This year the Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism (ESTC) was held from September 17-19 in beautiful Monterey, CA. After a summer spent in the heat of Salt Lake, I found the weather in Monterey to be refreshing. Our event venue was the Portola Hotel & Spa located adjacent to the Monterey State Historic Park.
Our social gathering on Monday was a film premiere put on by the Green Living Project with special speaker Dr. Wallace J. Nichols. The event was held at the Musuem of Monterey (MoM) which is also part of the State Historic Park.
Everyone who was at the film premiere received a blue marble as they arrived. The Blue Marbles Project seeks to recognize individuals through "random acts of blue gratitude" (http://www.wallacejnichols.org/130/blue-marbles.html). It serves as a reminder that from a distance our fragile world looks like a blue marble.
Tuesday afternoon was our day to really get out and experience what Monterey has to offer through our field sessions. Attendees could participate in one of seven sessions such as: Monterey Regional Waste Managment District Facility Tour; Tidal Marsh hike at Elkhorn Slough; Beach Walk and Clean Up; Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Labs Tour; Downtown Monterey Historic Walking Tour; Point Lobos State Park hike; and Monterey Green Hotel tour.
I had the pleasure of participating in the Point Lobos hike. Now some of you may realize that Lobos means wolf, however, it wasn't the presence of wolves that led to the name. The full name of the area historically is Punta de los Lobos Marinos or Point of the Sea Wolves. The reason for the name is because the sound of the sea lions carries inland. Our guide luckily had a scope so we were able to see moon jellyfish, deer, sea otters, sea lions, harbor seals and egrets from along the trail. 
Tuesday evening, ESTC took over the Monterey Bay Aquarium for our Culinary Showcase. This event is always one of the highlights of the conference and features local sustainable cuisine. This year all of the seafood for the event aligned with the Aquarium's Seafood Watch program which raises awareness about sustainable fishing practices in our oceans and tells consumers what types of fish are in danger because of those practices (http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx). In my mind, the Jellyfish took the night. Though I did get to see the octopus move in her exhibit and seeing her in motion is something I won't soon forget.
(with Dr. Kelly Bricker)
Our last evening event was the Celebration of Cultures held in the Memory Garden which is part of the Historic Park and just steps away from our hotel. Everyone was asked to dress in an outfit that in some way represented their cultural heritage. I ended up dressing as if I were from the 1940s in honor of my grandmothers who were young women during that time period.
(with Summer Davis)
(with Amy Carter-James, our closing keynote)
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who helped make this conference the wonderful event that it was. I had an amazing time and most everyone I've talked to has said the same. I look forward to reconnecting with everyone next year in Kenya, if I don't see you sooner!
On Friday, I went to Loulou's Griddle in the Middle located on the commercial fisherman's wharf. While sitting outside enjoying my breakfast, I was hit with a wave of noise as spectators on the pier caught their first glimpse of the space shuttle Endeavor as it flew over Monterey Bay on its way to LA. I didn't even know this was going to happen. It was definitely an experience to remember.
Later that day, Mercedes, Skipper and I decided to rent a surrey bike so we could follow the coastal trail and see some of the sights of Monterey.
Thanks Monterey for being such a wonderful host!
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