PERAMBLING BY THE PENGUINS? "Oohing" over otters? Jamming out with the jellies? There are so many icons adding oceanic oomph to the world-famous, beloved-by-many Monterey Bay Aquarium that it is difficult to know where to linger first. But, for now, the Cannery Row-based destination remains temporarily closed, meaning your lovely otter-adjacent, penguin-close lingering must wait for a future date. But you can linger over the webcams on the site, including cameras that keep trusty watch on the resident penguins, otters, and moon jellies, too. There is one virtual, from-afar aquarium experience, though, that takes you just outside the building, to those beautiful decks that face the Pacific Ocean. It's the...
MONTEREY BAY CAM, and it is keeping its admiring eye on the vast waves that lull and lap to the west of the building. What might you see, if you keep a steady watch? Here's the splashy summary from the cam's own page: "From this vantage point, you can identify a number of the birds and sea mammals that find refuge in the coastal waters of Monterey Bay. Look for black cormorants perched on a rock, perhaps stretching their wings to dry. Watch the water's surface — you might see a harbor seal poke its head out of the water or a sea otter wrapped in kelp." Call it a different dimension of the aquarium, which isn't only about its acclaimed habitats and interior spaces, but also its neighbor the Pacific. Call the ocean a forever-fascinating friend to the aquarium, one that brings peace, beauty, and discovery every time we turn our eye to it.
TURN YOUR EYE, both to the Monterey Bay Cam and the other webcams that offer at-home fans a chance to commune with the aquarium and its very wet, very wide, very wonderful bestie, the ocean just outside its door.
