It’s still sunny as I wind down Pacific Grove streets to the beach at Asilomar. Sunlight shines off the coats of two very tame deer eating ice plant near the road. Living here has taught them to ignore men on two wheels. They have never been prey, just potential victims of one of the autos processing along the beach.

I ride past the deer and over to an ocean overlook. The high surf makes me wonder how anything could live in these coastal waters. But my visit yesterday to the Monterey Aquarium provided proof of a rich marine environment.