Monterey

Jon needed to be in Los Angeles the week after we were in San Francisco, so instead of flying we decided to drive down the coast via the scenic route. We chose to have overnight stays along the way in Monterey and Santa Barbara. Unfortunately we only got one night in each place, so by the time we arrived it was time for dinner and then bedtime for Adelaide, so we didn’t get to explore very much. We had to leave fairly early the next morning to get on the road to our next destination, so not much time for the sites.

The only thing I really wanted to do in Monterey was see the sea lions (I remember them from a trip there as a kid), but the first place we went turned out to have a whopping zero sea lions. We were literally on our way out of town when a quick search suggested a nearby pier might have some sea lions. As we’re walking to the end of the pier we were still unsure if we’d walk away without seeing any once again. Then I heard a sound off the side of the pier and we all looked over to see two sea lions snuggling on a rock. We were just a few feet above them, and I would have been happy if that’s all we got to see. It was pretty awesome to see this beautiful creature so close up.

We kept walking to the end of the pier where we saw hundreds of sea lions. They were sleeping on rocks, climbing all over each other, playing in the water.

They were also right up against the fence. See that tail sticking out?

Yea, Adelaide did too.

Our next stop was Santa Barbara, which I literally have zero pictures of. We only got to see a tiny bit of the town, but I would seriously move there in a heartbeat. We stayed at The Canary hotel, which I can’t recommend enough. After driving six hours with a toddler we walk in and the front desk staff asks if we’d like a glass of wine.

And also, the wine reception starts in fifteen minutes. God bless you, child.

Also worth noting is the dinner we had a few blocks from the hotel, at Pascucci. That was some good Italian.

Seriously. I dream about it.

Regularly.