Weekend in Monterey Bay

When Vic first started traveling to San Jose for work, I pulled out the map to see what would be close by and a little less obvious than taking a weekend getaway in San Francisco. “Carmel!” I didn’t know much about Carmel, so when it finally made sense to join Vic on a work trip, it’s where we headed for the weekend.

Here’s what I know now: it’s expensive! Monterey, Pebble Beach, Carmel, and Salinas are much closer together than I would have guessed. It is lovely. While I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, next time we’re down in that area we’ll skip the tourist destinations and head further south to Big Sur.

We both favored Pacific Grove as the town to stay in, both couldn’t wait to leave the oppressive scene of Carmel, thought we’ve been to much more interesting aquariums than Monterey’s. We both suggest the delicious Passionfish over the untasty, tourist gruel at Flaterty’s.

We’d recommend taking the walking tour of Monterey’s historical park for some relatively quiet garden strolls, and that if you go to Point Lobos, which you should, that you show up as early as possible to get a parking spot so you can enjoy walking along the cliffs and tide pools.

Finally, while the aquarium might be underwhelming given it’s reputation, these folks are doing important work and you ought to know about their sustainable fish market guides: Seafood Watch. You can even download it to your iPhone.