Laguna Lounge Lizards

We had breakfast at Johny Rockets after leaving Santa Barbara, its a buzz back into the 60s, with jukeboxes and great decor!

Hi all, we are currently lounging around in Laguna Beach, Pete’s niece Becca has a big renovated beach house she has kindly allowed us to stay in for a break from the road trip. Felix (Bec’s brother) and Liz,his wife came down for the weekend.

Peter, Becca, Liz and Felix around the dinner table at Laguna Beach.

Wild fires are raging to the north and south of us, fortunately not too close, but Highway[1] just north of LA where we came through last week and all main highways out of LA are cut, so our stay in Laguna Beach has been compulsorily extended. Hell of a place to be stuck! Ironically the fires are being fed to a considerable degree by the extensive eucalypt forests which have been established in California.

There are movies and 900 channels, so I promptly sat on the lounge and watched everything and after three days couldn’t move my neck!! Shoulder pains and an inability to drive made us the ultimate ‘just visiting relies’. We found a caring (expensive) doctor who gave me a shoulder sling, lots of drugs and a referral to the physio. The treatment with hot ultra sound, tingling patches, ice packs and shoulder mobility exercises have all worked and so we are planning to move on soon. I enjoyed my birthday with lovely ozzie style BBQ, and Bec, her brother Felix, his wife Liz and Pete all helping me to celebrate another year younger!!.

Before we got here though we stopped at Cannery Row, Monterey and visited the Aquarium there. Jules also managed to get into Forrest Gumps shoes, sitting on the bench where he made that dull witted statement about a box of chocolates in the worst film ever made..

Monterey Bay Aquarium

The Monterey Aquarium was opened in 1984 on Cannery Row, made famous by novelist John Steinbeck. It was founded by the Packard’s (of Hewlett Packard). Their daughter Julie , a marine bioligist, is still the Executive Director. The story goes that David Packard assembled the elite of marine biologists, walked into the meeting and layed a blank cheque on the table. He asked them ‘go away and dream’ and to come back in 12 months with their ideas. When he filled out the cheque it was for $55 million. The dream (an additional $62 million later) showcasing the ecology of Monterey Bay is on display in this magnificent aquarium.

It’s the most amazing aquarium, with breathtaking displays and informative interactive exhibits. The centerpiece is a 10 metre deep tank with schools of local species of fish. Divers descend into the tank several times a day to feed the fish and provide a commentary on the on the ecology and conservation in the bay.

The hundreds of displays and interactive exhibits are housed in a series of buildings (covering an area of almost 3 hectares) perched on the edge of the bay.

The day we spent wandering around the Aquarium was one of the highlites of our travels.

Disneyland

We also made our way to Disneyland from Laguna Beach, just a quick run up the 405 freeway (enough to strike terror into the bravest venturer). We just wished the grandchildren grandchildren had been with us, but Pete and I still managed to enjoy ourselves, the photos will make them green with envy!