Coastal Getaway

Geoff and I took a little trip up the coast a couple weeks ago to Monterey. We were overdue for a little trip and were anxious to get some relaxation and escape from work. We left on a Thursday afternoon and came back Saturday evening. Here are some highlights of our trip:

We stayed in a little lodge in Pacific Grove, a small sleepy town on the edge of Monterey. I love Pacific Grove. It's easy to get around and has all the best rocky beaches, tidepools, and crashing waves...

(What looks like smog in the picture was actually a thick marine layer coming in.)

Pacific Grove also hosts the 17 mile drive, which is very scenic and very pretty. There are a bunch of stops along the drive for significant views and beaches. My favorite is Lone Cypress...

While on the drive, we saw the most incredible homes and stopped by Pebble Beach so that Geoff could fantasize about the day he will finally play the infamous golf course.

We couldn't be in Monterey and not go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium! I love going to aquariums (and working in them I guess, since I worked at the one in Long Beach for a while). My favorite exhibit is the kelp forest and the Outer Bay tank...

(Kelp forest)


(Outer Bay)

You can see how huge the Outer Bay tank is. Geoff is the shadow in the middle. The tank is so huge, I couldn't even begin to fit it in the picture.

We also ate a lot while in Monterey. Since the last time we were there just over two years ago, they opened up a little patisserie called Austino's from across the aquarium, on Cannery Row. We ate there and can tell you that they have the best sandwiches and pastries! Their strawberry tarts looked delicious and I had to have one...

Later that day, we went to Fisherman's Wharf and had clam chowder at Old Fisherman's Grotto. They have the best clam chowder EVER. There are a bunch of other restaurants along the wharf that also serve clam chowder, and they all compete with each other, but hands-down this place is the best. I've been raving about it to Geoff forever and last time we were there, he didn't get a chance to eat it. This time, I made sure he tasted it. His verdict? He loved it! He thought it was really good. Not only did he eat his, but he also ate half of mine...

The Saturday we were headed home, we decided to take Highway 1 all the way down and make a few stops along the way. Our first stop was in Big Sur, which is only 45 minutes from Monterey. We stopped at Pfeiffer State Park and took a small hike to see Big Sur's famous waterfall and view of the ocean...

(The waterfall is to the left, in the shadows. Kind of hard to see in picture.)

This view is absolutely breathtaking. The beach is untouched, since it's bordered by cliffs and impossible to get down to. While we were there, we spotted a couple of grey whales off the coast. I could stay all day at this place!

(P.S., I hate that Geoff grew out his goatee again!)

After Big Sur, we made another stop at a beach near Morro Bay to see the elephant seals...

(You can see a little smile on his face.)

After the seals, our camera died, so we couldn't take pictures of our stop in Santa Barbara. We didn't really do anything there, so I guess it didn't matter.

Our whole trip was wonderful and really refreshed us. I hope not too much time goes by where we can go on another getaway. I'm hoping next time we'll head up to San Francisco!