Tag Archives: monterey

trip to Monterey

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We drove to Monterey. First on the list however was to visit the Clover Bakery on our way south. Also part of this pilgrimage involved going to the Mitsuwa Marketplace where Kinokuniya books also resides. It is great fun!

Many unexpected things happened on day one including having AAA come out and jump start the rental car’s battery and then getting a new rental car. Next discovering our hotel reservation was not what we reserved and then finding a new hotel in Pacific Grove. We laughed about it being April Fool’s Day but were ultimately thankful for the location of our new hotel. We had an excellent dinner of ahi tuna and found this alligator in a shop window. 🙂

After breakfast we walked by the coast and saw the deer and harbor seals that hang out in this fenced off area. We remembered them from last time and was happy to watch a young seal navigate the shallow waters.

This is the coast by our hotel in Pacific Grove. It is so beautiful and Emma could not wait to get to the shore to look for rocks and tide pools. The weather was cool but the 20 mph winds made it freezing. I was a happy popsicle.

Our days largely consisted of eating and then going back to the breathtaking ocean that was always near with some rest stops at the hotel. I think that the water is so beautiful in Monterey but the added bonus is watching the sea otters in the waves. They are so cute.

It was never not cold and we quickly dismissed the idea of kayaking in Moss Landing or even riding in the pedal boats at the park. We were happier getting warm drinks and eating yummy food and limiting our outside activities to walks to and from the coast or looking in boutique shops. Our last dinner was a great little taqueria we would love to return to. All in all we had great food and it was very pretty scenery.

Holiday trip to the Monterey Bay

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We decided to take off a few days during the week of Thanksgiving and go on a family trip. I booked a place to stay in Moss Landing that was both between Santa Cruz and Monterey and affordable. Off we drove down Hwy 1.

We stopped for a late lunch in Santa Cruz and ate sandwiches here by the ocean.

We ended up arriving in Moss Landing around 5ish. Then I noticed, whoa it is dark here and there is only the slough and farm land and not much else.

That evening we settled in at the hotel and wandered to a Thai restaurant for a not good beer and yummy spring rolls that was a block away.

The next morning we awoke hungry and ready to explore so we drove to Monterey. We found a place to eat near Cannery Row. Afterwards we strolled around.

Here are some harbor seals resting on the beach after a long night of hunting.

We ventured into all the shops and got new sunglasses for Emma and maiki and a bottle of dill olive oil for me.

When we got back to the car we drove south down the coast of Monterey. The beaches were beautiful!

We got out to walk to the sandy shore. Emma looked for shells and played with seaweed. We saw sea otters a little ways out in the water. Luckily maiki snapped this picture.

We drove down to Point Lobos, a regional park on the coast. It had crazy beautiful preserved coastline.

All of the sea lions were camped out on a rock in the water, quite far away. A hungry Emma was disappoined and ready to leave. We drove to Carmel for lunch.

We returned to Moss Landing just before the sun set. We took a walk to the beach. It was lovely.

We walked around the harbor where Emma could hear more sea lions. They were behind a fence but maiki held her up so she could see them. We saw funny (to us) notices that said “Beware of sea lions” and keep your children and pets safe from the large, hungry sea monsters.

That evening we had drinks and chips and salsa at a mexican restaurant in Moss Landing. We sat outside with heat lamps all around us.

Day three we had breakfast in Moss Landing. We visited a cafe called the Power Plant. I ate toast with persimmons, honey, pecans and thyme! So yummy!

Next Emma and I went kayaking in the Elkhorn Slough! That was very fun and we saw a mother sea otter with her baby! That is something I will never forget. The baby was crying because it was hungry. The mother would put the baby down in the water and dive to get food. She would open the shell, bring the baby on her lap and feed the baby, then do it all over again. Emma and I were entranced.

** maiki took pictures of us in the water, will post soon. **

We shared fish and chips before driving to Santa Cruz.

On the wharf Emma got her wish. We saw so many sea lions!