Weekend in Monterey Bay, California

Last weekend we decided to go to Monterey Bay.  We had to take 2 buses to get there but the journey had some nice views so the time went quite quickly.

Monterey Bay is not as touristy as Santa Cruz.  It is uncrowded and not very commercialised.  There are lots of nice walking and cycling tracks which go around the edge of the cliff/rocks.  There is also a decent local bus service which goes to most places.  

We stayed at a Days Inn Motel which was quite close to the bus transit area and was within walking distance to Old Fishermans Wharf and the Monterey State Beach.  The hotel was roomy and quiet and gave a nice breakfast in the morning.  There was also a hot tub there which we utilised on our day of arrival!! 

We spent Friday over at Cannery Row and wandered around a few of the shops there and had lunch.  Cannery Row used to be the home of various sardine canning factories.  The buildings have been renovated and made into shops and restaurants and also house the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  On the evening we went to Old Fishermans Wharf which is full of fresh seafood restaurants and stalls.  Most offer a free taster of clam chowder and you can easily fill yourself up on this!!!!  It is very tasty!

The next morning, we made out way to Old Fishermans Wharf again to book a Whale Watching boat trip.  These are offered by a few companies there and last for approx 3 hours.  It's abit hit and miss as to whether you actually see any whales but you do go out quite far from shore into the Pacific Ocean so it is quite an experience.  We took coats with us as it gets pretty cold once you go out to the deeper water as there is quite a wind.  The sea was quite choppy and a few times I lost my balance.  I got abit scared as the sides of the boat were quite low and I lost my footing and nearly went over the side at one point!  We saw lots of sea lions on our way and also an albatross and pelicans. 

We were not so lucky with the whale spotting, the crew said that there was a whale up ahead and we saw it blowing water but it was moving fast and we didn't get to see it.  Later on we saw 2 lots of water blowing and the back and tail of a whale as it moved through the water.

We then took a walk along the beach past the lovely Marina.

Yesterday (Sunday) - we checked out of our hotel and caught the bus to Lovers Point.  There was a wedding going on, what a lovely place to get married.  There was a rocky point there which we climbed up, it was very foggy and we could hardly see the boats out on the sea.  There were signs around stating that it was a 'Tsunami Hazzard Zone' which was abit worrying!!!!

We saw lots of lovely harbour seals on a little beach there and a few playing in the sea.

Would love to go back to Monterey Bay some day and explore the surrounding areas of Carmel-by-Sea and Big Sur as they both look lovely.