Day 1 - Thu, Mar 16, 2000 Last updated: 8/2/00 7:30pm CT
In March ’00, we went to Monterey California. I went for a software developer’s conference in San Jose, so we flew out a couple of days early to explore Monterey. We also stopped at Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
We flew from O’Hare to San Jose, rented this dumpy little car, and drove (about 1.5 to 2 hours) to Monterey.
We stayed at the Best Western Victorian Inn, about a block from Cannery Row. It was nice, clean and located near things we wanted to see (but watch out, weekend rates are double the weekday rates). It was about 2 blocks from the bay. It had a fireplace and a good (free) continental breakfast with fresh fruits and breads. The rooms weren’t the quietest, but not bad. Hearing the sea gulls in the morning was kinda cool.
We spent most of the first afternoon walking around Cannery Row and the Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s a tourist area with many shops and restaurants. The dolphin statue was in front of the Monterey Bay Inn ($$$$). We did not stay there.
The pier behind Denise is where we got some great otter entertainment on day 3.
Dinner was at Domenico’s on the wharf. Over priced, and not that great. I ordered the paella, but it was nothing like the wonderful paella down in New Orleans (Jacmel Inn, Hammond, LA).
We attempted to catch the sunset over the Pacific at Carmel Beach, but it was cloudy. Better luck tomorrow.