A Day Down South

.

It was our sort of Anniversary on March 11 

(married 13 years ago) 

so we decided to take the day off 

and head on down to Monterey, 

one of our favorite places.  

Since I took too many pictures, 

I'll be posting them in several batches.

We can never go down there 

without stopping by Jetty Road, 

hoping the otters will be right there at the bridge.  

Unfortunately there weren't any otters 

(we didn't go all the way to the end) 

but I thought this dog was pretty cool.

He seems to have his owner pretty well trained!

The mustard was blooming, and I love the color.  

When I was a young girl (many years ago)

every spring, mustard covered the fields 

all over the Santa Clara Valley.  

I still love to see it.

 Next, we stopped at City Park in Monterey

 I tried to get in tight on this bee, 

and while I couldn't get it perfectly sharp, 

I liked the composition and color.

 Herons hang out at this park.  

While he was pretty well camouflaged, 

I couldn't resist.

Here's one tight shot of the heron.

 Flowers were blooming all over the park.

Don't you love Spring?

 A small part of the park is called Dennis the Menace Park,

in honor of Hank Ketchum.

 These next shots were all taken in the park.

There's not much to say about them, 

but I wanted to remember this beautiful day.

Lots of willows.

And a lovely meandering river.

There are also these lovely twisted trees.

I love how they frame the various scenes.

And of course, there are ducks . . .

This was one of those unplanned, 

unexpected stops that make a perfect day.  

For sure, we will be stopping here again.  

After a walk around the water, 

we headed down to the Aquarium.

Pictures to follow.