From the mountains to the sea...

We packed our a luggage into BEAR (which was no easy task) and driving once again. It was a few hour drive from Yosemite to Monterey. Not much excitement along the drive, we stopped in a small town for some amazing Mexican food. With full bellies, and wearing clothes that were not warm enough, we arrived in Monterey.

Our original plan had us going from Yosemite to Carmel By the Sea. We had rented a house in Carmel, unfortunately, on our last full day in Yosemite, we received an email from the owner explaining there had been a "plumbing accident" at the house. Ryan had booked us a whale watching trip in Monterey and we also planned to visit the Monterey Aquarium. Since both activities were in Monterey, we decided to change our location, called up the Marriott in Monterey and they had a room waiting for us! Thank you, Marriott, Ryan's second home. It worked out very well, Marriott gave us a giant suite so Henry had his own room (bathroom) and we had plenty of space for all our luggage. It also was perfectly located and we could walk to everything we wanted to see and do. In the end it all worked out. We will just have to add Carmel to our places to visit next time.

I was extremely surprised how cold Monterey was. I know the bay areas can be cooler, but I didn't realize how much cooler. Maybe I am too accustomed to the sweltering heat of Louisiana, but I had to pull out all the layers I packed. On the agenda was a day of whale watching, and a trip to the aquarium. Add in some really delicious clam chowder and a (Ryan found) fantastic ice cream shop. Our two days in Monterey were great. We enjoyed our time on and near the water and another aspect of California. California was (is) great that you are able to drive a couple hours from the mountains to the sea.

After a near death experience with the couches (evidence in photo album) Henry enjoyed some relaxing couch sitting. 

Stroll on the boardwalk. 

Conversations with seagulls. 

Whale watching fashion. 

Ready for our boat ride. 

During our walk to the aquarium, we found seals lounging on the rocks. 

Henry (Ryan, and I too) loved the wave room. We spent a lot of time in this room at the aquarium. 

If you want to see more of our pictures from our time in Monterey click on our:

Monterey Photo Album

After Monterey, we packed up again and this time drove North. It was time for the land of wine! We met Ryan's parents in Napa Valley for a week of wine tasting.