Going to Monterey, CA on Wed for business. I’ll have evenings and Sat to myself. Any suggestions on places to go, things to see or do while I’m there?
Thanks!
-RD62
The Bay Aquarium is a start, the DLI and Maritime museums are good to kill an afternoon.
Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove is worth the drive. If you want to kill an entire day and sunburn the tops of your feet, renting a Kayak for the day and tooling around the bay is actually quite fun - Sea Lions get quite close, and the forests of jellies are pretty cool to watch.
Friday and Saturday the bars downtown will be packed with language students - if enjoy sloshed servicemembers then it’s an experience. There are lots of very good Chinese restaurants and sushi bars.
I hear the shore diving is excellent. I hear it’s full of kelp and cold though.
The Sardine Factory is an excellent restaurant, and the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company is pretty cool.
I never done much there that was not motorcycle related, I’ve always been there during the races at Laguna Seca.
Same here, first time for AMA at Laguna was 2000. We took out bikes out had an amazing time. All the stuff I know out there is more of a bike type destination. Check out Cannery Row and some of the other touristy places.
I used to eat in a little Italian restaurant in Boise which had posters from about every year imaginable from the “Monterrey Wine Festival” on the walls. I’d sit there and have a nice meal and a glass or two of vino and wonder what Monterrey was like. Please post a review of your tip. Ever since, I’ve always wanted to go and check the place out but have never had the chance to do so, let us live a little vicariously through your travels.
You really should take a drive on “17 Mile Drive” around Pebble Beach (see Seal Beach), see Cyprus Point and take the photo. If you are looking to get away from the Language Students…dinner and drinks at The Hogg’s Breath Inn which is owned by Clint Eastwood and he comes in there sometimes and plays piano. Possibly the 3 nicest golf courses in the US are there, but I think you can only get on Pebble Beach…Spy Glass and Cypress are members only. When I lived there I spent alot of time on the Pebble Beach course (at night, drunk with a girl I don’t play golf :p)
Cannery Row has already been mentioned, but if you get into history, one of the old Spanish missions that dot the entire state is in Carmel, just a bit south. Clint was actually the mayor of Carmel in the 80s, and I’ve always thought it a neat town, mission notwithstanding.
Fantastic hiking and photographic possibilities within the tidal pools and everything else around Point Lobos State Reserve.
Coastal California can be, in my mind, divided up into good and bad parts.
–From the Mexico border to just north of Camp Pendleton is great.
–From there to about Santa Barbara is just unlivable (you can feel yourself get stupider and shallower just getting off a plane at LAX).
–From there to Monterey is pretty damned cool, for the most part.
–Everything north of Santa Cruz is flamers, hippies and ecoterrorists, and smells of patchouli and lunacy. There be monsters, yarrr.
I prefer Carmel over Monterey anyday…if you have the option to get there to relax.
But within Monterey:
The Defense Language Institute for all branches of the military is there.
The diving is good, a dry suit is not a necessity, visibility can suck from time to time.
Trying to get to the south SF Bay Area:
Peak traffic is horrible on the 1-N. So plan accordingly on this two-lane highway.
Taking the 1 to the 152>101 is almost always as fast if not faster because of traffic.
I dont know if they still have the Samurai Exhibit running in SF. I went to it before I left and it was a enjoyable time.
If you can take a tour of Hearst Castle. Cool stuff.
Consider driving up to my home town, Santa Cruz, there are hippies but the surfing is amazing to watch.
DONT miss going to Point Lobos State Park just south of town. Beautiful seashore trails w/cliffs, crabs, tide pools and crashing waves. Awesome natural spot.
Carmel and the Aquarium are solid too. Go first thing in the morning before the crowd arrives at the Aquarium.
Aquarium
Carmel beach
Old Highway 1-The Giant sequoia’s are humbling
Pt. Lobos as well.
Skip Barber has a driving school at Laguna Raceway. Those are great fun
Yeah, you truly need to ride/drive Laguna Seca to appreciate the cork screw. If you’ve never seen it in person it will be surprising how much of a drop top to bottom it really is. What an amazing track.
i can’t believed no one mentions mission ranch brunch buffet on sunday. if you wanna slow down your sunday… or having some nice saturday night dinner… then mission ranch (owned by clint eastwood) is the place to go… its about a few minutes drive from monterrey bay.