Marriott Monterey

... caught up on sleep after San Fran. Up at 9am and headed towards Fisherman's Wharf and looked in lots of gift shops. Rich got tempted by clam chowder so we had lunch on the pier, sitting next to lots of huge pelicans outside the window! Very scary. Then drove down Cannery Row, named after a John Steinbeck novel! Went in a shop that sold things that ...

... br><br>Sumner disappeared quickly up the cliffs and mountains, trying to make it to the top of the falls. He made it to the top to see where the river fell down and struggled a bit coming down. From our view at the bottom it looked like he was properly rock climbing...down. He looked completely vertical trying to come down those cliffs...I'm still not sure that was a great idea, but I bet the view was awesome. Although I missed it<br ...

... rundown, so instead we picked a little town just outside Santa Cruz called Capitola.<br><br>Although not quite the Big Sur that we would be travelling down later on in the week,the drive along the coast was fantastic and we stopped off a number of times at beautiful deserted beaches with rough, Pacific waves. <br><br>When we arrived at our b&amp;b, The Jewel Box, we were so pleased, it was really sweet and had a ...

... at the top of the hill where we ACTUALLY parked Lola. I yell out to them all "IS IT THERE?" and of course Sumner and his smartass reply shouts, "NO!!" (even though it was)<br><br>Meanwhile, Christa lets the boys mad dash from the restaurant, and she jumps in a police car parked out front. She directs the cop to where Lola is and explains that it's being jacked at that moment. Calling me from the backseat she's trying to figure out what happened as I weakly reply "It might not be Lola ...

... car park on the front, and immediately found a great café with loads of tables on the boardwalk, overlooking the beach. It was one of those places where the slight lack of quality is made up for by quantity! Liz, Juliette and I ordered the "Breakfast Special" - eggs, bacon and hash-browns - whilst the younger members of the crew had the pancakes (these were so voluminous that I think only Olivia managed a whole pancake - and there ...

... session at the Kelp Forest, where the Aquarius hand-fed the fishes, including leopard sharks. <br><br>My favourite exhibit was the sea otters. We also managed to make it for their feeding session. They are so so so so so so very cute! The otters at the Aquarium are actually unreleasable back to the ocean due to reasons such as health and adaptability. As they will remain at the aquarium for the rest of their lives, they are actually trained as well ...

... a famous cafe/bar called 'Nepenthe&#8217; just south of Big Sur, its claim to dame being the place that Orson Wells had built for his lover Rita Heyworth. A hang-out for the young and old alike we enjoyed the famous &#8216;Ambrosia&#8217; burger, while Debbie had the veggie version. We continue on down Hwy 1 and came across an awesome elephant seal colony.<br><br>Thence, on to Santa Barbara to stay with Floyd and Martha in their new home. Hot showers and a warm bedroom were luxurious.

#5: Food and Fuel: Media vilified biofuels during last year's food crisis, conveniently ignoring problems associated with the meat industry: In 1900 just over 10% of the total grain grown worldwide was fed to animals; by 1950 this figure had risen to over 20%; by the late 1990s it stood at ...

... couple of blocks to the nearest laundrette. There's something satisfying about clean clothes. We came back to the room, got on the bike (my jeans were still warm, yummy!), and rode down to Cannery Row. We then walked up to Fisherman's Warf and found a place to have dinner. Very pretty place. We've got some really nice photo's from today. Unfortunately, I can't stay upright anymore, so I'm going to go to bed. Hopefully we can get pictures up tomorrow.

... Monterey Bay, particularly the endangered sea otter. We strolled through the crowded aquarium and enjoyed the exhibits, and then we headed to the Monterey Fisherman's Wharf for lunch. Much smaller than San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf, Monterey's wharf is lovely to stroll on and though a bit touristy, it is much less so than San Fran's. We watched sea otters swim by sight seeing boats and laughed as the harbor seals climbed up to sleep on any available floating ...