Monterey Peninsula Trip Wrap-Up

Day 3 dawned chilly and overcast. Not quite beach weather, and the beach had been on our itinerary that morning. We moved at a leisurely pace getting ready and finally left the hotel room at 11:00 with a new game plan.
Stop 1: Carmel Mission
Those of you who went to elementary school in California know all about the missions. This one was built in the late 1700s near the coast of Carmel. It is an architectural treat and even though our kids couldn't really conceive of something being 230 years old, it was a much older building than they had ever seen before. (The Mission asks for a donation--suggested $5 per , $1 per child.)
There was a wedding going on--I love being a wedding (we waited outside to ogle after the ceremony was over. Don't think that I plowed into the chapel with my noisy herd.) The flower s were darling, although one absolutely fell apart in a screaming tantrum halfway through the ceremony. Ah, children!
Once we had perused the gardens, the museum, and the chapel, (and visited the bathroom twice) we headed back to Monterey.
Stop #2: Fisherman's Wharf
This is a much like other Fisherman's Wharfs, with lots of touristy shops and cafes and restaurants serving fish and chips and clam chowder. There are also countless places offering whale watching, some even guarantee whale sightings. We decided to put off whale watching for another visit, especially since our warm clothes had all been worn by this point in the trip. I splurged calorie wise (not that I had eaten that righteously all weekend) and got a sourdough bowl of clam chowder at Old Fisherman's Grotto ($7 at the outside cafe). I highly recommend it--it was creamy, peppery, and not fishy tasting at all. I wanted to lick the bowl clean, but remembered how mortified my mother would be.The boys and Jared, not being seafood lovers, opted for bean burritos and a taco salad. Not quite traditional for Fisherman's Wharf, but it was just what they wanted, so who could complain? We also picked up some toffee cashews and almonds and some caramel corn here. YUM.
Stop #3 Dennis the Menace Park--again. It was definitely more crowded on Saturday and I was accosted by some ducks who thought I should share my caramel corn--other than that, it was just as fun as Friday. Nothing new to report.
Stop #4 Monterey Bay Aquarium--again. Why not, since we had purchased a membership? We revisited a few of our favorite exhibits in the early evening, when the crowds were starting to die down.
By the time we left the Aquarium, we decided to ditch our plans for another dinner in a restaurant. Jared dropped the kids and me back at our hotel and went over to Allegro Pizzaria and brought back yummy pizza. Meanwhile, I bathed everyone and got them ready for bed.
Sunday morning, we packed up, checked out, and attended an 12:00 Sacrament Meeting in Watsonville before heading home. We are already planning our next visit to the area. We loved it!

Monterey Peninsula, Day 2

So we woke up Friday morning and traipsed up to the breakfast room to see what qualified as continental breakfast (it turned out to be English muffins, cheap danish, Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Fuji apples, and orange juice. Adequate but not impressive.) I already missed the TiVo because it meant that we had to tolerate the cartoons that were on when we needed TV that morning, rather than letting the kids watch something we had taped on purpose because it didn't get on our nerves. So spoiled.
Once we were all ready, we set off for stop number 1: a Safeway where we could pick up some items for lunch, rather than buy lunch at the Aquarium. We didn't find a Safeway en route to Monterey, so we ended up at a corner market where I spent too much on a loaf of bread,a jar of peanut butter, dried apricots, and a bottle of honey. So much for saving money! Still, when I saw the long lines for $6 hot dogs at the aquarium's one and only food source, I was glad I didn't have to wait.
OK, we finally made it to the big destination for the day: The Monterey Bay Aquarium. This was something that our kids had been looking forward to for a long time. They have wonderful exhibits, mainly on marine life that is local to the area, but they also have a penguin exhibit and an otter exhibit which includes both sea otters (which are abundant on the rocky shore around the Monterey Peninsula) and river otters. They had a GORGEOUS Jellyfish exhibit which I really enjoyed from an aesthetic standpoint. They are so graceful and colorful and the exhibit was beautifully done. The boys loved petting the bat rays, seeing the sharks in the Outer Bay tank, and the exhibits designed for young children with hands on play (Otters, Splash Zone, and a Fins exhibit). If you have a large family, consider becoming a member of the Aquarium like we did. For $120, two s and their children can come back to the Aquarium for the next year for free, plus you get discounts at the Aquarium and other places around town like whale watching. A portion of that is tax deductible as a donation.
We left the Aquarium around 3:30, planning on returning the next day, and ready for a change of pace. After browsing through a few shops on Cannery Row, we left our parking space ($12 for the day or 75 cents per half hour) and went over to check out the Dennis the Menace Park. It's a free public park designed by Ketcham, the creator of the comic strip. It has lots of fun things to play on including this train engine (that's Jared, Ian, and Henry up on the very top--I got up there myself and it's kinda scary.)The boys loooooved the climbing wall. Henry was like a little spider; it took Kimball longer to get comfortable with it, but he was scaling the wall with ease by the time we left. Bronwen was just happy to get out of the stroller and roll around. When we finally tore them away from the park, everyone was hungry, so we headed over to Rosine's, which had been recommended by a friend. I had their Heavenly Squaw turkey sandwich and it was not only heavenly but enough for two days! Their desserts are amazing and we had a hard time choosing which one we were going to take back to the hotel. Stop on by if you're in Monterey.
Our kids did amazingly well that day, considering how much we did and how stimulating it all was. (Kimball did have a mini meltdown during dinner because he could smell Henry's chicken and it was all too much for him--I'm so grateful that I don't have the sensory issues that he deals with. He was able to finish his dinner in the quiet safety of the hotel room with no chicken around!) Any how, we all slept hard that night and woke up ready to go the next day.
Tune in next time for Day 3!

Monterey Peninsula, Day 1

We are back from our vacation and we had such a great time that I'm going to share our itinerary, one day at a time. If you are looking for a great family vacation in California, this is definitely one to consider. Jared & I actually honeymooned in Carmel-by-the-Sea and San Francisco, but this was our first time back to the Central Coast since then.
Day 1:
We got up and got out the door as quickly as we could. I was impressed that we were on the road before 9 am, considering we slept until 7:30 (it had been a late night getting ready)--Jared couldn't understand what took so long! I guess I just wanted to do unnecessary things like wash my hair and feed the baby before we left;)!
First Stop: Mystery Spot, Santa Cruz
Jared had heard about this tourist destination that appears to be a gravitational anomaly. In this picture, Kimball is holding the level we brought (OK, so we're total science nerds) so that the level is, er, level. Yet it appears that it is at an extreme angle. Another bizarre demonstration that they do there is to have two people of equal height stand on level ground, yet on one side the person looks significantly taller than the other. Our picture below shows Kimball and Henry, who are actually about six inches apart in height, and they are standing on level ground.
Here's a shot of Jared standing up straight (although I was afraid that he might drop the baby.)

OK, so we left the Mystery spot $25 poorer--they charge $5 to park and $5 for each visitor over 3. It was kinda cool, but worth the money????
Next Stop: Carmel Inn & Suites
We looked long and hard for a place we could stay with four kids. This charming little inn had a suite with a living room with a somewhat shabby day bed and a separate bedroom with a king size bed. Although it was a far cry from Embassy Suites, they did have a continental breakfast that was good enough to satisfy kids, a chilly pool, and the price was significantly better than the Monterey EB--by almost 50%. Plus, we got to stay in Carmel-by-the-Sea, which is MUCH more charming than anything else around. We checked in and Jared crashed for a power nap while I took the kids swimming (only Henry did anything more than get his toes wet, since the outside temperature was about 60 degrees and the pool wasn't more than 75.)
Next Stop: Point Lobos
After the power nap, we headed over to Point Lobos, just south of Carmel for a little hiking. (Entrance Fee $9) The views were breathtaking and the boys loved both the hike over rocks to the water's edge, the hike over the cliffs, and the hike through the woods. I kept snapping pictures. Here are a few highlights:
After the hikes, we dashed back to the hotel to change into something less grubby and then headed off to Lugano for dinner. It was a charming little Swiss bistro. They seated us in a back corner of the restaurant where we could enjoy the accordion music and not be too irritating to the other guests with our brood. The food was yummy--especially Jared's shnitzel and spaetzli. We made a deal with our boys that if they used their best restaurant manners and ate their dinners, we'd get dessert, so we shared a chocolate fondue at the end. How do you say yummy in German?