Monterey State Historic Park, Monterey, California

The Monterey State Historic Park is comprised of a variety of preserved buildings that show the cultural diversity of the area, from when Monterey was a Spanish outpost, to it being the capital when this area was a Mexican province, to California becoming a state of the United States. A good place to start is the Pacific House Museum, open everyday from 10-4 (and free). The Pacific House is a museum which illustrates the growth of Monterey and California through the years, as well as an area dedicated to the Native Americans of the area.

There is a free walking tour you can take throughout the city which takes you by all of the historic homes, or you can join a park ranger for a narrated walking tour on most days. In addition, there are free ranger walks through many of the homes, each lasting 45 minutes - be sure to get a schedule of tours at the Pacific House. Some buildings you can visit: Royal Presidio Chapel, the oldest structure in Monterey; Colton Hall, where the Constitution of California was written, California's first theater, and more.

We enjoyed the tours we took today - the ranger was very informative, and it was all very interesting. If you're a history buff, or just have some free time, or are looking for something to do that is free, this is the place for you.

Cannery Row, Monterey, California

Cannery Row is the historic waterfront area that was once the home of Monterey Bay's fish processing and made famous by John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row. With many of the original cannery preserved, now this area is full of restaurants, wine tasting stores, gift shops of all types and many art galleries including two Thomas Kinkade Galleries. This is a great place to walk, shop, and take in the great views of the Monterey Bay. There are also a couple of very nice hotels if you what to stay right in this happening area and to be close to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, California

The Monterey Bay Aquarium was simply one of the best aquariums that we have visited. We enjoyed it so much that we ended up spending nearly 6 hours there, when the average visit is typically 3 hours. The main aquarium attractions are the otters, penguins, the Outer Bay and the Kelp Forest tanks especially at the designated feeding times. There are two large tanks and exhibits for two different kinds of otters. One is for the central California coast sea otters which were nearly extinct until very recently and the other for fresh water otters from Africa and Asia. Both types of otters are cute, playful and energetic, making them very fun to watch, especially during feeding which you don't want to miss. (Times for all feedings are found on the aquarium's website, as well as the visitor's guide you'll get when you enter the building.) The penguins are a variety from South Africa which are use to water temperatures similar to Monterey Bay ; they are smaller than their cold climate cousins but equally as interesting to watch. We went twice to watch the sixteen or so penguins being hand fed (that way the aquarium staff can ensure each one gets enough food). The very large Outer Bay tank contains huge fish like bluefin tuna, sunfish, sharks, schools of anchovies and other sea life from sixty miles out the Pacific Ocean. It was very impressive. The enormous Kelp Forest tank contains fish and other creatures that are found in the local waters, but live closer to shore. This aquarium was the first of its kind to have a tank of live kelp, made possible by the use of an innovative pump that was developed to replicate the moving surf which is critical for these sea plants. You definitely don't want to miss the feedings at these main exhibits. The rest of the aquarium is very nice clean and full of smaller hands-on exhibit and aquariums. The jellyfish area has many varieties that are truly amazing and bewildering. You cannot bring your own food into the aquarium, but you can eat at their cafe Portola. - we found their cafe quite good for the price, quality and selection. If you are in the Monterey area, we would highly recommend taking the better part of day and enjoying this wonderful aquarium.

Tip: If you are a AAA member, you can save $2 off the admission price ($24.95) by first purchasing your tickets at the local AAA office (they do not honor AAA at the ticket window). Also, you'll need to pay for parking somewhere near the aquarium. We found a close-by lot that charged $1 for every half hour up to a maximum of $12.

See more terrific photos of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

17-Mile Drive, Pebble Beach and Drive to Big Sur, California

Today we decided to drive the famous 17-Mile Drive which is a loop route through the hills and coastline of Pebble Beach. Instead of taking Hwy 1 south directly from Monterey to Pebble Beach, we chose to meander through the town of Pacific Grove along the coastline on Ocean View Blvd. This road takes you through neighborhoods of beautiful homes and picturesque views of the ragged rocked bay. Along the way there are many parks and turn-outs for photo-ops and for places to explore. The homes in this area have a Victorian and Art Deco style which were fun to see. Eventually this road will take you around the peninsula, turn into Sunset Drive and will connect with 17-Mile Drive. All along this route is a great dirt walking/biking path. This is a great place to take a walk.

To enter the 17-Mile Drive there is a $9.25 fee (free for bicyclists) and you are provided a brochure that contains a map of the route and points of interest along the way. The first 4 miles of the famous 17-Mile Drive winds along the coastline and the golf courses of The Links at Spanish Bay and Spyglass Hill. The houses now are very large and opulent, with equally sized grounds. Most face the ocean and have a view across one or more holes of the numerous golf courses. There continues to be small parks where you can pull-off to take pictures of the ocean and rugged coastline. Like Cypress Point Lookout where there is the view of the famous lone cypress tree that is used as the Pebble Beach symbol.

Next the drive becomes very forested so clear views of the homes and coastline was difficult. However, the homes in this area were the largest and most spectacular of them all. We kept waiting to see someone famous driving by. Continuing on this road you will arrive at the Pebble Beach Golf Links course. If you are a golfer then stopping and walking around the Pebble Beach Golf Course lodge and shops is a must. From the back of the lodge you can look out onto the 18th hole with the ocean as the backdrop-very spectacular. There are several high-end pro shops and boutiques. Across the road is a small market that makes very nice reasonably priced sandwiches and more. After spending some time at Pebble Beach, as you continue your drive, you eventually come to the intersection of Hwy 68. Here you can continue the loop drive which takes you into the interior of Pebble Beach peninsula or take Hwy 68 back to Pacific Grove or Hwy 1 back to Monterey. To be quite honest, for all that we've heard about the 17-mile drive, we were disappointed, and in fact found the homes more interesting and charming in Carmel. In our opinion, it was not worth the entrance fee.

Next we took the 26 mile drive down Hwy 1 to Big Sur. At times the road takes you along the steep hillsides of the coastline providing grand open views of the cliffs, rocks and surf below. Other times of the drive you are inland and looking across large pastures to get views of the ocean. This wasn't our favorite highway to drive for California ocean views but it was okay. We didn't feel like the views lived up to the reputation of Big Sur.

In sum, if you're looking for a nice drive of some beautiful scenery and equally beautiful homes, go to Carmel.

Carmel-by-the-Sea & Monterey, California

Touring Carmel-by-the-Sea and more of Monterey

Today we decided to explore the town of Carmel-by-the-Sea before the forecasted rain hits the area over the next several days. From Monterey driving south for 10-15 minutes on Hwy 1, we took Ocean Avenue west which takes you into the heart of Carmel. The main shopping district extends 2 blocks on either side of Ocean Ave. There are a large variety of exclusive shops and art galleries as well as coffee houses and fine restaurants. What made this area so charming is the architecture, the hilly landscape and the many trees and well maintained flower beds. The building styles ranged from Spanish mission with adobe and tile roofs to old English cottages with rounded roof edges. It all worked together quite well and was very well maintained. The feeling you get instantly is that of an old quaint and charming village. Street parking is the game here. We were told that the 2 hour limit was strictly enforced, so we watched the time and moved the car as needed to avoid a citation. From the downtown area, you can drive west on Ocean Avenue and you will find a large wonderful sandy beach and park, which has views of the Pebble Beach Golf Course as well as the many beautiful homes that line the shoreline as far as you can see. From here we drove the small residential roads that followed the coastline, which provided amazing views of the bay on one side and views of exquisite houses on the other. Every house we saw was just gorgeous. Even the smallest and seemingly ordinary home in this town could be on our dream list. If anyone out there wants to, please feel free to buy us a home in Carmel...it would be very much appreciated.

After touring neighborhoods for a while, we then headed to the Carmel Mission. This Mission (or The Basilica of Mission San Carlos Borromeo Del Rio Carmelo) was founded in 1770. For $5 per adult, you are allowed to tour the restored and active Basilica, gardens, cemetery and several small museums. This mission provided a lot of historical information which helped us get a sense of what this area was like in its beginnings. There are many missions along the central California coast and we felt this one is a great one to visit.

Back in Monterey, we visited the Monterey Maritime and History Museum. The admission is free with a requested donation. So for a few bucks we toured this small museum that contained not only artifacts chronicling the history of the Monterey peninsula but also other maritime historical piece. For example, they have the Morse Code device that was used on the USS Missouri battleship that told the world that the treaty for the unconditional surrender of Japanese forces was signed. It also has the working prism of the historic Fresnel lens from the Point Sur Light Station.

Dining in Monterey

All this touring made us hungry, so we headed to Fisherman's Wharf which was nearby. We chose Crabby Jim's restaurant, and although Brad's fresh stuffed sole entry was good, the crab cakes that Suzanne ordered were terrible (more filler than crab - in fact, still wondering if there was crab in them), and the level of service that we received was terrible - the waiters disappeared continuously, never refreshed our drinking water, were unfriendly, and rushed. Needless to say, we do not recommend this restaurant. To redeem our dinner, we went into the Old Town area in search of dessert. We saw Rosine's Restaurant's dessert case through the window and had to go in - the desserts looked incredible! We were met with friendly and helpful staff that were eager to help us forget our dinner experience. If the desserts were half as good as the people were nice, then we were in for a treat. We weren't disappointed at all! The 3-layer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and the 3-layer chocolate cake with layers of chocolate and cream cheese were fabulous, and in fact were so large that we brought more that half of each piece home. When the bill came we were greatly surprised at how inexpensive our wonderful desserts ended up being. This is a must if you want to great dessert and great service, all at a reasonable price. In fact, whomever it is who buys us our house in Carmel, we'll treat to a celebration dessert at Rosine's!

Fisherman's Wharf, Monterey California

Old Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey Harbor is 1-2 blocks from the old downtown area. This historic wharf which is about a quarter of a mile long is made up of many restaurants, unique gift shops and charter boat companies for whale watching, fishing and bay tours. Today when we walked around, we were approached by several restaurants competing for our business by offering free samples of clam chowder and coupons for free appetizers. We also noticed racks of greatly discounted souvenir clothing some as much as 50% off. (Guess traveling off season has it's benefits!) The wharf is surrounded by a marina of fishing and pleasure boats. These boats are a beautiful sight against the golden hills in the background. To top our visit off, we watched sea lions on an old floating platform slumbering in the sun.

Monterey County Fairgrounds RV Park, Monterey, California

Today we made our way to the city of Monterey and are staying at the Monterey County Fairgrounds RV Park. This "RV park" is the parking lot right between all the horse stables and a golf course. Each site comes with full hookups, free WIFI and if you are lucky like we are, a direct view of the stables. It is very clean, well maintained, the host is very helpful and there are several large live oaks that provide shade for some of the sites. You could ask for those sites when making your reservations. This location puts you very close to the old downtown area of Monterey and Fisherman's Wharf, and with a little ambition you could even ride bikes to these areas. Although the Fairgrounds is next to the airport, there is not constant air traffic so the noise is minimal. I would definitely recommend this RV park if you need an affordable well placed location in Monterey.