Monterrey

San Juan Baptise

We visited our first California mission this morning, San Juan Baptiste. This is the largest of the missions with 3 aisles and at one time 9 bells. The church itself was in good shape, but the rest of the building was suffering. The museum held a number of liturgical books and vestments from the 1700s.

            In the afternoon, we visited the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, a recurring favorite attraction. During our last visit, they had a wall of Jelly Fish that was fascinating. Apparently others thought so too – since now there is an entire exhibit area filled with jellyfish, sea serpents, and sea horses. We took many a movie and picture of these exhibits, since they were so fascinating. The other highlight was the kelp forest. Kelp need 5 key things to grow: sunlight, water, waves, nutrients, and a rocky bottom to lock onto. We learned that kelp aren’t regular plants, but a form of brown algae. They can grow as fast a 1 ½ feet in a day up to a height of 250 feet.