Sea lions barking, foghorn blaring, and the quiet breaths of Risso’s dolphins greeted us with the sunrise this morning in Monterey Bay. After learning about the natural history of the area yesterday, we headed towards Sand City to help with a local conservation project; Return of the Natives Restoration Project is involved with restoring native dune plants to the sand dunes found along the coastline. After placing bull, giant, and feather boa kelp around the newly planted beach pea, toadflax, and pacific silverweed, we headed back to National Geographic Venture for lunch and a presentation from local guest speakers on their research with MBARI and the ocean sunfish (mola mola). Lifting anchor and turning north, guests enjoyed views of north pacific humpback whales and a beautiful sunset on the Pacific Ocean.