Monterey's coast

Wanting to save money, and based on the snippet I saw yesterday, I wanted to dedicate a day to walking along the coast. I am so happy that I came here rather than somewhere like LA. Everything is very well laid out, with easy pedestrian and cyclist access which makes wandering a breeze, and a joy. Not once did I have to even think about crossing a road or jumping a fence, because the council or whatever Americans call their authorities actually want people to enjoy the outdoors and explore. There are signs up encouraging people to explore tide pools and clamber over rocks, and along the coastal trail there are signs explaining the history of the area, with nice paintings depicting the past.

I've only been here for a few days, but I can say that it is one of my favourite places I've visited. I'm also enjoying reading about life here many years ago in a Steinbeck novel, which I read in a tree today, watching whales pass by. The final tally for todays 7 hour walk along the coast was 7 grey whales, 1 humpback whale, 10 bottlenose dolphins, and over 30 sea otters. If only that was possible in more places!

Here is a link to a video made from yesterday in the Aquarium. It's mainly made for Kathryn as she is a big fan of cephalopods and tentacle things, but I thought I may as well post it too:
https://vimeo.com/118666553

Here come the photos and videos from today:
A video of a sea-otter swimming around and eating a crab: https://vimeo.com/118668867

Double-crested cormorant

Sea otter with a stone on belly

Using the stone to eat a crab

California ground squirrel in vegetation above the beach. These guys burrow in the sand and run around the beach, which I wasn't expecting!

Close-up of a brown pelican

I was taking photos of birds splashing around in a lake, and I quite like this, even though it wasn't what I was going for.

This is what I was going for.

Waves breaking at the southern side of Monterey Bay

The fluke of a grey whale

Another grey