Monterey, 4/7-4/8, 2009

We left home for Salinas at about 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7th, trying a route we hadn't used before. This route was recommended to us by the lady with the Australian accent from Erin Clarkson's GPS. Who knew your Garmin could talk like you do? (Erin's actually a Kiwi, but close enough.) It was a full Suburban with Erin and Blake, Diana and Luke and Peter, Emily and I, but what a great group! We made it time for a 1:00 lunch at the Steinbeck house. It was as charming as ever and not at all busy, making us less embarrassed about our brood who ordered pizza from the kid's menu. From there, we dropped off the car at the Victorian Inn in Monterey and caught the afternoon sea otter feeding at the Aquarium. It was great to have two days to see the exhibits. We fit in a lot that day, then returned to the hotel for their "wine and cheese" afternoon snack. Diana and Luke stayed at the hotel while we strolled Fisherman's Wharf. Every restaurant offers samples, and our taste buds got a little confused, but we finally picked clam chowder and calamari from Gilbert's to take back and share. There was a Longs Drug a block from the hotel, so we walked there to buy a half gallon of ice cream for dessert. The hotel had a hot tub for the kids to jump in--a perfect end to our day.
On Wednesday, after a nice little breakfast at the hotel, I thought I was a smarty pants and got us to the Aquarium for the member's early entrance time. Well, I didn't read my member's newsletter carefully enough, shame on me! I had us there at the weekend entrance time of 9:00 instead of the weekday time of 9:30! The docents at the Aquarium were not happy to see us and marched us right back outside. My tour group was very patient with me; we used the extra time to read historical kiosks and take photos. Luke kept turning to look out to the bay when we were trying to get group shots! My favorite exhibit that day was definitley the sea horses. We took in everything--the penguins, the outer bay, the kelp forest, the jellyfish. We tried to spot whales with binoculars out the viewing window, but no luck. There was even a baby area where Luke could lay on a water bed and touch different textures. The other kids loved reaching to touch the bat ray. At lunchtime, we grabbed some goodies from the nearby Nestle's shop and sandwiches from Subway, heading for Dennis the Menace park. The kids played hide and go seek. Our last stop was the beach at Seaside where the kids splashed in an estuary (which a local told us wasn't very clean, so they hopped right back out!) and Emmy and I flew our kite (which nearly bopped Erin on the head several times!) The best news: rain had been predicted during the time we'd be there and we got clear weather instead! I was grateful for our terrific trip.