17 mile drive, Monterey California.

A view from the drive.

Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey CA

Lots of little fish swimming in a bowl.

Monterey bay.

Point Lobos State Reserve.

The rocky shore at Point Lobos State Reserve (a bit south of Monterey), a great place to visit, get there early on weekends because parking is limited. You're almost certain to see seals and otters. More pictures here and here.

Monterey bay cruise ship.

More information on Monterey bay, California here. Also, notes and pictures from Nicole Hanusek and Tow.com. As I said before, I'm not a big aquarium fan, especially when its swarming with kids.

17 mile drive, Monterey California.

The 17 mile drive near Monterey and Carmel California is a trip most people will consider not worth the money, considering the surprisingly similar Point Lobos is just south of the area. Anyway, you pay your money ($8 per car when I last went) and drive around a ritzy neighborhood, Pebble Beach golf course, and stopping at various beaches to take in the view. The houses are big and neat if you're into that sort of thing, the beaches are not so great considering Monterey bay is nearby. It'll take you a couple hours to get around the whole thing depending on how many stops you take. All times I've went has been foggy and I haven't seen any large sea animals on the trips, but I have seen them both north and south of the drive, so I assume its not out of the realm of possibilities. A vlog of the area here the tree is famous!

Information and reviews about the 17 mile drive in California:

The best:
Official Site: 17 mile drive Pebble Beach
Wikipedia: 17 mile drive

The rest:
Yahoo Reviews: 17 mile drive
Trip Advisor Reviews: 17 mile drive
Mercury News Review: 17 mile drive
Guestlife guide: 17 mile drive

Monterey bay.

This is a picture from the little boardwalk in Monterey. If you search for stuff to do in Monterey, people will rave about the aquarium. Its nice and all, but for my money its overpriced and really a little bit small and full of kids. I wish they would let you see the big tank for $3 and you could skip the rest. What you need to do, if you are in any kind of shape at all and the weather is sort of nice, is to rent a kayak from one of the many places and take it out onto the bay for half a day or so. The seals will come close enough to freak you out, the otters will merrily ignore you, and you can try not to think of the many other creatures just a few feet below your fragile sea kayak. It is really great fun and unless some disaster strikes, you will put it in the top 50 things you have ever done. The aquarium will not ever make that list.

Point Lobos State Reserve.

Although you can't tell it from this picture, Point Lobos is one of those places where you'll be walking along looking at rocks and then realize that there are about 20 seals there too and wonder how many you've missed along the way. Its south of Carmel, if you go on a weekend, get their early because there is limited parking and it can fill up. More on Point Lobos from Monterey John.

Monterey, 17 mile drive.