Monterey Bay
and the Aquarium

Before breakfast, we went downstairs to the large sitting room, and admired the beautiful Christmas decorations that were still up. The tree, garlands on the bannisters, etc. Very pretty. You can visit the inns in Park Grove during Christmas when they are all decorated.

After a delicious breakfast, it was time to head to the aquarium. The Christmas decorations were being taken down as we left the inn. As we drove, there were many little shops that looked like they would be fun to poke around in. Next trip! We parked in the municipal parking lot, paid at the automated ticket machine, and placed the receipt on the dashboard. We were a bit early, so we found a few open shops. There was a shop that sold t-shirts, and one of the t-shirts was blak on white of many sea creatures. However, once the shirt was in the warm sunlight, it turned colors! I bought it. We also saw the The Cannery Row Monument. It shows some of Monterey's most historical and notable figures.

Steve was waiting for us at the main entrance. He had passes for us, so we went into the member entrance. There were whales hanging from the ceiling. On one of the skeletons, the back small fins were on the wrong side. A PHD visitor who knows the whales pointed that out to the staff, but since it was already up, it is still that way. The boilers from the old cannery that used to be here are still on display. The kelp forest was impressive, as well as the big tank of larger fish. There is an area where there are birds that you would find along a beach, but it is open. The birds don’t fly across to where the humans are. Very neat!

There is both a restaurant and a cafe. We chose the cafe, and the chilli was delicious. After the aquarium, Steve took us to one of his favorite birding spots, since it was heading north, and our next stop was San Francisco. Moss Landing State Wildlife Area. We walked down to the beach, and enjoyed the area. We saw birds flying and looking for food. Said goodbye to Steve, then continued to head north on Route 1. We drove through some state parks, which were lovely. The roads were a bit winding, but not quite as bad as earlier. There was a library in the middle of one of the parks. There was also no data reception on the phones. I had downloaded the maps of this area before we left for vacation. The GPS worked, so we knew where we were as we went along.

We continued on I-280, and finally entered San Francisco before 5:00 PM. As we pulled off of the highway to merge onto the city streets, Gwyn saw a guy who had dropped his trousers. Welcome to San Francisco! Continuing straight, and taking a right onto Bush Street, we finally found the White Swan Inn, which was actually a hotel in the city. There was a spot to park out front. Going inside, we had to wait a bit, as there was only one person for check in, and the lady checking in had some stories to tell the person, while we all waited. Eventually it was our turn. The gentleman welcomed us, gave us our keys, and a map of San Francisco. We retrieved our bags from the car, and the hotel valet helped us with them. He first took us over to the other property that the inn owned. Up the old elevator, down to room 54, but the key would not work since it was for the other property. I asked before we headed over, and the valet said that we were fine. Anyways, back to the White Swan Inn, up the elevator to the fifth floor, and down to room 54. The key worked! Or actually, the card worked tapping it on the door. The room was very spacious and nice: there was a fireplace controlled by a switch near the bed on the other side of the room. And it was quite. We were right in the city, and it was quiet! There was a hospital a few blocks down, but we only heard a siren once.

After getting settled in, it was time to find supper. Neither of us wanted anything heavy, so we set out to find a place that served a good salad. It looked like there was a SweetGreen nearby, so we ventured out. I first headed in the wrong direction, but we turned around and headed back down Bush St. After a few blocks, we found Working Girls’ Cafe. It was a bit after 6:00, but as long as we took the order to go, they said no problem. Back to the White Swan Inn by 6:30, we dined on our salads while watching Mrs. Brown’s Boys. A long but great day!