Monterey / Salinas / Carmel
 

I'm being a good son and taking my mom (age 69) on a trip. We are planning on taking a train from LA to Salinas. I know that we want to do the aquarium in Monterey. I thought she would like to walk around Carmel. And I'm hearing good things about Pt. Lobos state park. She's not a hiker but it looks like I can drive in the park and take small walks to see the shore. We should have 2 full free days.

Any other ideas?

Thanks for helping me be the number one son!

take her on the 17-mile drive. either plan on lunching at the golf course (if she's a golf fan, that would be fun for her) or if it's nice, take a picnic and stop at one of the beautiful places along the route. plan on a couple of hours. a lot of the places are flat and have benches to sit on so she should enjoy that.

at point lobos there's alot you can see just by hiking a very small way on a very easy path. i'd defintely take her there too

I have a # one son and i hope someday he thinks about taking me somewhere!!!!
After you spend part of the day on Cannery Row at the aquarium , go to Fisherman's Wharf. it is for tourist's after all,you may want to walk around and browse in the shops and have a dinner there. There are some fantastic restaurants on the wharf.
The next day go to Point Lobos, pack a lunch for there and then off to Carmel for shopping/strolling then have dinner there as well.You can actually do 17 mile drive in that day as well.

Pacific Grove, which is right between Monterey and Carmel has a beautiful coastline - small beaches, tide pools, plenty of rocks for the waves to crash on. Plus there are some beautiful homes - Crasftman style, Victorian, Spanish, and so on. There is a paved path along the water that is great for walking or biking.

If you or your mom are Steinbeck fans, you might consider going to the Steinbeck center in Salinas.

ITA on the Steinbeck Center suggestion. It's very interesting and interactive even if you aren't a Steinbeck fan. And there are two cafe's near there that are good for breakfast and lunch: Sang's and First Awakenings. There is also a First Awakenings in Pacific Grove (near the aquairium). I like downtown Pacific Grove for strolling around. :-)

SPANISH BAY RESORT: Stop here for a drink close to sun down. The bagpiper plays as you watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. Outside seating with fire pits. This is on 17 Mile Drive.

PACIFIC GROVE OCEAN DRIVE: After you see the aquarium drive the ocean side around the town of Pacific Grove. Great areas to stop and enjoy the views.

FIRST AWAKENINGS: There is an outlet mall across from the aquarium. The restaurant on the corner, First Awakenings, is good spot for breakfast or lunch.

CARMEL: Casanova restaurant. Old world charm. Good food.

BARNYARD SHOPPING CENTER: Fun place to shop. Beautiful grounds. Near Rio Road and Hwy 1.

PACIFIC GROVE: This is a great downtown to visit. Nice shops and not as touristy as Carmel. It is America's last hometown. Many visitors to Monterey peninsula never realize this great town is there. Check it out!

You guys are great! Thanks for the ideas!

If she likes to shop, take her to the Gilroy outlet mall.
I also recommend the Steinbeck Center and there is a good place for breakfast down the block. I think it's called "Awakenings".

Have a great trip!

If you eat at one of the Spanish Bay restaurants they will refund the admittance fee to the 17 Mile Drive. Don't miss the bagpiper that plays every afternoon/evening.

If you like down home cooking meets tropical cuisine, try Bahama Billy's in the Carmel Crossroads for lunch or dinner. Nice and laid back. :-)

I finally took the trip!

Friday: Mom wanted to take a train. We took Amtrak from Los Angeles to Salinas (@ 9 hours). From there we were shuttled to Monterey (@45 minutes). The train ride up was nice and relaxing. We stayed at the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa. The hotel is between the aquarium and fisherman's wharf. It is located on Cannery Row and sits on the bay. The hotel was beautiful. The rooms were very nice. My room was streetside and I imagine the bay view rooms are impressive. There are lots of places to sit and enjoy the view. The rooms are big and the bathroom well appointed. We arrived in the evening and were a bit tired to we ate at Schooner's Bistro at the hotel. The food was pretty good.

Saturday: We ate at First Awakenings, which is located in the American Tin Cannery outlet. Thanks to those for suggesting it! Great service and good food at reasonable prices. My mom even bought a tshirt. It was walking distance from the hotel and near the aquarium. From there we went to the aquarium. We purchased our tickets at the hotel to avoid the lines. We spent a few hours there and then headed back to the hotel for a break and lunch (again at Schooner's). After our break we walked down to fisherman's wharf. It was nice to stroll along the bike / pedestrian path (which ran in front of the hotel and goes along the bay). We were able to see otters in the water. We took a short "clear bottom" boat tour which was nice and relaxing. In hindsight, I would have taken the whale watching trip. There are a number of companies offering them (some in the late afternoon). There are a number of shops and lots of restuarants. There was also a craft fair going on so we strolled around there for a bit. For dinner we headed back towards the aquarium. We ate at The Fish Hopper. We had swordfish and prime rib. I highly recommend this restuarant. The food was very good!

Sunday: We were still full from dinner so we just did Starbucks. I rented a car (had to pick it up at the airport) for the day. We drove down the coast. We first did the 17 mile drive. This was a nice drive. Lovely views and nice houses. OK...what is it like to have that kind of money??? I think I will never know! Anyway, the drive was really nice and well marked. We got out often and took lots of pictures. We stopped at the shopping / dinning area. We ate lunch at their bistro/cafe. Very nice and relaxing. I would recommend it. We then wandered through the shops. From there we continued on our drive. We then headed to Carmel. We enjoyed walking around and looking in the shops and having a snack (I love ice cream!). Lots of art shops and stuff. From there we drove down to Point Lobos. I really enjoyed this. We stopped at the view points and even hiked a bit along the coast. Mom even did it! We took our time there. I could have spent longer there! Just beautiful! We then drove back to Monterey to drop off the car. We rested a bit then headed out to dinner. We ate at The Chart House, which was located next to our hotel. Again, a very nice restaurant and enjoyed by all of us. We had lobster tail, grouper, and prime rib. Yum!

Monday: We had breakfast again at First Awakenings (I told you we liked it!) Time to head back. I called Amtrak and the train was 2 hours late. The shuttle would not alter their time so we took the shuttle to Salinas and waited 2 hours for the train. The train ended up being even later so we ended up taking the Amtrak bus to San Luis Obispo to take a different train. We got into Los Angeles @ 1 hour late. I would not recommend taking the train back. UGH!

In hindsight... I would not take the train. I think I would fly into San Jose, rent a car, and drive to Monterey.

Notes: There is a really nice bike/pedestrian path that runs along the bay. You can rent bikes. Not for mom but I would do it...

Thanks again to all!

Great to hear about your trip tgb! And that's a good suggestion for others taking a similar trip, to fly to SJC and rent a car.