they are open daily.

Paddleboarding doesn’t always require that you get wet, but you should be prepared for an occassional fall into the water. Paddleboarding can be a great workout–burning up to 600 calories in an hour. If you don’t have the greatest balance, you can also try it on your knees. It’s a peaceful way to spend the afternoon. I’ve found that you can get very close to birds, fish and other water-area animals. On warm days, the Naples canals are a fun outing; there are lots of people sitting on their docks, in kayaks (which you can also rent at Stand Up), or crusing around in their boats.

Below are some photos I took this weekend using my new underwater camera.

Entrance to the Naples canals…Bob’s Big Boy welcomes you!

Cruising

Out on the bay

It was a beautiful day and a beautiful view of the San Gabriel mountains

View of the bay

From the shore at Stand Up Rentals

Roe

Roe is currently my favorite spot in Belmont Shore. They have the tastiest, freshest seafood. There are about 10 different options for fish tacos. The fish tacos are so good, it’s hard to venture out to their other choices. But, I’ve taken my brother and JDub both there and I tried something new with each of them. My brother and I shared the ceviche. I don’t normally like ceviche, but this was refreshing and the perfect amount of spice. And the portions are large–so it’s great to share. I can’t wait until the summer time when it’s hot and I can have this tasty treat after a day of paddleboarding!

Jdub and I went there the last night he was in town. It was his favorite place we ate too! It was a “cold” day, so we shared the seafood stew. Jdub got fish and chips and I, of course, got fish tacos. The fish and chips was the best! It melted in your mouth. The seafood stew was very spicy and warmed us right up. Jdub enjoyed the multitude of shrimps and I enjoyed the mussels. The owner was there cooking and brought us over some additional french fries.

I’ve also tried the garlic sweet potatoes fries, which were amazing!

Writing this post makes me want to go there right now!

Right now, Roe is just a tiny taqueria style with outdoor seating. They also only have seafood options (so I couldn’t take my parents there when they were visiting). But, good news! In the spring, they are opening a full restaurant that will have additional options.

For anyone coming to visit–you can guarantee we’ll eat at least one meal at Roe!

See you soon, Portland

Leaving Portland was such an incredible mix of emotions. I was excited, anxious, curious, happy, invigorated to start my new adventure in Belmont Shore. But I was equally sad to leave my home. I also felt so very, very, very loved by all the wonderful people in my life. My heart was pouring over with love.

It was such a special weekend. A dear friend, who currently lives in DC, was in town for the weekend. And, it was Halloween! My favorite holiday. Friday night we all got together and loaded up my moving truck. Then, my friends surprised me with a video they had made of the Portland chapter of my life. We sat on the floor in my empty apartment, had pizza and beer, and watched the video, which included photos from the past seven years, and special videos that each friend made me (including dear friends from Savannah and Belmont Shore) wishing me well. We sat there and laughed and cried and it was so neat to watch a video yearbook of sorts of the past years of our lives. Saturday we had mimosa brunch with the ladies to say goodbyes. Then, we had the Halloween party, in my empty apartment–which was awesome! Sunday morning some friends came over to help me clean, we got coffee, and I drove the truck to the airport to pick up my dad. It was wonderful to spend the next two days in the truck with my dad. My family had made me a driving mix that was all songs about California. How fun!

As I waved goodbye to my friends and the first chapter of my Portland life, I felt so supported and loved! I knew that even though I was moving to a new state on my own, I wasn’t alone! I had so many special people cheerleading me on my way!

All packed up!

Awkward family photo

Driving the truck with Dad

Inside! It’s small–but cute!

Beach life!