Monterey Bay Aquarium

April 1, 2015

For our upcoming trip to Japan, we thought that it would be fun to make a journal. We talked about drawing and writing in a book, but also sharing our daily adventures with our friends and family as they were happening. This is our first blog entry and a trial run. Stay tuned for more…

Alex: OK Olly. We are going to write a blog. What is a blog?

Olly: It’s like a big cloud made out of dust.

Really, isn’t is a journal on a web site?

No, I don’t think so.

OK. What do you remember about the drive to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

We watched movies. I kind of forget what we saw out the window.

What was the first thing you did at the the aquarium?

We went to see the jellyfish and squid. They, like, oooooched around in the water.

Tell me about the giant tuna?

It was super long and fast. Mom said they were fierce.

Huh, what does fierce mean?

The tuna were smart and fast.

Maybe.

I can tell you one thing… jellyfish don’t have bones. Inside it’s filled with really stretchy things. And their knuckles are curved.

What else did you see in the Tuna tank?

A hammerhead shark. A sting ray. A school of silver fish. And a big tuna.

When you were looking at fish, what was Lola doing?

She was kind of running around.

Lola, what do you remember about the aquarium?

Lola: I remember getting my toy. A squid.

What is your squid’s name. Lola?

Olly: My octopus is named “Mr. Tentacle”. I am going to name Lola’s squid “Thing 2”.

What is a tentacle?

It’s like a big arm that has suction cups. It uses them for sticking to things and grabbing onto things.

What would you do with a tentacle?

I would stick onto things. Like Dad’s face! Hmm… I would grab things, I guess. Maybe I could stick to the ceiling.

Olly, you liked the aquarium so much, you came home and made a book, which included a poem. Can you read it to me?

Sure…

I see fish

that are

Sea fish

But they see me

I want one

But I can

not get

one.

I love it.

Olly: This is Lola & I watching the jellyfish. They were bright orange and had really really really long tentacles and they ooooched around the tank.

Olly: The jellyfish is giant and the tentacles kind of look like flowers.

Olly: I think I see the eyes of the jellyfish and I think they are on the bottom.

Olly: This is mostly a picture of me and the back of Lola’s head.

Olly: This is me again… looking at some big slimy orange jellyfish.

Olly: That is crazy! Did you just write that? (giggle) Maybe the jellyfish are trying to sting each other. (more giggling) Maybe it’s a mama and a baby jellyfish.

Olly: This is five jellyfish looking at me.

Olly: These jellyfish were small and white and they reminded me of the moon.

Olly: Invisible jellyfish! Ok, let me think here. In the middle they have four circles—maybe part of their eyes?

Becca: This is a super small jellyfish. We put up Olly’s finger for scale.

Becca: Everything is illuminated.

Becca: Sneaking a sweet kiss.

Olly: Ok. I’m looking at a giant tuna that swam by my face.

Becca: This photograph reminds me of the video, Kuroshio Sea, which I love. I played it for Olly when we came home. He loved the whales sharks and the scuba diver on the bottom of the aquarium in the video. It’s amazing to think of tanks larger than this big tuna tank—a highlight for us at the aquarium. We spent 30 minutes with our faces peeled to the glass.

Olly: A hammerhead shark swimming right by me and Gaga. It can not stop swimming.

Olly: Tuna swimming swimming swimming.

Becca: Repose.

Olly: Is this a leopard or a tiger shark? Leopard! Leopard!

Becca: The octopus is always my favorite. This trip, I learned that they are extremely intelligent and change color to show their emotions. The octopus in this photograph is the inspiration for Mr. Tentacle—who is currently residing in Oliver’s bed.

Becca: It was a gorgeous day in Monterey, so we stepped outside to get some fresh air. Oliver spied the binoculars and we spent a long time looking out at the ocean. Olly: I saw a kelp forest and I saw a sea otter swimming in the kelp forest.