Monterey Bay with Teen...Trip Report & Thank You to all who helped!

Took my 15 year old daughter who is CRAZY about sharks to Monterey to see the Great White Shark that is on exhibit. Used ALL of hubby's frequent flier miles on Southwest and all of his points w/ Marriott. I NEVER could have packed as much in 1 1/2 days without the help of this forum. Thank you to all who contributed to my posts...Here is my trip report.

We left Chicago ontime on Southwest and arrived into San Jose Airport at 1ish. Lots of snags getting rental car with Hertz. Don't think I would ever use them again. 'nuf said.

Drive out to Monterey was uneventful except that my GPS decided to take me via the scenic route thru this twisting/turning road. I NEVER took my eyes off the road or the car in front of me. Crazy! But it was all worth it when we drove pass Moss Landing and saw our first Sea Otters...cute little guys.

Stayed for two nights at the Marriott Monterey. Check in was a breeze, they upgraded us to a oceanview room and gave us coupons for free breakfast. We bought a two day pass from the concierge and got back in the car and headed to the Aquarium.
We paid for a 'behind the scenes tour' and then went to see the GREAT WHITE SHARK! My daughter was so excited to finally be standing in front of the exhibit. And we saw lots of sharks, but not the White. Finally, after about 3 minutes...there he/she is!!

Watching my daughters face made getting up at 4am well worth it! We hung out there for about 30 minutes and then went to our behind the scenes tour.

Aquarium behind the scenes tour: It was nice...a little too much on the history side of it for me. But it was nice to see a few of the behind the public view areas. PLEASE keep in mind that we did not see any fish or animals or feedings on this tour. It is purely a walk thru some of the back areas. But it was very interesting. Only about an hour.

Once we were done with the tour, my daughter had an appointment with the head curator of the Aquarium. He was kind enough to talk to my daughter about her wish to be a marine science major and I do think that he was rather surprised at the depth of her knowledge. She correctly identified a number of sharks and knew much about them...she had even read some of the same books as he did. They were talking waaaay over my head, so I left them for a bit and walked around exhibits in the area.

After they were done talking we walked around the Aquarium's first floor. Went out on to the back deck areas and watched the Sea Otters...we saw at least 4 or 5. They closed at 6 and we left and headed to the adjacent Cannery area. Lots of cute shops, from artwork to souveniers. I was slowly fading so we decided to eat at Bubba Gumps. Yes we have one in Chicago and yes it is a chain and not entirely original. But we had a seat at the window and could look out on the bay. I do have to say that our waitress was wonderful. The food recommendations were great and spot on. I had a shrimp variety platter and my daughter had fried shrip. It was done well.

After that we headed back to the hotel and we were asleep by 8:30pm!!

Next morning we were up early and drove straight out to Point Lobos. I have never ever seen any place that was so beautiful! Every time we rounded a curve, I had to slow down so we could go 'Oh and Ah'. We got out and hiked at every stop. Unfortunately, high tide and low tide that week were almost identical, being very high. So we did not find too many tide pools. But we did find some big crabs under a rocky ledge close to the water. They were blue and purple and just beautiful. My daughter was so excited as she found them. We took lots of scenic pics. We really enjoyed the walk from the first turn off. I guess it is the biggiest most popular place to stop. Lots of walking, and steps, but the views were amazing. We watched seals feeding in a shallow inlet. We saw 100's of seals on a big rock not too far from the beach. The waves were crashing and it was beautiful!

After that we had intended to head back to Monterey to go to the Aquarium, but we were hungry and decided to plug in IN & OUT BURGER into the GPS to see how far one was...well it was about 17 miles to Salinas. Off we went for our I & O Burger fix!! LOVE THEM! There were every bit as good as they were the last time we were in CA. LOL

Then we went back the Aquarium and saw the second floor and the shows that we did not have time for. What a wonderful place. I high ly recommend a visit here. The movies they had were very well done. We watched the one about the capture and holding of their Great Whites. We spent a bit of time watching their sea otters. Loved the tanks downstairs. My daughter saw her favorite shark...the 7 Gill. Seems like the lower level exhibits are not as crowded.

Then we headed back to the hotel and took an easy walk to Fisherman's Wharf. We had lots of samples of clam chowder and picked a restaurant to eat in that had seats at the window. Food was not good. I think it was Crabby Bills? My daughters fish sandwich was so bad, she took one bite and that was it. Luckily they were kind enough to take it off the bill. After dinner we shopped up and down the wharf and then walked back to the hotel.

We packed and went to bed. Got up at 7am and left for San Jose.

It was an amazing trip and one that I know she will remember for the rest of her life. We laughed, we had an adventure, we did silly things. (I bought her a pair of 'Jaws" boxers!).

Thanks so much to everyone who told me to go to Point Lobos...it was great!
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