Whale Watching in Monterey, CA

One of my favorite things to do in Monterey was to go whale watching.  It wasn't always cheap, but I loved seeing the seals, the birds, the dolphins, the whales.  And even if we didn't see much in terms of aquatic wildlife, it was always exciting to just be on the ocean, feeling the breeze, smelling the sea air.

The ride out was usually a nice way to see some seals and other boaters.  You also got some great views of the coast line.  It usually took about 15-20 minutes to get to where the whales were, but you never knew what you would see on the way.  

On all of my trips out, I have to say I never actually saw a whale breach or jump, but I got to get pretty close to them.  We saw a small school of dolphins once, and saw blue whale, gray whales, and humpback whales.

  

 

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Point Pinos, CA

I don't remember when we first went to Point Pinos, but it was a nice place to drive out, park, and walk along the shore.  It was more rocky, and there wasn't much sand there (it was covered by crushed shells), but there were tidepools everywhere, filled with hermit crabs.  There was a light house just up from the shore.  The beach there was rarely crowded, and you could sometimes see whales off the coast.

A view of the Pt. Pinos lighthouse (from a whale watching trip)

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A Drive Along Big Sur, Bixby Canyon Bridge, CA

After we had been living in Monterey for a while, we took off and drove south on Highway 1, for no reason other than to just see the sights and the rugged shoreline that it followed.  If you've ever drive that highway, you know what I mean.  It follows the coast of California for miles.  We stopped a lot sooner than we intended, and I had a much worse camera back then, but here are a few of the views from our drive, and mainly from our stop at Bixby Canyon Bridge.

  

  

  

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Point Lobos State Reserve, CA

Point Lobos was probably one of my favorite places to go during our entire stay in Monterey.  Few other places allow you to see and experience so many landscapes in a single location: the beaches, the rocky shores, the pine forests, the rugged, dry cypress terrain.

I spent many afternoons walking the trails and taking pictures while Nate hovered around the textbooks.  During this trip, we Elena and Madeline had come to visit, so the three of us set out for an afternoon of hiking.   We made a full trek around the park, parking in the free parking area along side the road, near the park entrance.  We walked up the main trail and followed the Carmelo Meadow Trail until we reached Whaler's Cove.

 

Whale skeleton on display at Whalers Cabin

We took the Granite Point trail along the cove and stopped by the Whaler's Cabin.  Inside were displays on the history of the park and the area, and outside they had whale bones on display.

We continued to follow the trail around Blue Fish cove and the outer edge of the park.   The scenery is simply gorgeous: rocky shores, bright blue waters, pine and cypress.

  

  

We continued along the outer edge of the park until we made our way to the South Shore trail.  This area is far less wooded, but still quite rocky.

Sea urchins in one of the tide pools

We stopped and climbed on some of the rocks, spotting a seal sunning itself.  On this trip, we also stumbled upon a bunch of bright purple sea urchins in one of the pools.

China Cove

We continued along the trail until we reached China cove.  I think it's one of the most beautiful spots in the park.  There's a little cave that you can really see in my picture, a sandy beach, and the water is shallow and fades from emerald to blue.

From there we followed the trail until we reached the larger beach on the other side of the cove.  We paused for a few minutes then took the South Plateau trail back to the entrance and headed home from a long day of hiking!

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Asilomar, CA

One of the many beaches near the Monterey area, Asilomar was often a place we took friends and family.  Though there were few shells, the rocks harbored tons of small crabs and other small sea life.

The rugged shores were pretty, though not close enough that we went often.  It nevertheless provided a different atmosphere from the flat beaches near the city, and even on dreary days, provided a nice place to walk and watch the waves crash against the shore.

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Monterey Bay Aquarium, CA

We visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium twice during our stay in California, and while it's not quite the same as the bigger parks (say Sea World), it's definitely an interesting place to visit.  The jellyfish exhibit is particularly interesting and colorful, and just outside of the aquarium, there is a look out point where you can sometimes see whales passing by, a beach, and a pier where starfish of many colors cling to the rocks.  Rather than talk on and on about the exhibits, I thought I'd just bulk post the photos. It made for a nice afternoon, especially when combined with visiting the tourist shops on Cannery Row.

  

  

  

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San Francisco, CA

This is one trip where, regrettably, I have no photos (or if I do I can't find them).  We took off one weekend and drove to San Francisco, following Highway 1 up the coast the entire way.  It was beautiful, but a rough drive (though not quite as bad as the hills once we reached the city!).

We parked and walked to Pier 39, where we took in sites of Alcatraz.  We stopped and saw the sea lions, and Nate got a bowl of clam chowder in sour dough.  From there, we walked up to Ghirardelli square, where we enjoyed the best (and probably most expensive) ice cream sundaes I've ever had.

It was a short trip, but it was a nice little break from Monterey.

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Fisherman's Wharf, Monterey, CA

Fisherman's Wharf was probably the biggest tourist trap in all of Monterey, but it was also a pretty fun place to visit.  You could walk along the pier and visit all of the little touristy shops, sign up for the fishing and whale watching tours, or just get a great view of the beach and rocky shores.  There's even a little path along the left side of the entrance that leads towards Cannery Row and follows the shore the whole way.

I found that a lot of local wildlife hung around there as well (probably because of all of the fresh fish coming in on a daily basis).  The seals were always at the wharf.  One day I also got to see a sea otter (the emblem of Monterey) enjoying its breakfast there.  You could rarely spy whales or dolphins from there, but other creatures, like starfish, could always be seen clinging to the legs of the docks.  All in all it was a pretty fun place for a visit - and for some Christmas shopping.

I've already posted some pics of the wharf and of our whale watching adventures, but here are a few more snapshots of the animals at the wharf.

  

  

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Henry Cowell State Park, CA

While staying in California, we decided to take a random weekend trip up to see the redwoods.  Granted, it wasn't the biggest park, but seeing the trees was impressive nonetheless.  It's one of those things that you really don't grasp the scope of until you are there in person, and it's only when you're standing at the base of the trees that you realize how truly massive they are.

    

    

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