The Monterey Peninsula

We've been on and around the Monterey Peninsula the past 2 days. Yesterday we visited the world famous Monterey Aquarium -- a 'must do' for this area. The aquarium is of great interest for young and old alike. The otters are the stars of the show but you can see everything from finger size fish to sharks. There is so much for the children to do including a splash area where toddlers can get hands on with kelp, touch starfish and snails, etc. The penguin area is also a lively area where each bird shows a unique personality. Only small penguins are on site. Outside there are areas where you can view seals and otters in the ocean with scopes.

Afterwards we visited Cannery Row, the inspiration for the Steinbeck book of the same name. All of the old canneries are now just a piece of history and the plants have become gift shops, restaurants and warehouses. The views of the beach, the endless horizons, blooming plants, cacti, fishing boats, yachts and homes is magnificent. Hotels and motels are in abundance.

In the afternoon we set out on a 45 minutes drive to Carmel and the Big Sur area. We saw twenty miles of beach on one side and mountains on the other side. We could not find Kim Novak but did see a grove of redwood trees. The mansions along the shore line are gated and have price tags probably in the tens of millions. On the way back to our hotel we tried to enter a 17 mile scenic drive but without success. The charge to enter the drive was $10 to see the Pebble Beach golf course.

Today we drove to Fisherman's Wharf which is now restaurants, etc. Perhaps it was for fishermen in it's heyday, but no longer. If the Dutch settlers in New Amsterdam had all of these beads and trinkets at their disposal, they could have bought far more than Manhattan Island. There were several whale watching excursions just off shore, but we passed.

Next to the wharf is a real fish market/plant wharf selling wholesale and retail. Zillions of sea gulls make the walkway hazardous. Seals were also abundant just off the pier along with otters awaiting a fish thrown off the boats. We saw groups of kayaks in the water just off shore but no activity on their part. Perhaps they were watching and photographing sea life.

Several museums are near the Cannery Row and wharf area. It is amazing to watch the film and slides of the cannery operations. Workers put in 10-12 hr. days unloading and processing fish and packing tin cans with sardines and other fish. During WWII there was a great demand from Europeans but most Americans never developed a taste for canned fish other than tuna. Eventually, the nearby ocean was depleted of these fish and the canneries closed.

After four miles of hiking around the peninsula we ended the day with a pizza at Louie Linguini's.