# What to do in Monterey on rainy days ?



## xzhan02 (Mar 30, 2006)

Leaving for Monterey tomorrow.  Looks like everyday we'll be there will be rainy (while it'll be 70's and sunny at home).  Looks like a bad spring break choice !  What is there to do with two kids besides the Aquarium ?  We'd planned to go biking, hiking, and whale watching.


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## calgal (Mar 30, 2006)

*San Jose*

There are some interesting museums in San Jose, maybe an hour away from Monterey. A great tech/science museum and a small very accessible to children Egyptian museum called the Rosecrucian (probably misspelled). If you have young kids there's a great children's museum.

Also in Salinas there is a John Steinbeck museum. I have not been there myself, so can't give more details. Salinas is maybe a half hour from Monterey.


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## swift (Mar 30, 2006)

Bring rain gear and walk on the beach. As long as it is not bitter cold you can still do some of the things you mentioned. Kids usually don't mind the rain we adults sometimes have to bring out our inner kid.


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## LisaH (Mar 30, 2006)

Go shopping at the Gilroy Outlet mall
Go to Santa Cruz for Boardwalk (there is an indoor arcade/minigolf area) and mystery house
Your longin name sounds like that you could be Chinese? If so, go to either Milpitas or Cupertino for some authentic regional Chinese Food. They are both close to San Jose.


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## temerson (Mar 30, 2006)

Santa Cruz Boardwalk rides will only be open on the weekends, but the arcade and mini-golf are open all week http://www.beachboardwalk.com/.

Bonfante Gardens in Gilroy (halfway to San Jose) is also open on weekends only http://www.bonfantegardens.com/.

We always like to rent the surrey bikes and cruise along the bike path.  It will take you from Cannery Row all the way to Pacific Grove (Lover's Point) and also pass the wharf along the way.  Seal pup season has just begun, so areas of 17 mi drive may be closed off for protection, but you can also see many seals along the bike path by Hopkins Marine lab right across from the American Tin Cannery.  Don't know how old your kids are, but in the Tin Cannery there is a pottery shop that allows you to pick out a piece, paint it on site, and fire it up to take home.

If you don't mind a drive, some of the most beautiful coastline is on Hwy 1 south of Monterey going toward Big Sur.  We've taken the drive and stopped for lunch at the River Inn (restaurant and a few shops) before heading back.


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## xzhan02 (Mar 30, 2006)

Thanks all for the great suggestions.  We had planned a day in San Jose before fliying out, so will save the San Jose area suggestions then.  Just found out that whale watching cruise will go out in rain (unless windy), will do surrey riding instead of biking, and hopefully the rain won't be steady so we can still take some beach walking and and short hikes at pt Lobos.  If not, we'll drive down to Big Sur.


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## Blues (Mar 30, 2006)

If you're going out on the whale watching boats, make sure to take the FIRST cruise of the day.  The ocean has been getting pretty rough lately with  all the storms we've been having.  But your best chance of a calm trip is morning.  The wind almost always kicks up in the afternoon.


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## TerriJ (Mar 30, 2006)

Just be sure to take good rain gear with good hoods, and then do whatever you were planning to do.  Your kids will think it is fun, and things probably won't be as crowded.


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## california-bighorn (Mar 30, 2006)

There is a neat little museum in Pacific Grove. We spent a couple of hours there and could have spent more time.
Marty
Edit: if it has not already been mentioned, the Mission in Carmel is interesting.


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## temerson (Mar 31, 2006)

Another kids museum you might be interested in that is close to Cannery Row http://www.mymuseum.org/geninfo.html.

Although it may be a little pricey, the Sanctuary Rock Gym http://www.rockgym.com/ is always a lot of fun for kids.

Enjoy your visit to Monterey!


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## Harvey and Lin (Mar 31, 2006)

When you get here, find a copy of "Go" magazine it's inserted in the local paper (the Monterey Herald) each Thursday.  It is the best source of events, self tours, music, for the monterey peninsula that you will find anywhere.  There is a section in there for kids that includes art, music, dance, literary events and local fun stuff.  Also, Monterey has a very fine sports center where kids (depending on their age) can play basketball, an olympic sized swimming pool with slide and probably other things that I don't know about.  There is a great farmers market on Tuesday night where the main street is closed to automobiles (depending on the weather) and there are a lot of neat things to see and great walkaway food. Carmel is neat to go knocking around and as long as you have good rain gear you will be OK.  There is a lot to see inside the Carmel Mission so that is a possiblity.  If you like early California history the Custom House is also fun.  17 mile drive is interesting and there are areas that are really beautiful when its rainy and the surf is up. Sorry but the ocean has been really rough so I don't think the whale watching boats are even going out.  Have fun and I hope you see this before you leave.  Harvey


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## xzhan02 (Mar 31, 2006)

Glad to get these last minute info.  Packed swimming stuff in case we want to use the gym (our timeshare does not have pool).   Hope it's going to be a wet but still fun trip.  Thanks all !!!


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## Harvey and Lin (Mar 31, 2006)

You will have a great time!  Email me when your here if you have some very specific question about the area. It won't rain the whole time you are here as a matter of fact it has been very pleasant today in spite of overcast.  Harvey


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## nightnurse613 (Apr 1, 2006)

Even on a rainy day, Asilomar and the 17 mile drive is worth a shot.  You see great seascapes, some excellent golf courses (Pebble Beach)and you wind up in Carmel.  What's all this talk about San Jose?  Even Salinas?  Drive along Cannery Row.  Stop in along one of their restuarants-there use to be an Spaghetti/Pizza place in one of the warehouses along the tracks.  Maybe the forerunner of the Spaghetti Factory? Drive thru the tunnel, honk your horn, don't get caught.  You know Monterey has a couple of hisotic houses-the Custom House next to the Aquarium.  The larkin house and there use to be a little house not far away where they actually had vaudeville style plays.  This was my husband's home town-I only spent a little time there (meeting his parents). Except for the perennial fog, a pretty area.


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## Harvey and Lin (Apr 5, 2006)

nightnurse613 said:
			
		

> This was my husband's home town-I only spent a little time there (meeting his parents). Except for the perennial fog, a pretty area.


 
Nightnurse:
Just curious, Monterey is a pretty small town. I wonder if I know your husband or family as I have lived here for 58 years. Went to all local schools  so it is possible.  Depending on age I have children that cover a span of about 35 years too so maybe there is a connection there.  If you don't care to post on TUG send me an Email. My name is Harvey Sullivan MUHS '61.  TIA, Harvey


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## jkweber (Apr 10, 2006)

Drive over to Castorville and have some batter dipped, deep fat fried artichoke hearts.  There is a little place that has a big huge artichoke on the outside of the building, that's where you want to get them, just outside of the teeny tiny town of Castorville.  These are absolutely to die for...one of the highlights of our trip to Monterey!


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## xzhan02 (Apr 10, 2006)

We are back, and did have a great time despite of the record rain (the bay area had something like 25 rainy days in March). The locals are certainly right, we did everything we planned to do, except that the biking had to be cut short.  The area is so beautiful, even with the rain (not as much fog as I remembered though, maybe that's another season ?).  It just makes us wanting to go back.  We spent the one good day (nothing more than drizzling) on whale watching, and did see one.  It was not be as spectacular as I thought, maybe because only one was there.  It's still fun though.  We just weren't too happy that the cruise delayed by more than one hour without letting us know, so we only did a short bike and surrey ride.   

Spent a whole day at point Lobos State reserve, with on and off rain (had  lunch in Carmel when the rain was heavy) and walked all the short trails.  This was the highlights of our trip.  Saw sea lions, seals and sea otters, and most amazingly, saw the birth of a new baby seal at the Whaler's Cove.  Well, not the exact moment.  We watched several seals  on the beach for a while, and went into the Whaler's cabin museum for a few minutes.  Coming out, only one seal was left, and there was a baby right next to it.  We initially thought we'd just missed the baby before, but then the mother seal moved, and a whole flock of gulls came crashing down on something bloody.  We realized that must be the placenta, and this was a newborn.  We just watched the baby nurse, and the mother seal fending off other seals and the gulls, for a long time.  This was simply amazing.  Later when we drove the 17 miles drive, the seal pupping area was all closed as the road was right next to the beach, while in Whale's cove, the road is much higher than the beach so the seals weren't disturbed.   On the way back we visited the Carmel Mission.  Even though we missed the tour, it was still a very nice experience.

The steady rainy day was spent at the aquarium.  Even though we have recently visited the new Georgia Aquarium who knows how many times, we are still really impressed by the Monterey one.  The natural setting and many detailed touch are just so much better than the Georgia one, even though we had the larger Baluga Whales and Whale sharks and larger windows.  

We stayed in a 2 br 2 1/2 bath unit (B3) with bay view at Pacific Grove Plaza (on a rental).   This is a very different kind of timeshare than we were used to, but we end up loving it.   It is an older timeshare, more like an apartment, but what it has is the location and space, about 1500 sft (some nonocean view units are over 1700 sft).  Will write a detailed review later.  

We ended up spending our only sunny day in San Jose, all indoors in the TECH.  I had to dragg the kids to leave at closing.  

Thank you all for the help that made our trip wonderful.


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## Luanne (Apr 10, 2006)

We LOVE Pt. Lobos.  I'm so jealous of everything you saw there.


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