A family visit to Monterey, California

Most travelers to California come to the big cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Some may explore Santa Barbara as well, but another city worth a visit is Monterey. Famous for its aquarium, the city is also home to historic Cannery Row and has some of the best whale watching in California.

Getting there and getting around

Monterey is located on the coast of California just 125 miles south of San Francisco. The journey there takes you along the Peninsula of the Bay Area, through the heart of the Silicon Valley in Palo Alto and San Jose, and past the garlic fields of Gilroy. It is a beautiful way to see this section of California and you end in picturesque and historic Monterey.

Being much smaller than San Francisco or LA, traveling within Monterey is simple. We walked along the recreational trail from our hotel to the aquarium and it was a beautiful stroll. Our four-year-old got a bit tired at the end, so it was a little hard for him, but he managed.

After our day at the aquarium we took the free trolley back to our hotel. Yep, I said free. After trekking all day as we looked at fish, it was nice to have a lift back to where we began. The trolley runs both ways, all day, so we could have taken it to the aquarium if we chose.

Where to stay in Monterey

We stayed at the Monterey Marriott near the center of the downtown area. We booked through an on-line booking service and weren’t disappointed. The room was big enough for our five-person family (with our littlest sleeping on two chairs pushed together). There was no fridge in the room, but we weren’t bothered by this. The pool in the middle of the interior courtyard was all my boys cared about. It wasn’t huge, but big enough to exhaust our boys, which was all I cared about!

Upon check-in our three boys were presented with a scavenger hunt that consisted of a sheet of paper with five questions they needed to answer before they got a prize. Our boys thought this was terrific and willingly helped each other to complete it as quickly as possible. When they finished, they were thrilled to receive a package containing a beach ball, rubber ducky, tattoos, and small stuffed animal. Wow! What an unexpected treat.

Other hotels along Cannery Row, closer to the aquarium and the ocean, may be more appealing to some, but can be more expensive. We really wanted a hotel with a pool and many of the smaller hotels didn’t have one. We were pleased with our location, especially since a fun, weekly event happened to be going on just blocks away from where we were staying.

Monterey’s Farmer’s Market

Every Tuesday evening, the local growers, restaurants, and merchants bring their wares to downtown Monterey to their Farmer’s Market. We strolled, sampled homemade root beer, eyed silver jewelry, and stuffed kettle corn in our mouths. The selection of local vegetables, fruits, flowers and plants was outstanding. It doesn’t matter what type of food you may be hungry for, it could be found somewhere on the street: sushi, Mexican, BBQ, Italian,Greek, Indian, and of course, seafood were all available. We felt lucky we happened to be staying so close and during the week when this happened.

Dennis the Menace Park

Rivaling the aquarium in my sons memories of our trip, the massive Dennis the Menace Park is a must-see if you have active children who love to play outside (this describes almost all children, right?). Named for the cartoon that still makes my boys smile on Sundays, this park is unlike any public park I have ever seen. There is a loooong roller slide, a suspension bridge, tunnels, a maze, climbing wall, and an old steam engine.  We spent hours with our boys on the equipment as we slid, climbed, ran and took as many photos as we could.

Our boys loved the retired steam engine the most and explored every square inch of this massive piece of equipment. My husband and I sat in the shade and enjoyed watching our boys climb. Even though this engine in not a specially-designed piece of playground equipment, it is allowed in the park and a favorite spot for many of the children, including our boys. They started our time at the park there and ended there as well.

Eileen Calandro is the Chief Mom Connector of Mom Central and shares her other travel adventures, stories, and thoughts on her blog: calandroclan.com.

Eileen Calandro