Road trips are a thing this time of year and I took one fun enough to share. It was about 4.5 hours each way, enough to call it a road trip but quick enough to be easy.
Along my way to Monterey with my wife, I was joking and laughing about us coming from one overpriced, touristy beach town to another of the same caliber.
We agreed that what makes Santa Barbara attractive to us also makes Monterey a fun place to visit.
I actually had some work to do there, so there was a business angle (and associated deductions), but we built in some spare time for fun. We naturally found some.
I get a little tired of driving on major freeways and highways, so halfway through the long Salinas Valley we left the 101 and headed west a few miles to turn north onto River Road, which is a quiet road that winds through working farms and vineyards where there were enough wine tasting places to keep wine aficionados stopping.
We stayed in the town of Marina, where there is a wide and wonderful state beach of the same name. Our hotel was along Reservation Road, which River Road turns into (name change at the Hwy. 68 under-crossing), so we never had to leave the scenic road.
It was a quick drive into Monterey from the hotel, and we hung around the beachfront from the Municipal Pier to the Coast Guard Pier. Both have nice choices of restaurants and nautical-flavored sights and sounds such as the raucous call of seagulls.
After taking care of the work I needed to do, it was time to explore (again) quaint yet busy Cannery Row, which is filled with eateries, clubs, historical curio, and gift shops where there is no end to products they can manage to stitch or adhere the name Monterey.
One of my favorite stops is Sly McFly’s restaurant and bar. The food is good and the live music is fun. It has a dance floor where folks get to movin’ and groovin’, and is always a fun hangout spot.
Once it was time to get back on the dusty trail, we stopped at a store for road snacks and a Starbucks for caffeine.
Out of habit I looked at a map, electronic of course since there seems to be a noticeable lack of quality paper maps these days. It was easy to pick our route.
I prefer quiet drives, so I opted out of going Hwy. 68 into Salinas and onto the 101 south, and instead took River Road off Hwy. 68 and again headed south along the western edge of the Salinas Valley before joining the 101 for the reminder of the drive.
While it was an enjoyable jaunt, it was nice to get back to our own overpriced touristy beach town. This one we call home.
