We took a two-day trip to Monterey with David and Kim and their daughter Gabriella, which Elena pronounces "Gabella" or "Lalalalella" depending on the occasion. I hadn't been to the Aquarium before. Jenny and Elena visited the last time we were in Monterey, a month ago (in the meantime, I attended a conference on energy regulation put on by Rutgers). The big tanks, especially the Kelp Forest and the Outer Bay, possess a sculptural vitality. The ceaseless rounds of the fish, subtly illuminated, overwhelm or at least counteract the soporific muzak which I have to believe is intended as much for crowd control as to serve as aural backdrop. The deep clarity of the water and the varieties of fish coexisting but not interacting (meaning the sharks and tunas don't eat the other fish but are fed by the aquarium keepers) induce a mental state of exhilaration and awe that reminds me of my reaction to the work of Bill Viola at SFMOMA a few years ago.
We ate at a really excellent Mexican restaurant called the Mexcal where the staff were endlessly tolerant of our not-quite-two-year-olds and served superb margaritas and food with a variety of influences from Oaxaca to Acapulco, all excellent (I would particularly recommend the Nachos Azadas).
The other great highlight of the trip was drifting in the Casa Munras' blood-warm swimming pool as the cold fog of the Monterey afternoon rolled in...
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
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