Monterey Redux

Upside Down Jellies.

Yesterday Australian “crocodile hunter” Steve Irwin died.

Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called "Ocean's Deadliest" when he swam too close to one of the animals [stingrays], which have a poisonous barb on their tails.

In the past 24 hours there’s been lots of commentary about his energetic showmanship, the knowledge and love of animals he imparted to his young viewers, and how he died doing what he loved. But some also criticize the “unnecessary” risks that he took not only with his own person, but also with his children, who sometimes accompanied him when he filmed wild animals. My own view is gratitude----that we live in a society that (still) errs on the side of allowing us and Steve Irwin to live our lives freely, rather than protecting us from the consequences of our own folly.

The closest I want to get to stingrays is behind six inches of glass. On Friday morning the four of us headed south to the Monterey peninsula. Two blocks from the Monterey Bay Aquarium I found street parking at $1 per hour, half the cost of the city lot. It was a cool, gray morning, so we donned light jackets.

News cameras were on hand to record the aquarium’s newest arrival, a 5’ 8’’ white shark. It was a sleek, graceful animal, albeit smaller than the fearsome monsters depicted on the silver screen. We moved on to the shark exhibit, which extolled sharks’ place in the ecosystem and excoriated man for the decline in shark populations.

It was another thing to feel guilty about---the bowl of sharks fin soup that I slurped ten years ago, along with this unnecessary day trip that uploaded greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. As we used to say, excuse me for living, except that just being alive is bad for the environment because with every breath we take we emit CO2. On Sundays at the local church my sins against God are forgiven; at the altar of Gaia there is no expiation.


We walked to Bubba Gump’s for lunch. Though it was two o’clock we had to wait to be seated; other patrons had also forsaken the aquarium cafeteria. The décor was yuppified shantytown; the tables and walls were covered with pictures and quotations from the movie. We also had a nice view of the Bay, but, unexpectedly for a restaurant in a scenic location, the food was tasty; the fish and salads were fresh, and portions were plentiful.

Caramel Apples and Taffy Machine.

After lunch we prowled the Monterey stores and picked up some salt-water taffy and candied apples.

Returning to the aquarium, the dwindling crowds allowed us to have an unobstructed view of the exhibits as the six o’clock closing time approached. The Labor Day getaway traffic headed south toward LA, and we had a smooth drive back on Friday night. A leisurely dinner at B.J.’s,and the long weekend was off to an excellent start. © 2006 Stephen Yuen

BJ's Sampler of four (4) 5-oz beers is the perfect way to end a long day.