Walkaholic

San Francisco Day 5 (Monterey Bay, Carmel-by-the-Sea)

We started off our long (but very enjoyable) day early to go to the Monterey Aquarium right when it opened its door at 10am. We stopped by for coffee and baking goods at a local store on Cannery Row. Once we got in, it wasn't as big as I had thought. The reason we came was that we heard that Monterey Aquarium is very impressive and those who have gone to the Monterey Aquarium would be disappointed when they go to other aquarium afterward. Well, the appearance really doesn't tell you anything because its exhibitions are all very impressive.

Ok, let's start. We first went to the giant fish tank and saw some sharks and other fishes. My most favorite was rock fish. The striking thing about those fish was that they can float without swimming! So, when they were floating, they looked dead! The lady there told me that the fish had a special organ that can hold air and made them float. Other kinds of fish didn't have the organ and had to swim to keep them afloat. Then we went to see penguin feeding. The penguins were as cute as always. They were not emperor penguins, but some penguins from South Africa. I couldn't quite remember their name. Then the tunas, they were big but fast!!

Next, it was another one of my favorite exhibitions. It's the Jelly Fish Exhibition as an Art!! At every jelly fish tank, they put picture frames so that they looked like paintings or art works! Some frames were classic and some were modern. The idea of framing jelly fish tanks was so creative! One interesting jelly fish were the ones that stayed up side down.. Last but not least, we went to see the otters! They were so cute, swimming and playing!

That's it for the indoor aquarium. We next went outside for some natural outdoor aquarium. We saw a lot of black cranes through the telescope and saw somethings we thought sea lions. When we were done, it was about our lunch time and we had food at the aquarium cafeteria. I had some yellow fin tuna melt and Raymond had fish and chips. Both were delicious.

After our stomaches were full, we headed off to go to 17-mile scenic drive. We drove pass Pacific Grove and their views were spectacular. The grass along the way were blooming and the ground were pink all over. The 17-mile drive was as spectacular as Pacific Grove. It went along the coast and looped back up the hills.

We planned to drive through the coast, got out to visit Carmel, then back the hill portion of the drive and back to Monterey. During our drive along the coast, we stopped by to see pebble beaches, a bird rock where all black cranes hang out, the famous lone tree, and beautiful cliffs..

We also saw squirrels, sea gulls, black cranes, and of course, the Pebble Beach Golf Course where we stopped by for souvenirs and bathrooms.

Raymond heard about Carmel from his boss. It was a very cute romantic town. We loved it at our first sight, the cute little english tea house that looked like ones in the fairy tales, the secret gardens and pathways, the cute little stores, and nice restaurants. We stopped by a historic Carmel Mission but couldn't go in because it was already close. The outside was already beautiful enough.

After walking around, we stopped by a local historic restaurant called Em Le's for dinner. It was a prix fix meal, and it was great!

On the way back through the hill portion of 17-mile drive wasn't as beautiful as the coastal portion. We drove through Pacific Grove again and it was beautiful as ever around the sunset time. We finally had to leave for San Francisco.

Back in SF, we went to Intercontinental Hotel where Raymond used his points to book. The hotel was on Nob Hill which was supposed to be the steepest hill. We parked one block down the hill. Walking up with our lugguages was a killer! I had to stop to breath after only a few steps! It was nice when we got the hotel, which was magnificent. We got upgraded to the suite with SF downtown view. The view was amazing and the room was real nice with a private jacuzzi!! It was a good nice sleep. :)

Labels: san francisco, travel

posted by usa @ 10:30 PM