Kyla in Cali, Part 2 of 2

On Wednesday, I took Kyla back up to San Francisco. This time, we drove halfway and then took the subway the rest of the way to save time (and money, really, since it's cheaper to park than it is to take the train the whole way). We went to the Ferry building, Pier 39, and Fisherman's Wharf. We had lunch at the Crab House so that Kyla could try dungeness crab. She didn't think it was any better than any other type of crab. She found a few souvenirs that she liked and we saw the sea lions. We peered at Alcatraz from a distance and she saw the Golden Gate Bridge.

Jonathan was able to take a day off on Thursday to accompany us down to Monterey. It's a coastal area about 90 minutes away, so it makes for a rather nice day trip. On the way there we stopped at a surplus store for a few minutes (they're so much more prevalent in the south than they are here!). We made a lunch reservation at Cafe Fina, at the Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey. It had a lovely write-up in Frommer's, and we requested a table by the window to see the sea lions, as the book suggested. Alas, they granted our request and we had an entire floor to ourselves, though the sea lions weren't out. We did, however, get to see a few otters, so that was fun. The food was wonderful - I really recommend the shrimp salad sandwich.

After lunch we walked the rest of Fisherman's Wharf and admired some of the views. Then it was on to Cannery Row, where we found some decent parking and went to the aquarium. It's a very nice aquarium. Be sure to leave yourself plenty of time, especially if you want to see any of the demonstrations or the animal feedings.

see the pretty scallops?

tons of sand dollars

great shot (if I do say so myself) of a live barnacle

honeycomb moray eel

Purple-striped jellyfish

black sea nettle

green sea turtle

leafy sea dragon

 We stopped at a beach point on the way back so Kyla could touch the Pacific. We also stopped at a roadside produce stand where I picked up some avocados, kiwis, and almonds. We treated Kyla to In-n-Out for dinner, a Western-US fast food place. That night we made it over to the local miniature golf course, which had been decorated for Halloween. I actually won, which is a rare occurrence. Both Kyla and I got two hole-in-ones, though on different holes. This was the same place where I played for my last birthday, but this time we did the other course, so it was still new.