This was one of those adventures that we did not plan to do
but ended up being better than our original plan which was to visit Santa Cruz. But things happen when you least expect them
and we have learned to follow the flow and it usually all works out as it did
for us this time.
When we arrived in Santa Cruz, it definitely was not what we
had imagined but we drove into the
Santa Cruz Harbor RV Overnight Parking anyway, using the term “RV Park”
very loosely…very, very loosely. It was a parking lot next to a marina with
back-in hookups. We sort of looked at
one another and then without saying a word we both got out because after all we
thought we had made reservations, so apprehensively we approached the Host
Site. We were a bit put off about the
growling dog tied to the steps but continued yelling hello to get the hosts
attention who we thought might be inside since the door was open. Finally he did come out, a bit on the rough
side and sort of growling himself. The
conversation went south from then. We
had talked a few times in the past few weeks but we never apparently made a
reservation since he did not get our credit card information and he said they
were booked. At first we were upset but
then we became grateful since we did not want to spend any time at the RV Park
or in the area so we moved on…
We decided since we were so close to Monterey Bay that we
would go check it out after all. What a
pleasant surprise, it was exactly where we wanted to spend the next few days
and we did.
We attempted to call the
Monterey County Fair RV Park but
there was no answer and even though we did leave messages we became a bit
worried when we pulled up and there was a line…oops this could be another
bust. We got in line and I walked up to
the Host Site and she informed me that the only vacancy was in the overflow
area down below which was in the dirt but were full hookups. The fair had just ended and they were still
cleaning up but we took it. Actually it
ended up being better because the sites above on the asphalt are under trees
and pretty close to one another. But in
overflow there were not too many folks there so we had plenty of space in
between. Check out our separate review about the RV Park.
Our original plan was to stay just two nights, but we added
another one on our stay so we could spend more time checking out the
MontereyBay Aquarium and
Cannery Row on Sunday.
The first day we only made it as far as the Old Fisherman’s
Wharf where we spent our day in and out of shops.
Then we had lunch at
Rappa's Harbor View Restaurant where the scenery was spectacular. We were first in line when they opened at
11am and got the best seat in the house.
Check out our separate blog entry reviewing this restaurant.
After lunch we wandered around some more and then took a
stroll out on the pier where many of the sea lions and other ocean creatures hang
out. It was a great day.
On Sunday we got another early start and headed directly to
the
Monterey Bay Aquarium where we spent most of the day just enjoying all the interesting things they have to see.
Waterfalls...
Monkey Eels...
Poinky things...
Stingrays and Tiger Sharks
More coral and starfish...
Penguins...
And, so much more where our photos didn't turn out well...
We also had lunch at
Cindy’s Waterfront Restaurant that is
located inside the
Aquarium, please check out the separate review on our blog. It was a very impressive place with great service, a few added specialties and great food!
After lunch we took a stroll down
Cannery Row where we stopped
at many of the shops...
Had a few snacks...
And, even had a wine tasting at
BargettoWinery.
There were several tasting rooms
but we opted for this one since they offered Chaucer’s Fresh Fruit Wines which
tend to be on the sweeter side. For $7
we were able to taste 5 different types but again nothing that stood out to us
to pay the high prices for a bottle.
Eventually
there may come a time that we find that absolutely best tasting wine that we
will splurge for a bottle but it has not happened yet. We always try to keep our choices under $10
per bottle and even under $5 has been a goal of ours, so it will
take a really great wine to have us pay the going rate of well over $20 per
bottle.
Monterey Bay area is an exceptional place to see and we
would highly recommend you to put it on your list of places to visit. Right on the Pacific Ocean with lots of places to
visit and not a lot of the rundown areas and homeless that we have been noticing near the
ocean areas makes it a perfect spot to hang out for a day or two or even longer.
Photos, photos and more photos, check out our
Google + Web Albums for them all.
