My Town Monday: Birch Aquarium

Money-saving tip: Present your AAA or CAA card to save $1.00 off the ticket of each person in your group.

I am very late posting this week's My Town Monday. BUT this is really what I did today, along with my visiting sister, her three children and a couple of my children. AND, technically, it's still Monday...

So, we went to Birch Aquarium. And had fun. And even learned stuff.

The first thing we did was eat our picnic lunch. Let's just say that we're a slow-moving group, and we so did not get there when they opened the doors at 9 a.m. Not even close. Also, my THREE wrong turns, even with my navigator (I'm a poor listener), didn't help matters.

This is a sarcastic fringehead. It's my favorite fish. Although only 9 inches long, it's feisty and loaded with attitude, even charging scuba divers. It has bushy eyebrows. You can find it hanging around off the California coast about 10 to 200 feet down. The sarcastic fringehead lives in holes and old bottles, especially beer bottles. Females usually mate with the largest male and then leave the eggs in the male's shelter where he'll guard them. HOWEVER, females do not like to mate with males who live in old and dirty shelters.

I can just imagine the conversation:
Him: Hi there, baby. I can eat my weight in fish. I'm easily the buffest fringehead on the reef.
Her: Do you pick up after yourself? How often do you clean? When was the last time you dusted? Let me check out the inside of your bottle.

(BTW, I did not take this photo as my camera (which must be squeezed tightly in order to keep light from sneaking through the right-hand side) is messing up more and more.)

Below is some Birch Aquarium poetry to help you remember marine facts. (Which you can recite at cocktail parties, impressing everyone to no end!)

And, last but certainly not least, I leave you with a shot of me and my little sister in a shark's mouth.

Yes, we are naturally that cool! It's a family curse.

If you're in town, you'll want to take in Birch Aquarium. It's interesting and educational with some very cool exhibits. It's not even particularly expensive. There's a neato tide pool area outside. I personally poked at a sea star and a sea cucumber today. The view of the ocean below is stunning. You'll get a decent dose of info about environmental issues (easily skipped if you're not in the mood) such as the green house because this IS California. Here's the contact info: 2300 Expedition Way, La Jolla, CA 92093-0001 phone: (858) 534-3474

Tomorrow: the beach! I'm the proud owner of a brand new boogie board. Oh, you didn't know I was an expert boogie boarder? Okay. Fine. I'm not. But I do catch the odd wave. Especially when Child #2 stands next to me in the ocean and shouts, "Jump, Mom!" just as a promising wave approaches.

For links to the other MTM participants, please head over to our My Town Monday blog which was set up by the lovely and talented Clair Dickson.

My Town Monday: Health in San Diego

Sorry to report there will only be a pseudo My Town Monday post because....I spent Sunday evening (we got home at 11:30 pm) in the ER with Child #2. He fell off his skateboard, more like shot through the air, landed on his shoulder and majorly broke his collar bone. Huge fracture. That said, the scenario could have been much much worse. Child #2 wasn't wearing a helmet.

So, the Summy family is officially done with skateboards. Forever and ever, amen. At least the mother is. And that's what really counts because I'm getting rid of all ours.

Anyway, when Urgent Care sent us to the ER, I told Child #2 that I'd read all about this awesome aquarium in the ER waiting room. I even mentioned that I'd use the aquarium for My Town Monday post. (See how I'm always thinking of you people!) Perhaps there is another aquarium somewhere else in the hospital? Because if this is the only one, some reporter grossly exaggerated its awesomeness. Frankly, there's a much more awesome aquarium at this Thai restaurant in Oceanside.

In other health news, we're having a huge outbreak of pertussis (whooping cough) in California (perhaps the largest in 50 years). It turns out I was behind on my immunizations. You'll be happy to know I'm now all caught up. While at the doctor's, I had a few gallons of blood drawn. It turns out I'm low in vitamin D! Seriously? I must be the only person living in San Diego who is low in the vitamin you get from the sun!

And in mouthwatering news, it's San Diego Restaurant Week (Sept 19-24). Go have a meal out at one of the many participating restaurants. But don't hop a skateboard to get to your dinner reservation. And move if you're seated near someone coughing.

Please click through to My Town Monday posts listed below. You'll get a slice of life from these bloggers' eyes! (If you've put up a MTM post, let me know in the comments section here or on the official My Town Monday blog. And I'll link to you on both blogs.)

Jim Winter posts about the miracle of Reds baseball in October!

Travis Erwin introduces us to another Amarillo, TX blogger




http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/2010/08/the-california-pertussis-outbreak-of-2010/

My Town Monday: Thai Food in Oceanside, CA

This post can be labeled "Thai Food in Oceanside, CA" or "Escape from the Monastery"!

Last Monday, I wrote about a writing retreat I attended with my critiques partners, the intrepid Denny's Chicks. The retreat took place at the Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, CA.

There were many many things I appreciated about the retreat, such as the uninterrupted writing time, the other children's writers and, of course, hanging with my own Denny's Chicks.

But I very definitely didn't appreciate the food. It was, in a word, abysmal.

So, Saturday evening, I had a conversation with the Denny's Chicks that went SOMETHING like this:

Me: Guys, I'm starving. In fact, I'm so starving my stomach is eating itself.

Kathy Krevat: No way I'm facing another meal here. Let's leave.

Me: No, no. We can't just sneak out. The monks cooked for us. They're expecting us to show up with everyone else in the dining hall.

Kelly Hayes: Let's drive around Oceanside until we find some edible food.

Me: No, no. We can't be that disrespectful.

Kathy Krevat: I already Googled. There's a Thai restaurant close by.

Then, Kathy and Kelly strongarmed me out the door, into Kathy's van and to Ocean Thai Cuisine, 3846 Mission Avenue, Suite A3, Oceanside, CA 92058; tel: 760.967.9901.

O Oceanside Thai Cuisine, your Tom Kha soup was the nectar of the gods. Your Gang Ga-ree curry was heavenly. Even your jasmine rice was of another world.

And then there was your aquarium...

Hands down, this is the BEST aquarium I've ever seen in a restaurant. And we were seated right next to it.

This is a shrimp goby. I think I'd like to own one.

I'm not sure how well you can see it, but this little bit of straw is in the shape of a rose. Yes, they treated us like delicate divas.


Please check out the posts by the other My Town Monday participants by clicking here.

photo credits: my blackberry

My Town Monday: Grunion Runs

It's summer. It's dark. It's late. The tide is high. You're on a San Diego beach with that someone special. A wave rolls in. It leaves. The sand is covered with thousands of squirming silvery fish.

It's time for....GRUNION HUNTING!

Grunion are slender fish, 5-6 inches long with a blue-green back and silver sides and belly. Grunion is an anglicized version of the Spanish word for grunter. Apparently, these fish squeak while spawning.

Anyway, grunion have pretty predictable sex lives. As in, scientists can figure out a year in advance when these fish will show up to spawn on Southern California shores. Between March and September, they (the grunions, not the scientists!) exit the water twice a month to deposit their eggs in the moist sand.

And while these fish are stranded and waiting for the the next wave to sweep them back out to sea, enter you, a Fearless Grunion Hunter. You can scoop up the fish with your bare hands and tote them home for a fry. Clean and scale the fish, then dredge (how's that for a cooking term?!) them in a mixture of flour + corn meal, then pop them into hot oil for deep-frying. A warning: grunion are bony.

All that said, I don't think I'll be munching on any grunion. I suspect I'm more of a GRUNION GREETER. (more on this below)

These San Diego beaches definitely have grunion runs: Del Mar, La Jolla, Mission Beach and the Coronado Strand.

If you're over 16 years old, you need a fishing license. You can't use any equipment, only your bare hands. And no digging holes. That's cheating. There's no limit to the amount of fish you can grab, but it's unlawful to waste fish.

Here's a list of times and dates for 2008 grunion runs. These times are for Cabrillo Beach at the LA Harbor; San Diego beaches are 5 minutes earlier.

Here are a few hints: Bring a flashlight and some sort of bag to carry your catch. Wear a warm jacket. The best runs are usually on the 2nd and 3rd nights. The 2nd hour of each night is usually better. The grunions' peak spawning season is April and May. And there's no grunion hunting during these months.

You can write for a current schedule: GRUNION, California Department of Fish and Game, Marine Region, 4665 Lampson Ave. Suite C, Los Alamitos, CA 90720

In looking up info for this post, I noticed Scripps Aquarium is organizing a run (not that you have to go as part of an organized group) for June 4 at 9:30 PM - 11:30 PM.

I think I'd make an excellent GRUNION GREETER. These are people who are in charge of watching a small stretch of beach, then reporting on the habits of the grunion. Grunion greeters encourage "catch and release" or plain old observation.

Ya gotta love SoCal! So many fun things to do!

Happy Memorial Day to all!

My Town Monday comes to us via Travis Erwin. Thanks, Travis! Click on his site to read his post about Amarillo, TX. AND to find links to the other participants.

(Info from: http://sandiego.about.com/od/outdoorrecreation/a/grunions.htm
http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/events/grunion-run-birch-aquarium-scripps/
http://arachnid.pepperdine.edu/grunion/ggproject.htm)

My Town Monday: Invasion of the Sea Lions, Oceanside, CA

This past February, I wrote about selling our baby veiled chameleons to a reptile store in Oceanside. A year before that, I wrote about a great Oceanside Thai restaurant and its awesome aquarium. And in 2009, I visited the Oceanside Pier.

For today's My Town Monday post, we're headed 39 miles up the coast, back to Oceanside, CA. To investigate....(cue scary music)...

The Invasion of the Sea Lions!!!

This is a California sea lion. (Thank you google images.) Not to be confused with a harbor seal, the California sea lion, known in science-y circles as Zalophus californianus, has external ear flaps and, with their noted intelligence, often are the trained "seals" you see at zoos and aquariums.

The California sea lion is found along the Pacific Coast from Vancouver Island, Canada (Hello Homeland!) all the way down to Baja, Mexico. There are also California sea lions at the Galapagos Islands. And there used to be some in the Sea of Japan, but this group has been extinct since World War II.

More recently, though, California sea lions have invaded the Oceanside Harbor! Yes, bulls (adult males who can reach seven feet and weigh 850-1,000 pounds) and their harems (females can reach six feet and weigh 220 pounds) have taken over Oceanside Harbor and show no signs of leaving.

The natives are not amused! The sea lions leave behind smelly poop, are raucous barkers all night long and eat the live bait kept in underwater cages by fishing companies.

To complicate matters, sea lions are protected under federal law. However, it is legal to hose them down, pelt them with paint balls, and accost them with loud noises and pinwheels. Thus far, hosing them down hasn't fazed the pinnpeds in the least. Pinwheels will be tried this week. As of yet, no one has resorted to paint balls. Although mating season begins in May, at which time the bulls become more aggressive.

I'll keep you posted.

And, going totally off topic for a second, I SO DON'T DO MAKEUP will be released in paperback TOMORROW!! Woohoo!!! Please feel free to buy a baker's dozen. Or more. :) Sorry, but I have to do a bit of this promotion thing from time to time. :)

Click here for links to more My Town Monday posts. It's always fun to see what's going on in other corners of the world. Enjoy your first Monday of April!

p.s. The Oceanside California sea lions are not to be confused with the harbor seals at the La Jolla Children's Pool.

sources:

http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/education/marine-mammal-information/pinnipeds/california-sea-lion/

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/oceanside/article_3dd4c2f7-7455-5cbe-a013-40193d346147.html

My Town Monday: San Diego whale watching

Every year, about 26,000 gray whales migrate 10,000 miles from the arctic seas (Bering and Chukchi Seas) to the lagoons of Baja California. And guess which coastline these incredibly large mammals swim along? You got it! They pass by San Diego from the end of December until March. You can see them as they travel southbound from the feeding grounds or on their way back north after mating or calving. Mothers and calves hang close to the shore.

Gray whales usually travel in pods of two or three. They're pretty slow swimmers (about 6 miles per hour). They dive about 100 feet down for three to five minutes, then surface to blow. Gray whales grow to about 46 feet long (females are slightly longer. Ha!), 36 tons and live to the ripe old age of 55 years.

I don't know why, but I always like to know the length of gestation in various animals. So.....it's 12-13 months for the gray whale. Yikes. At birth, the calf weighs about 1200 pounds and is around 15 feet. More yikes. And the mother produces mile that's 53% fat. To put it all in perspective, human milk is 2% fat.

Courtship and mating usually takes place in the warm lagoons of Baja California, Mexico. It's very complicated and often involves more than three whales of mixed sexes! That's all I can say. This is not that type of blog!

Gray whales can be spotted from land, especially from Torrey Pines State Beach and Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma. However, I generally encourage my visitors to shell out for a whale watching excursion. Not because I'm ready for a break from my hostess duties (although sometimes... Ha! Now everyone who has visited us (and there have been a gazillion of you!) is head-scratching and wondering if she/he was a pesky guest!! Hint: just bring a BIG gift)

Back to whale watching...It's super exciting to see these animals from a boat. Excursions cost $25-30 (adult) and last 2-3 hours. Here are some (maybe even all) the companies who will take you out (in alpha order, so I don't hurt anyone's feelings or get sued or whatever):

H&M Landing

Scripps Aquarium

Hornblower

And if you're adventurous to the max, you can kayak out to the whales ($55-$65) with Hike Bike Kayak San Diego

Do I personally go whale watching?

Capital N. Capital O.

I pratically get seasick in the bathtub. I survived one really horrendous two-hour bout of seasickness on a whale watching excurision. Never. Ever. Again. Ever. That said, I've never had a visitor get sick.



Please visit Travis Erwin, the guy who spearheads My Town Mondays. He'll have a list of links to other Mondayers.

You did notice and are duly appreciative that I avoided all tacky jokes dealing with such expressions as "a whale of a time."



Sources: http://sandiego.about.com/cs/familyfun/a/whale_watch.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_Whale
http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/graywhl.htm