I love the inclusion of the historic elements - I really should make it to this aquarium some day.
(This photo kind of reminds me of my condo complex, which used to be an ice factory and has kept the old look - large pieces of machinery in the parking lot, peeling brick walls in the (very tall) units with rusted steel beams, old rusted refrigerant pipe cut and stacked side-by-side as a pool fence, etc.)
@Arizona Docent: You would love this aquarium, and the next time you visit your cousin in Los Angeles why not drive the 5 hours north to tour one of the world's truly excellent aquatic facilities? My photos don't even show half of the exhibits as the place is always so packed and like most aquariums the light is very dim in areas so being able to take a photo is next to impossible at times. I can't believe that there are 7 excellent aquariums on the west coast: Vancouver, Seattle, Oregon Coast, Steinhart, Monterey Bay, Aquarium of the Pacific and Birch. Plus SeaWorld San Diego, Aquarium of the Bay and a few others!
Because now that my parents have passed away, I hope to never have to step foot in Los Angeles again. I would be more inclined to fly into the San Francisco area and drive down to Monterey. (Or even take a bus or train if it is available).
Because now that my parents have passed away, I hope to never have to step foot in Los Angeles again. I would be more inclined to fly into the San Francisco area and drive down to Monterey. (Or even take a bus or train if it is available).
@ Arizona Docent: There is an Amtrak that goes up the coast, but I'm not clear on how/if it connects to Monterey. That would certainly be a pretty way to get up there if it worked.
One of the truly great things about this aquarium is that it interprets the ecosystem literally right outside of it. When you walk out on the deck you can see wild sea otters, brown pelicans, common murres, sea lions, harbor seals, American oystercatchers, and other species. I would highly recommend visiting the Point Lobos State Reserve in Carmel also. If you are there in March and April you can watch migrating grey whales from the shore. My wife and I once watched a mother sea otter teaching its pup how to open clams with a rock on its chest. They were so near the coast that we could hear the rocks banging against the clam shell.
I am saddened to hear that you may never visit LA again. I was hoping that you might visit with us LA-area Zoochatters if you were ever around. I suppose if we want to meet you then we will have to trek to Arizona and be forced to visit that Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum place and Reid Park Zoo....oh the agony, please don't make me visit the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum...
