The KiltedCodeWarrior Comes to California

[Panache]

KWC came out to Monterey California for a last minute business trip and gave out the call to see if anyone was able to meet him. Way2Fractious and myself (along with Sinbad and Xena) were able to travel down to Monterey to enjoy the Monterey Bay Aquarium with him. Sadly, Alan H. and much of the Bay Area crew had already made plans for a Highland Games practice that afternoon. There had been a fierce storm Friday and Saturday, but KCW must have brought a little Florida sunshine with him because things cleared up nicely Sunday afternoon. I got to play kilted tour guide. We four kilties and one lovely little warrior princess got a lot of smiles as we viewed jellies, sunfish, sharks, rays, sturgeon, and a myriad of other sea life (including the only great white shark in captivity). We had a fun afternoon together. It was a pleasure to meet Rob and I hope he finds his way out West again.

For those interested in the Monterey Bay Aquarium here is their web site:

http://www.mbayaq.org/

(The site includes several live web cams of different displays at the aquarium if you were interested in the animals we were looking at)

Here are a few photos. KCW and W2F also had cameras at the ready and hopefully will add their shots of the day as well.

KiltedCodeWarrior and Way2Fractious outside the Aquarium



Panache and KCW next to the Kelp Forest display



KCW, Sinbad, and W2F on the new bridge (Part of the MBA's 20th anniversary remodel connecting the two wings of the Aquarium together)



Xena and KWC in the "Wave Tunnel"



W2F in the "Wave Tunnel"



Xena and W2F in the Aviary regarding the artificial beach (with surf)



Doing our best Hamish



Cheers

[Mr. Kilt]

Excellent pics, but you saved the very best for last! The kids doing the "Hamish" is priceless!! Thanks for sharing.

[Big Dave]

Great pics, but the last ones the best.

[Colin]

Xena and KWC in the "Wave Tunnel"

I love the colouring in this photo. It's always nice to hear of members meeting up.

[pdcorlis]

What a fantastic "Group Hamish" - Well done one and all!

[David Dalglish]

Great photos Panache, hope you all had a great time

[Dirk Skene]

I love aquariums. Looks like the folks in Monterey have a nice one. Great kilt pics. It's always pleasant to see faces from the forum.

[Alan H]

Looks like a great day. Yeah, the weather really cooperated yesterday, didn't it? KCW... NEXT TIME You're out, we're gonna hook up!

It's been about two years since I've been in the Aquarium,time to go back down for another visit, I'm thinkin'

[way2fractious]

It was a treat to meet up with Rob (KCW) and Jamie (Panache) for a few hours in Monterey at the world-famous aquarium. (We let the other guys do the "heavy" lifting. ) It was, indeed, a beautiful day at the seaside.

One young lady taking tickets did her job (with security in mind) by wanting to know what the thing was sticking out of my right hose top. She was satisfied only when I took it out to show her the skean dubh. One dad corraled his two young boys and used me to introduce them to kilts and sporrans. The skunk was a hit. In fact, several times in the press of the crowd, I looked down to discover a short, young person with hand outstretched to pet the furry critter.

Trying not to duplicate Panache's photos, here are a couple I took.

The indoor/outdoor seashore nature exhibit:


That's one, big fish!


Caught them doin' the wave still:


Kids (including these two) just love the aquarium:

[Jimmy the Celt]

Great pics! Monterey is one of my favourite places in the world