Odds & Ends - The Monterey Bay Coast and Beyond

The drive on Highway 1 from Monterey to Santa Cruz offers some interesting spots to stop for a quick bite to eat or just to explore. Here are a few that I visited and some others I missed but that are worth a mention.

Castroville

This town is "The Artichoke Capital of the World". There is an Artichoke Festival every year with all kinds of activities and the crowning of the Artichoke Queen. Guess who the very first Artichoke Queen was in 1948? None other than Norma Jean Mortenson, better known as Marilyn Monroe!  

https://artichokefestival.org/

A great place to eat in Castroville is Phil's Fish Market & Eatery. If you love seafood like I do this is the place to go. There is also the Giant Artichoke Restaurant and a Japanese restaurant.

                     http://www.philsfishmarket.com/

Moss Landing

I only drove through this town so I can't tell you too much. It has a beach - Moss Landing State Beach but from information that I read, there are dangerous rip currents so swimming is not safe. There is a big power plant that you pass when driving through. 

Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve is a few miles east of Moss Landing. It is a coastal wetland, a large tidal salt marsh with an abundance of wildlife. There is  a visitor center, picnic areas, a boardwalk and trails. I did not get a chance to visit the reserve but I think it is worth a visit. 

As you leave Moss Landing you will see J & S Surplus, a military surplus store. I did go into the store and look around but I loved the outside more as you can see in the photo.

Aptos

OK - In Aptos I did only one thing. Eat ice cream. Marianne's Ice Cream is a small ice cream shop but they have amazing flavors. And the ice cream is "hand-crafted". Yum! Delicious.

Marianne's also has 2 shops in Santa Cruz.

https://mariannesicecream.com/

The next stop was Santa Cruz. Check out my previous post on Santa Cruz.

Now, let's head south on Highway 1 from Monterey. This takes you through Carmel-By-The-Sea to Big Sur, a beautiful, scenic drive along the coast.

As you drive down the coast you will see many state parks. There is the Big Sur area where there are amazing beaches, state parks and breathtaking scenery.

Close to San Simeon is Hearst Castle. What an unbelievable place! It is hard to believe one person could possess all that opulence. It really is extravagance in the extreme.

View from the drive below

                        

      
                     

As you can see there is so much to do and see in this short stretch of coastline. Something for every taste. Anyone who loves the ocean this coastal drive is one of the best. It is definitely some of the most spectacular scenery I have experienced.

Monterey Bay, California Part 2

Coastal Trail, Cannery Row, Old Fisherman's Wharf

In the first part of this series on Monterey Bay, the subject was the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I would like to add one more bit about the aquarium. I mentioned the sea otters that you can spot in the water of the bay from the outside deck. But there are also sea otters inside the aquarium. There is a show a few times a day where the caretakers play with the otters. It is fun to watch.

When you leave the aquarium, turn right and go a few blocks on the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail and you will come to the Harbor Seal Observation Area. There is a chain link fence and if you look down at the beach you will see many, many harbor seals lying there. It is quite a sight. As we stood there viewing them a man on a bike came by and asked if anyone had questions about the seals. They actually have a Facebook Page - The Harbor Seals of Pacific Grove. They are protected by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the City of Pacific Grove. They even have certain restrictions during pupping season. They are nocturnal creatures, sleeping on the beach during the day, making for excellent viewing opportunities. 

The coastal trail runs through Pacific Grove with some nice viewing areas and parks along the way. If you travel in the other direction from the aquarium, into Monterey, Cannery Row is along the coast and the trail actually is on the inland side of it until the end of Cannery Row. Then it is along the coast again. The trail is 18 miles long from Pacific Grove to Castroville but I did not explore the whole length. In fact I only walked through Pacific Grove and to the end of Cannery Row in Monterey. But you can't beat it if you like to be near the ocean.

  

     

If you want more than nature and the outdoors, Cannery Row has shops and restaurants. It can get very busy on weekends. It is a cool place to visit just because of it's history and location. It is on the to-do list if you visit Monterey.

Next up is Old Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey. There is a good choice of restaurants with some great seafood. There are also other shops and of course a great view. It is nice to go there for an afternoon to have a meal, walk the wharf and take in the sea breeze. Below is a photo of the delicious food we had on our visit there.

              

There is so much to see and do in this region of California. I only covered the main areas.

Next time we will venture into Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach on the Monterey Peninsula. 

View of Bay