Thread by @KevinTConnor

How about a 🧵of ocean memories for #OceanMonth? Here is the sunset off the coast of Monterrico, Guatemala. It was the first time I saw the Pacific Ocean irl and just before this we got to see a release of baby Olive Ridley sea turtles from a local rescue hatchery 1/30

That time I took my friend Jess’ pup Zoe (RIP) for a morning walk on the Jersey shore and we combatted plastic pollution together while I sent work emails from my Blackberry (also RIP) #OceanMemories-4-#OceanMonth 2/30

That time the sun came out for 10 min. at @aaas in Vancouver in 2012 & Canada’s coast revealed every shade of blue! I was there w/ @OceanHealthIndx, but I had better luck pitching the carbon footprint of a shrimp cocktail science.org/content/articl… #OceanMemories-4-#OceanMonth 3/30

@jfrank17 remember when we used to staff the Oceana table at conventions and festivals and we had to figure out how to set up a gigantic inflatable yellowfin tuna? #OceanMemories-4-#OceanMonth 4/30

On his 83rd birthday, I’m remembering how much my dad hated the beach but still took the family Ocean City every year. We’d go fishing & were both so bad it ended up just being the two of us sitting in the morning quiet watching sunrise #OceanMemories-4-#OceanMonth 5/30

How bout that time a pugnacious garibaldi showed me who’s boss when I was diving in an MPA in Catalina. #OceanMemories-4-#OceanMonth 6/30

Remember when I spent a week with a @ConservationOrg research team off the coast of Hawai‘i to dive on never-before-explored seamounts & came home with some great stories, this HOF selfie and a monthlong case of dockrock
#OceanMemories-4-#OceanMonth 7/30 conservation.org/blog/off-hawai…

For #WorldOceanDay let’s surface a recent #OceanMemory from this year when my genius colleagues at @MontereyAq & @MBARI_News brought the deep sea to land? #IntoTheDeep #EnLoProfundo #OceanMonth 8/30

This was an unforgettable trip to St. Simons Island with @GrantlyG hosting us. Here he is showing us how to fish with a cast net. This was also the last time I voluntarily ate shrimp. #OceanMemories-4-#OceanMonth 9/30

One of the most awe inspiring experiences in my life: during a workshop in Bali we got to snorkel with 5 massive manta rays off Nusa Penida. Here is the story I wrote for @ConservationOrg about its manta tagging work conservation.org/blog/unlocking… #OceanMemories-4-#OceanMonth 10/30

… and it was such a special memory I went back in 2018 to experience again, this time w/ Ashley who was not pleased to be on a tiny boat in rough seas. Things got better once we were in the water. No mantas but still some awesome reefs #OceanMemories-4-#OceanMonth 11/30

Way back in ‘04 I visited Mount Desert Island for an ecology class. We studied the diverse ecosystems of @AcadiaNPS & got up at an ungodly hour to be among the first people in the US to see sunrise over the Atlantic #OceanMemories-4-#OceanMonth 12/30

Death is a part of life & there’s no better reminder of that than a dead whale. Ashley & I paid our respects to this “small” Fin whale that washed up in Asilomar a year or so ago. Thankfully, the wind was blowing the opposite direction 🤢 #OceanMemories-4-#OceanMonth 13/30

After COP 22 a couple of CI folks and I took trip from Marrakech to Essaouira. Got to see a spectacular - and my first - sunset over the Atlantic #OceanMemories #OceanMonth 14/30

How about that time Ashley & I promised to take the cats to the biggest litter box they’d ever seen on what turned out to be the windiest day at Del Monte beach ever. They hated it. #OceanMemories #OceanMonth 15/30

Remember that time in the Bahamas for @Wisejc3’s 30th & the scuba certified kids went out to explore? It was the first time I got to see a shark on their turf and it was amaze! @jfrank17 you were there too! #OceanMemories #OceanMonth 16/30

Oh then there was that one time I remember waking up like this on the beach. #OceanMemories #OceanMonth 17/30

Remember when we were in the OBX like ten years ago @ScottieDidIt and we drank a couple gas station four lokos yadda yadda yadda and we re-enacted the ending of Jaws for our holiday card? #OceanMemories #OceanMonth 18/30

This moment from our first time exploring Big Sur is a favorite memory, generally. We hiked down from Hwy 1 just in time to see a pod of dolphins swimming past Partington cove & then I got this well timed slo-mo of the ocean saying hi to Ashley #OceanMemories #OceanMonth 19/30

Here’s a life-changer: the first visit to Monterey & my interview at the Aquarium. The aggressive marine layer nor the vociferous harbor seals were enough to keep us away! I also had to keep the whole visit secret for like 3 months b/c Reasons™️ #OceanMemories #OceanMonth 20/30

First visit to Hawaii in 2014 was really transformative for me professionally but more importantly, it’s the first time I’d seen a whale! 🐋 There were so many off Maui that you could put your head under the waves & hear them sing from the shore. #OceanMemories #OceanMonth 21/30

That time Ashley & I went on a coffee date to Asilomar and walked into the Mavericks for Otters #OceanMemories #OceanMonth 22/30

… or that one time I stumbled upon a piper piping happy birthday at sunset on Carmel Beach and it made me feel Scottish as hell #OceanMemories #OceanMonth 23/30

Needed a serene one today, and remembering when these humpbacks said good morning through the fog (in b&w) helps #OceanMemories #OceanMonth 24/30

…that one run on the rec path when the moon rising over the bay convinced me that we live in a post card #OceanMemories #OceanMonth 25/30

This great trip to DR once for Ashley’s cousin’s wedding where her midwestern family demonstrated great patience with my knowledge & opinions of sustainable seafood #OceanMemories #OceanMonth 25/30

A tumultuous trip to IMPAC4 w/a bout of food poisoning & a flight over the Andes in a tiny plane but the best memory was celebrating w/ some of the Rapa Nui after a vote passed to establish an MPA around their island home news.mongabay.com/2018/02/easter… #OceanMemories #OceanMonth 27/30

(Should be 26/30 🙄)

This specific dune Hatteras national sea shore is one of my favorite places and comes with too many #OceanMemories to pick just one #OceanMonth 28/30

Will always remember the ‘make or break’ trip to Hawaii. About a year after we met Ashley joined me on a work trip that turned out to be filled with amazing ocean moments and important life decisions #OceanMemories #OceanMonth 29/30

And my final #OceanMemories this #OceanMonth is from that time COVID forced us to cancel our wedding so Ashley & I eloped and took some epic photos in Big Sur 30/30