Monterey Peninsula, June 23-29

The Monterey Peninsula, especially Pacific Grove, Carmel, and Monterey are not RV friendly, especially not Big Rig friendly, which is why the Monterey Elks is a the only affordable place to stay. Although the parking lot is not very level, they have upgraded the electric so there are now 12 50amp sites. The "donation" of $25.00 a night is well worth it, especially if you consider the Fairgrounds or the Monterey Dunes RV in Marina at $50-$70.00 per night. The Monterey Elks RV parking was the fullest I have seen since I began staying there over 6 years ago.  They do have a a gym and showers and the Elks is within walking distance to downtown (about 2 miles) and to a major shopping Mall. My mother's 95th birthday is July 5, during the 4th of July weekend.  For this reason we opted to celebrate Mom's birthday a little early and keep it  low key.

I did take long walks on Asilomar Beach, my very favorite beach in the area. Part of the beach is on Asilomar State Park land, but a major part is on private Pebble Beach Corporation and dog friendly.  It is extremely hard to keep Tara out of the water, I don't even try.  She enjoys it so much.

One evening we walked down to the Monterey Wharf #1 and watched to sea otters, kayakers, and tourist boats come and go. We enjoyed samples of clam chowder which various restaurants offer as enticements to their restaurant.  My favorite place is on Wharf #2 which is where the commercial fishing boats come in but it also the place of my favorite restaurant, the Sand Bar, which is a local favorite and  serves the best melt in your mouth calamari appetizer which I always order as my main entree.

 This little guy put on quite a show. It's hard to believe these Sea Otters were almost extinct to the Monterey Bay but are now growing in population.

Of course a visit to the Monterey Peninsula is never complete without a trip to the world renown Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Entrance fees are a little pricey, but well worth it.  Fortunately, my family has been an aquarium member since it opened and we usually get a few guest passes which makes our stay pleasant as we don't feel like we have to stay all day and get our money's worth.  The best time to go is very early in the morning or late in the day.  We went early, 9:30, and were done and ready to leave by 12:00 when it was getting really crowded.

The main attraction are Sea Otters and sharks.  I took quite a few photos of the sea otters but they were having so much fun splashing on the windows that the photos really didn't turn out well.  What was really mesmerizing were the schools of anchovies putting on a kaleidoscope show.  They travel in a tight school and make the most interesting formations.

 The jelly fish are another very popular and colorful attractions.

 You can't beat the cute penguins.  This one just loved to pose for me.

Of course the whole reason for our week in Monterey was to celebrate Mom's birthday.  I had arranged for a low key open reception /birthday celebration at  Canterbury Woods on Saturday. Mom has been a resident in this life care institution since she and dad moved in in 1988.  I think she is one  of one or two residents  who have lived there over 25 years.   Wow! How those senior citizens like to party and enjoy champagne and cake.  I think there was over 60 attending and most of the cake and champagne was gone!

On Sunday, my brother's family, all his daughters, grandchildren, as well as  and two of my sons took mom out for Pizza. Pizza you say? Surly grandma deserves more than Pizza.  Not so.  Pizza and beer is one of her favorite foods.  She usually can't wait until she has a visitor to take her out for Pizza and beer! The International Cuisine in down town Pacific Grove did a wonderful job of accommodating my whole family (there were 19) for pizza beer.  It is a family venue and casual. They do serve other things such as a killer clam chowder and calamari .  Great place for an informal gathering.

Alas,our time has ended inMonterey for the time being and we are heading back to the heat.  Next stop will be Chico. Hot. Hot. Hot. Its suppose to be in the triple digits!  If there are no hook ups at the Elks Lodge we'll probably move on but are hoping to stay through the crazy 4th of July weekend as we didn't plan ahead.  All the cooler places are full.