Sue - Monterey, it's all about the sea

The bay itself looks abundant with sea life, (it is apparently - Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary) the coastline is rugged and jagged and there's kelp and seaweed everywhere! Not so inviting for swimming (far too cold this time of year anyway) but would make a great kayaking adventure. We have one full day and some time the next morning to soak up as much as we can, but the kayaking will have to be on hold until another holiday! Our agenda for this trip is to visit the aquarium and possibly do a whale watching boat excursion.
Historically Monterey was well known for it's sardine canning industry, today it's well known worldwide for its Aquarium so we thought we had better check it out. A great educational experience for the kids. Lots of stuff happening there to increase enviromental awareness. Loved the sea horses!
The '17 Mile Coastal Drive' is well talked about as another must, so we head off on an afternoon jaunt.

Clambering over the rocks at Lover's Point in Monterey.  

Amazing coastline! The pay-to-view drive winds its way through flash golf courses, extremely expensive homes and most impressively, stunning, spectacular coastline. Cruised past Pebble Beach Golf Course, and saw a wild deer. It was just hanging out just near the side of the road near some people's homes. It looked so tame, I wondered if it was someones pet! They are such gentle, graceful looking creatures. Stopped off at Carmel by the Sea (Clint Eastwood was once Mayor here) which is a gorgeous little coastal town south of Monterey. It's like a manicured 'text book' town (the shops gave me the impression that the people were of a twinset and pearls type) ...the town is very cute though ...lots of 'gingerbread type' houses. I was so excited looking at them all, ("look at this one, look here, oh look over there, look, look, look!") that I didn't think to take any photos....
Day 2 in Monterey, the whale watching boat trip was fun.....but not so much fun for Holly. She managed to give the fish a change to their diet..mind you she wasn't the only person being sick over the side of the boat. The only one in our family though.The sea had big swells and because of this, it was difficult for the crew to spot the whales. We did see 2 Humpback though and we followed them for ages. It was exciting, and pretty impressive especially when their head came out of the water enough to see the texture of their skin.(Humpbacks have knobbly bits on their face) They flicked their tails at us, and even though they are known for breaching, they weren't interested in breaching today. Also saw quite a few dolphins plus stacks of sea lions resting close to shore. We buy some fresh hot smoked salmon and some sourdough bread from the fisherman's wharf, then it's time to hit the road south, an epic California drive ahead of us through Ben Sur and down the Coastal  Highway...........