We have so much to be thankful for living here on the Sunshine Coast surrounded by such natural beauty and incredible biodiversity. We are so lucky to live in a community that not only cares deeply about the natural world around us but also is prepared to help fund facilities such as PODS helping to pass on our good fortune to future generations.
Fortunately there are many like-minded places out there and one in particular that we have always wanted to visit namely the famous Monterey Bay! There are many fabulous ocean centres along this part of the Californian coast which have so much to offer us in advice and experience. Our friends Brenda and Tom from Middle Point recently invited us down to their home in Woodside, California and kindly arranged, and supported a fact-finding tour of these amazing marine monitoring facilities spread out along Highway 101 from Halfmoon Bay to Monterey Bay!
We found friendly faces and huge support for PODS at every stop on the way and we cannot thank everyone enough for taking the time to talk to us and show us around their amazing facilities. So thank you to Courtney Scruggs from Blue Mind and the Slow Coast; Virginia Guhin, Dave Feliz, Mark Silberstein and Ron Eby and his amazing crew at Elkhorn Slough; Peter Macht at the Seymour Marine Discovery Station; Rita Bell at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the brand new Bechtel Centre of Ocean Education and Leadership; and finally Lisa Uttal at the National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Centre in Santa Cruz. You were such great inspiration and we learnt so much from all of you! It was a delight to hear all your stories and gain such wisdom from your experience. We cannot thank you enough. But most of all a huge thank you to Brenda and Tom for being such gracious hosts and for giving us the opportunity of a lifetime!
