We arrived in Monterey on December 23, and stayed there until January 1, waiting for good weather. We had an absolutely wonderful stay, and spent both Christmas and New Year’s Eve there.
We had a lot of fun exploring Monterey. We went sea kayaking along the waterfront and Cannery Row, where we saw sea otters, harbor seals, and sea lions and coasted above kelp beds.
We biked along the waterfront past Lover’s Point just as the sun was setting. We went on a walking tour of the historical downtown of Monterey, guided by a state park ranger. We had lots of lovely walks along the waterfront, exploring Cannery Row, the fisherman’s pier and the commercial fishing wharf.
One day when we were walking along the commercial fishing wharf we saw sea lions resting on the beams of the pier below us. We heard a sea lion barking from below us. I stuck my head down over the edge of the pier and barked back. The sea lion responded with a deep throated growl, so I must have offended it! 🙂 We visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which was quite spectacular. One of our favorite exhibits was a special exhibit on Baja California.
We had a wonderful Christmas together. We started the day with chocolate croissants and coffee, and gave each other little gifts.
The folks at the Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club were wonderful and allowed us to stay as their guest until New Year’s Eve. On New Year’s Eve, the yacht club informed us that a member needed to use the guest berth, so we moved to another slip in the harbor.