Welcome to Sardine City

It has been a while since my last post but I am excited to continue on this journey and recall some of the most fun we have ever had……

Welcome to Monterrey, CA. This city is amazingly gorgeous!

First things first, we left Ocean Mesa and headed north. We were actually staying in Marina, CA, which is about 8 miles north of Monterrey. So we hitched up the home and squeezed it out of our spot and off we went. Due to pulling the camper we weren’t able to take Hwy 1 but we were not disappointed by the views.Vineyards, vineyards and more vineyards!Over the hills, these grapes were growing and I was thirsty….haha.

Once we got through wine country, the hilltop scenery changed….wow! Of course I had to get a picture of the animal warning sign. This one was a bear….yikes!
We didn’t see any but I made sure to look for them with the windows up and doors locked!

Once we got into Marina, we found our campground, Marina Dunes.I have mixed feelings about this campground. I loved the location, the trail to the beach and our site was ok, but some of the other amenities were lacking..I am being nice when I say that.

Once we pulled into a tight registration lane, I go in the office to check in. The girl behind the counter wasn’t unfriendly but she wasn’t going out of her way to even tell me how to get to our site. Checking into a campground, for me, is like going to someones house. I need to be shown around a bit, tell me where the bathrooms are and make me feel like I am welcomed.

Anyways, I paid, she gave me a map and we drove down to our site. After about 30 mins we finally get backed in to our site.Good job, honey! After we got our truck parked, it looked like this.

We decided not to cook tonight but before we can eat Max needs to stretch his legs. I hadn’t been told where to take him so I look on the map and at the bottom of the page it says, “Please take your pet off property.” Ok, so I get him on the leash and we go outside and a lady is walking by with her dog. God  is so good about sending people my way at the right time. I ask her where she takes her dog and she directs me to the beach.

We get to the trail,and we walk….and then we walked some more….until, finally! WE ARE THERE!!! Max was so happy! I think the trail was about 1/4 of a mile long and the sand was thick and deep!The drool length is amazing after he works hard. (This was the side he was snake bit on so we think its kind of droopy and helps with the stringyness.)

After our 1/2 mile walk to the beach and back, we were starving!

We decided not to cook but to head on into Monterey for some seafood. I found a little place called Hula’s.

On our way in we passed the Fisherman’s wharf…side note….we did not eat here because I didn’t read any good reviews about the restaurants on the sea…

This is the marina next to the wharf. Look at those beautiful mountains! I could not get enough of this view!

I love the all the boats.

We got to Hula’s and had to park on the street, which was ok because it wasn’t very busy for a Sunday evening. We go in and we score a seat outside.

Notice the long sleeves…..on everybody? It was chilly! The workers came out and turned on the heaters for us after a while. So much for sunny California!

We decided after looking at the menu, that we wanted to try several things.

For appetizers we got, Bahn Mi Bao SlidersYUM! We also ordered the Kona-Style WingsDelicious!

For dinner we decided to share the Blackened Ahi Steak Sandwich.It was so good! Then I ordered Jamaican Johnny Cakes for dessert. This was like a sweet bread with little bits of banana, which made it healthy! Wow!! This was a great place to eat!

Since we were all ready in town we decided to head over to Cannery Row. 

Not a bad parking spot if I do say so.

These are some of the old fishing warehouses.

Once we got past the sea views, we found this.
Cannery Row is full of sardine history, shops, restaurants, and hotels.

Walking further down the street we found this small square.

 On the top of this monument is the author John Steinbeck, around the side is a marine biologist, and then there are men/women who really made this town by bringing in all the sardines.

Notice the seagull on John Steinbeck’s head? Those birds are huge!! I don’t really like birds anyways and those beefy gulls flying over head were scary!

Anyways, we bought some souvenirs, walked off our dinner, and headed back to our home by the sea.

We have some great things planned this week…I can’t wait  to share them with y’all.

Here is another great walk that Max and I went on….this was the only time the sun came out.Even with the sun it was still a nice 70 degrees. I love California!

Next adventure….Pebble Beach!!!