I hadn’t been to Monterey or the Monterey Bay Aquarium in…well, suffice it to say, it was a long time, so the trip I took with El Hub last weekend was a big treat. We saw it as what will probably be our last vacation-y hurrah before Baby Girl arrives in March, so we made the drive south on Friday.
The drive took about three hours. Last time we went, we didn’t have Yelp to help us find places to eat, and we didn’t have GPS on our phones, which really helps when it comes to finding restaurants (and your hotel), so this time I think we discovered a whole bunch of neat places, nooks and crannies that we didn’t even know existed! There’s so much more to see and do in and around Monterey and nearby Carmel (including a seemingly endless number of cute shops) than I thought. If you live in California, or if you’ll be visiting, I really hope you check it out. It was one of the funnest, most interesting and tasty trips I’ve taken in years.
The food? The seafood!? HOLY MACKEREL! (Haha, bad pun intended.) Talk about good eats, and it generally seemed to be more affordable than the fresh seafood I find up here near San Francisco.
And then there’s the incredible aquarium! In another life, I think I was a marine biologist/veterinarian. Those dang sea otters are some of the cutest critters in the world, the way they play with each other and roll around? I CAN’T EVEN TAKE HOW CUTE THEY ARE! I mean, they have SERIOUS four-legged modeling potential. Tabs should be advised.
Here are some pics from the trip, which was just a couple days from Friday to Sunday. On our last day, we also stopped by Carmel (Clint Eastwood used to be the mayor), which is another small town right next to Monterey.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
The seafood looks incredible! Carmel has been on my list for so long, so much lust right now.
You are so cute! Almost as cute as the otters! 😉
I’m definitely not a seafood fan, but the ocean is beautiful and it looks like you had a great time! No tabby magnets though?
Seeing those pictures made me miss California so much! And Monterey Bay will always have a special place in my heart because it’s where I got SCUBA certified. I think Monterey is a pretty family friendly place so when baby girl is old enough you guys can take a family trip there, screw Disney!
I’m so glad that you had a nice trip.
Thank you for sharing. It looks beautiful up there! It’s been so so long since I’ve been up to Monterey and Carmel. When we head up north for a short vacation, we usually drive to Morro Bay and the San Luis Obispo area. Maybe next time we should keep driving a few more hours instead ?
I haven’t been down to Monterey since they got rid of the Pebble Beach horse shows a few years back. So many good restaurants to eat in down that way. I love the otters! Those fish tacos look absolutely yummy! I shouldn’t have read this so late at night, now I’m hungry all over again.
Glad you and your husband had a good trip!
Looks like you had a blast! I went to the aquarium last year when I was still living in SF, such a cool place to spend the day 🙂 Loving that little baby bump btw!
You look so happy and radiant! 🙂
Yay! I’ve actually been to the Monterey Aquarium. It’s such a wonderful place. Did you see the seahorse section? The way the seahorse moves is so cute. Also the way the little shrimp “walk”. 🙂
Happy to read you had fun.
Those food pics got me drooling. . U r one heck of a chic n glowing pregnant lady.. i loooove aquariums especially the dolphins n jelly fish. .enjoy!
Looks like you guys had FUN! 🙂
Carmel looks like such a cute place to explore!
So glad you were able to get away! Looks like a fun place to visit. I always love pics of food. Everything looks so yummy! Can’t beat fresh seafood. We will be in California sometime this year. My sister-in-law moved to Oceanside so we will be visiting her.
oh my gosh I want to go there!!!
We have Coney Island but the food looks better at Monterey Bay.
I love your photos! Monterey and Carmel are great places to visit 🙂
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Stop making me miss California!
Yes, otters are one of the cutest things ever. I used to hand feed them in the summer when I’d go to Oregon with my at the time bestie! We’d feed them and they would come in the house from the sea and romp around. They would also go in the yard and laze about the rocks or jump off the dock into the lake and hang out. Her grandparents had a nice house right on the coast that backed up to a lake! Best of both of both worlds!
Great shots! The grilled artichoke looks amazeballs as do the fish tacos! Cute towns 🙂
Looks so fun!!! That food looks AMAZING!!!
We were in that area this past September. Sea Harvest Restaurant was amazing and the prices really reasonable. Our waitress was great. She brought us out a free appetizer because she lost our order and couldn’t remember what we had ordered. And the Monterey Aquarium is amazing! We ended up buying a membership so that we could visit everyday. It was more cost effective than paying the admission for each day. One of the best vacations of my life! BTW, about a week ago a wild otter gave birth in the aquarium’s tidal pool. The pictures and periscope were awesome!
Looks like so much fun! Glad you guys were able to get away. I just love that town, I ate my weight in crab the last time I was there. 🙂 We’re going to a wedding in Big Sur in June and I can’t wait!