Monterey, CA

We're staying in town today, so we start just outside the hotel at Crepes of Brittany.  I feel like it's been forever since I've had a crepe.  So these were exceptional.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium runs a free trolley from the hotel, so we take advantage of that and cram on with half of California on the first trolley of the day.  An easy entry in as we have purchased tickets in advance and the place is packed from the beginning.  We start at the sea otters, who are putting on a show for everyone packed against the glass.  From there we walk over to the Into The Deep tank, which is massive, and keeps us entertained for a while.  Of course the sharks we amazing, and the quantity of jellyfish.  But just outside from the Touch Pool we could see more seals and otters in the ocean just beyond the aquarium.  Another thing we watch (from a distance) is the kids who were learning to scuba dive in the tide pool fenced off in the facility.  Not for me, but I'm sure that is an amazing experience.  Weirdly I know this is a world class facility, but it seems kind of small.  Yet we are in there for 3 hours.

 

Jellyfish, Monterey Bay Aquarium, CA

First things first when we leave the aquarium, it's time for lunch.  L and I opt for sandwiches from Conglio Brothers, a deli inside a wine and olive oil shop, while M&B grab something from Jack's Bao, across the street.  We meet up and eat in the glorious sunshine by the waters edge.

We are in Cannery Row, known to me from the John Steinbeck novel, so we wonder around and look in shops and see all the restaurants we aren't going to eat at before we head up to San Francisco tomorrow.  Poor M, I know she shops better than her 3 boys, but we stopped her spending too much time here.  The walk back to hotel is just over a mile, and it's too nice a day to be inside, so we walk back.  We do have to make a stop at Fisherman's Wharf for our daily ice cream.

For dinner tonight M has found the Beach House Restaurant & Bar at Lovers Point, Pacific Grove.  It is only a 15 minute drive north west of the hotel, and a beautiful old house overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  We delighted in our seafood dinner as, again, seals and otters popped their heads up out of the water on the beach below us.  This was a fitting ending to our stay in Monterey, and I am looking forward to part 2 of our trip tomorrow as we move into San Francisco.