You can skip the writeup and find pictures here. I outdid myself this time, 100 photos after the usual trimming.
A weekend of sand and waves; Sui and I headed down to Monterey, neither of us having gone to this sunny location only two hours away. Sui especially needed a little reprieve in between her busy summer and fall optometry clinical schedule, so off we went to the other Northern California bay, one without the generous dose of fog.
The plan was to hit the world-famous aquarium, stay overnight, then spend a second day walking along a trail along the water, checking out interesting landmarks along the way. It was a quickie getaway, and I had to head back home in time for work the day after.
Monterey Bay Aquarium was a supposedly day-long experience. They featured a good number of exhibits and activities for children, as well as many picturesque balconies and vista points. To be honest, though, I was more impressed with our prior visit to the Aquarium of the Pacific in LA. Maybe I fell victim to the hype surrounding the MBA, but I saw the same jellyfish, plants, birds, and unnameable sea creatures, and I thought the Exporatorium did a better job of catering to kids and sneaking in bits of stealth education.
Exhausting the sights and sounds of the aquarium, we ended up walking outside along Cannery Row (Monterey’s Pier 39). Dinner was provided by Monterey’s Fish House, a “local favorite”; I really liked their crabcakes, and wouldn’t mind going back to try their fresh fish and pasta.
The second day saw us having brunch at Old Monterey Cafe (Monterey’s Mama’s), then sightseeing along the Coastal Recreation Trail, a long stretch of paved road along the ocean meant for jogging, biking, and possibly golf carts. It was a great day for the outdoors; an entire pier was overrun by sunbathing sealions. Beyond that, we saw a familiar sight at Old Fisherman’s Wharf (Monterey’s Santa Monica Pier), and spent a bit too much time walking along the sandy beaches.
This was two weekends ago, and I’m still dropping crisp, dead skin.
Oh yeah, we ended up in Gilroy - specifically, the outlets - to restore our consumerism quotas for the month. A few handbags, shoes, and jackets later, I think we did our part to stimulate the crappy economy.
What did I learn from this trip? All west-coast harbor cities look the same, and we need something besides an imported New England clam chowder as our staple tourist food.