Daily Archives: July 28, 2013

monterey

Posted by Farrah

I love beaches. I’m not used to being landlocked, even though I didn’t do much with it when I was living on either coast (it was cold). I’m glad West Virginia is so pretty (and that I live close to such a beautiful river). In any case, my friend Steph and I really wanted to go to a beach of some sort before we went off to our respective landlocked states (KS + WV, respectively) for school, so we rounded up a couple other friends and made a day trip out of it. The amount of planning that went into it was frighteningly minimal (basically made the night before, in terms of who was going and what time we should leave for it in the morning), but it turned out really well!

We found parking in a parking structure somewhere in the middle of where everywhere we thought we might want to go and trekked on. A lot of the establishments were cash-only, for some reason, so we decided to walk to a bank (they were all concentrated in the same area a mile away) to obtain cash. The way there was super pretty. *-*

I haven’t been to Monterey in over 4 years, but I think we’ve decided to make this an annual thing. *-* (I also really want to stop by Carmel next time; that’s probably one of my favorite places in California). We have plans to frolic on the beach/go kayaking + paddleboarding, and we also found a playground with parallel bars(!).

I made a collage of my favorite pictures. :]

A “quiet and shy, plump harbor seal” chillin’ on a rock.

I could probably sit here for hours to write/read/study. *-*

We stopped for frozen yogurt and then made our way to the aquarium.

It’s apparently $31.95 for admission if you have a student ID, which may seem expensive, but for all the time we spent there, everything we got to look at and learn about, I definitely think it was worth it. There was also a lot on saving the oceans and all the wildlife around/near/in it, which I really appreciated, since I think a lot of people wander through life in ignorance.

Nemos!

Dory!

This is made outta waste. :\ The shark tooth one representing the thousands of sharks that are killed each day was even more depressing. :[

There’s a Seafood Watch app that lets you know what seafood is okay to eat (e.g. caught or farmed using environmentally responsible practices). I picked up the National Consumer Guide, the West Coast guide and the Sushi Consumer Guide (which, to be honest, I was really afraid of looking through because I have a ~~very unhealthy addiction~~ rather formidable dedication to salmon sashimi). I feel like I have less to restrict since all the seafood I can eat is really just fish, but still, this was good to know.

Best Choices (National Guide)

Abalone
Arctic Char (farmed)
Bass: Striped (US hook & line, farmed)
Catfish (US)
Clams, Mussels, Oysters
Cod: Pacific (US)
Crab: Dungeness & Stone
Halibut: Pacific (US)
Lobster: Spiny (CA, FL, Mexico)
Sablefish/Black Cod (AK & Canada)
Salmon (AK)
Sardines: Pacific (Canada & US)
Scallops (farmed)
Shrimp: pink (OR)
Tilapia (Ecuador & US)
Trout: Rainbow (US farmed)
Tuna: Albacore/White canned (Canada & US troll, pole)
Tuna: Skipjack/Light canned (US troll, pole)
Tuna: Yellowfin (US troll, pole)

Best Choices (Sushi)

Amaebi/Spot Prawn (Canada wild)
Awabi/Abalone
Bincho/Albacore Tuna (Canada & US troll, pole)
Ikura/Salmon Roe (AK wild)
Iwana/Arctic Char (farmed)
Iwashi/Pacific Sardines (Canada & US)
Izumidai/Tilapia (Ecuador & US)
Kaki/Oysters
Kani/Dungeness Crab, Stone Crab
Katsuo/Bonito/Skipjack Tuna (troll, pole)
Maguro/Yellowfin Tuna (US troll, pole)
Masago/Smelt Roe (Iceland)
Saba/Atlantic Mackerel (Canada)
Sake/Salmon (AK)
Sawara/King & Spanish Mackerels (US)
Suzuki/Striped Bass (US hook & line, farmed)
Uni/Sea Urchin (Canada wild)

Mahi Mahi, Hamachi/Hiramasa/Yellowtail (Australia & Japan farmed), Tai/Red Snapper, Unagi/Eel, Freshwater (farmed) are all on the “Avoid” list, so I will have to cut those outta my life. :[ At least tilapia’s on the safe list. Hell knows how much of that I ate when I was on my diet. :O