I wanted to go to Monterey County in California to see the sea lions and adorable otters—but ended up seeing so much more.
Courtesy of See Monterey
Famous for its Monterey Bay Aquarium and Pebble Beach resort and golf course, this region along the Pacific Ocean offers a diverse array of entertainment, shopping, and dining options along with sensational recreational activities. My bestie and I enjoyed a girls’ trip to the area earlier this year as part of an invitation from the See Monterey tourism organization. Sun Country Airlines had just added direct flights from MSP to Monterey Regional Airport for an easy and affordable (less than $200 roundtrip) getaway to the West Coast. The airline is testing the market with those direct flights available into November, and hopefully returning again in the spring.
While the direct flight is a bonus, we would have been delighted by the beautiful scenery and temperate weather of Monterey County anyway. From kayaking to an e-bike tour, alfresco dining to wine tastings, we wanted to hit the highlights while also relaxing a bit. We accomplished both. Here’s a suggested itinerary for your fun in the sun.
Amy Nelson
Day 1: Our flight out was scheduled about 2:30 p.m., conveniently allowing me to work a half-day in the morning and allowing for a decent amount of time to get to our hotel in Carmel, check in, and still do dinner and grab a drink that evening. We opted to Uber during our vacation, fearing parking problems and driving stress, but, in hindsight, I think renting a car would be a wiser choice. Don’t get me wrong—we learned a lot of history and inside info from our predominately female drivers, but also didn’t have the freedom to drive the scenic Highway 1 during our visit. California is car-centric, we realized more and more, and sometimes we couldn’t even connect with an Uber driver to shuttle us back. The request dropped, and we were stuck waiting.
Our first night accommodations were at the exquisite Le Petit Pali, a lovely upscale inn along trendy Carmel-by-the-Sea. The property has been redone recently with a center courtyard that many of us gathered at for happy hour and a scheduled wine tasting, but don’t mistake it for the other property a few blocks away under the same ownership. The boutique hotel had my favorite SMEG appliances and a gas fireplace we never considered lighting. Later, we walked a block over to dinner at Nicolás Cocina de Herencia for Mexican fare and then to the famous Bud’s Bar for a nightcap. We acted like royalty and admired the wedding party celebrating in the bar (on a Thursday night?) before heading back to the hotel.
Day 2: The next morning, we walked the blocks of charming and fairy tale-like Carmel-by-the-Sea streets to breakfast at El Bistro by the Sea, where the server told us there was a breakfast menu, a cocktail menu, and a secret Instagram menu. Who doesn’t love a secret, insider-y tip, even if it’s just a $18 chilaquiles dish? I picked the avocado toast from the main menu instead. El Bistro was more Mexican fare—I was sensing a trend here—and the rest of our trip was dominated by the cuisine combined with seafood dishes.
After breakfast, we made the foolish decision to take the communal bikes from Le Petit Pali to our next adventure, a three-hour e-bike tour of the area. The downhill ride from the hotel to Big Sur Adventures was easy, but the return ride was painful, mainly because I was convinced we’d be able to charm someone into driving us back to the hotel but all three requests of the outfitter, subsequent wine tasting and even local bike shop were denied. I’ll admit I was quite surprised at the refusals, expecting some Minnesota Nice hospitality.
The e-bike tour was a blast—so much so that I ended up buying an e-bike a few months later. Our group of six, plus our guide, was speedy, and I felt a bit competitive to keep up while everyone was maxing out at 40 mph. For me, the highlight was a visit to Pebble Beach resort, buying my husband a divot tool at the gift shop and checking out the golf course club for a quick panorama photo.
After our return to the e-bike outfitter, we hopped on our analog pedal bikes to ride the quarter mile to a wine tasting at LadySomm and then an arduous uphill 1-mile return trip to the hotel. I was gassed, but laughing at how easy the e-bikes were compared with the hotel’s one-speeders. I would not recommend the same itinerary, despite a few others admiring our dedication to testing the decorative bikes. After catching our breath, we collected our bags and hailed a ride to the next hotel, Monterey Beach Hotel, where we admired the beachside sunset at dinner.
Day 3: I had some anxiety about our next day’s scheduled adventure, a group kayak of Moss Landing at Elkhorn Slough, about 20 minutes north of our hotel. For better or worse, when we arrived at our scheduled appointment, there was no record of our reservation, so we were offered a solo journey. Did we want to go on our own or skip the adventure? We said yes (as we tend to do) and ventured out—my friend generously steering the ship. You learn a lot about each other in a three-hour kayak journey, like what they notice along shore, how strong they are, who they don’t want to become, for example. We completed the circuit with some friendship insight and enjoyed lunch with a half bottle of wine. We had to wait nearly 30 minutes to get an Uber but eventually ended up at the hotel, where we walked the beach during the afternoon and later watched the sea lions sun themselves while we had dinner at Fisherman’s Wharf.
Amy Nelson
Day 4: Sun Country’s return flight didn’t depart until 5:30 p.m., allowing us a full final day to explore the area. We awoke in our beachside room to a group of college students rushing into the Pacific Ocean as part of a polar plunge teambuilding event. Our beach walk the day before helped confirm the water was cool but my friend remarked it was hardly “polar” by Minnesota standards.
We had tickets for the Monterey Bay Aquarium and were advised to arrive before the 10 a.m. opening to avoid the rush. It seemed like others were told the same thing because the line snaked for nearly two blocks before the doors opened. It was a quick entrance, though, and many of us rushed in to see the sea otters doing their elegant flips and turns. The two-story viewing platform allowed almost everyone access and the crowd joyfully watched the playful swimmers. The aquarium is split into two sections and our Uber driver suggested we go left first to avoid the crowds. We meant to follow his advice until I saw the sea otter station immediately to our right when we entered, and I couldn’t resist. My patient friend allowed me to watch and film the sea otters, returning later to watch again as they were being fed. I returned the favor later when she wanted to view penguins and catch them jumping, waddling, and feeding.
The rest of the afternoon we walked Cannery Row, reliving John Steinbeck’s novel and trying to understand the marine culture. I had a general knowledge of the region before, but left with so much more.
View my Instagram reel from Monterey!
