Our Little Corner of the World...in Monterey Bay, California!!!

Ok...

I'm taking a break from our Viking Cruise...

Shortly after returning from our last trip, we found out our house had become 

the permanent residence of termites...

yep...

there were subterranean and regular ones munching on the wood holding up our walls...

you name them, we had them. 

Sooo....the tenting was inevitable...

and me...being the chemical phobe that I am...

I had to remove practically everything before they did it!!!

TheChief knew there was no sense in reasoning with me

so he just went along with it...rather good naturedly I might add!!!

So while they tented...we headed to Capitola up by Santa Cruz 

to visit our friends Steve and Sharron.

Steve...being the whale expert that he is...

(long story...involves a beached whale and mouth to blow hole resuscitation)

(I told you, it's a long story!!!)

...signed us up for a whale watching excursion in Monterey Bay....

Now when I heard that we were going whale watching,

I figured it would be a fun day out...

but what can beat seeing breaching whales and 2 bubble feeds while whale watching in Alaska?

Yep!!!  Whale watching in Monterey Bay during El Nino!!!

Thanks Steve and Sharron for an awesome morning of whale watching!!!

Ok...

so that's one...

there sure are a lot of birds...

looking for anchovies...

a whale delicacy...

 Two...up close and personal!!!

 

Yep...Steve, the whale expert, knew what he was doing when he booked us!!!!

Hey!!!  That's three!!!

Whoa!!!

Four!!! 

Still up close and personal!!!

Count 'em!!!

One, two, three, four!!!

A high five!!!

Every time we moved from one side of the boat to the other...

there were more and more!!!

We didn't count...

but we think we saw well over 20 Humpbacks...

Yep...you read that right...over 20!!! 

There were also lot's of dolphins...

...and pretty soon...

Orca's showed up...

...chasing, and catching, dolphins!!!

While watching the Orca's chase the dolphins, we noticed that the Humpbacks 

headed into the path of the Orca's chase...

I guess they didn't like the Orca's coming into their territory...

and messing with their friends the dolphins...

It was an absolutely awesome, fascinating day!!!  

And if you're going to be anywhere near Northern California during El Nino...

you should really consider a whale watching excursion...

Some of you may have seen the BBC/PBS show 

Big Blue Live...

We were out there during the time they were filming that...

on the show they mentioned that there was also a Blue Whale in the Bay while we were there

although we did not see it.  

We did see the helicopter!!!


Thanks again Steve and Sharron!!!

To view more corners of the world, click on the image below...

Our Little Corner of the World...visiting Rothenburg ob der Tauber...

Cruising along the Rhine to the next stop...
Rothenburg ob der Tauber...

Rothenburg is in the southern part of Germany, in the Franconian region of Bavaria.

The name means "Red fortress above the Tauber"

(although it didn't look all that red to me!)

It is a walled city...

...and is known for its charming buildings that date back to Medieval times.

There's a lot of detail in the buildings...
like these beautiful doors...

...and of course...those beautiful flowers in window boxes!!!

This photo is for my Alabama friend, Virginia...

looks like some of your French bikes, oui???

Still loving the beautiful signs above each business...

The streets were charming...

cobblestones and little alley ways...

What do you do with a Medieval horse trough???

(at least I'm assuming it's an old horse trough...)

This is a view from the walkway on the wall...

Can you guess what this sign is for???

You don't want to get caught doing anything bad...which could be as simple as lying

or a wife talking back to her husband...

yep...time spent in the cage, suspended, for all to see, and taunt, and throw 

things at!

Another charming window...

...the walkway on the wall...

...and another view from the wall.

To help with the restoration and upkeep of the wall surrounding the city, 

people are able to purchase squares of the wall...

I looked for the McCoys, but never did find them!!!

Hydrangeas are some of my favorite flowers...this was a small flower mart along the street.

Mammoth Lake's Bear Whisperer has nothing on TheChief!!!

Yep...another beautiful window...with gorgeous flowers!!!

A quick duck into the church...

...and another charming building...

...and two more beautiful windows!!!

A tower on the wall...an outlook for defense in Medieval times...




Click here for more little corners of the world...
as well as some beautiful photos commemorating 9/11...