After a few days in and around San Francisco, we departed down California’s central coast toward Monterey, where we would stay for a couple days.
Driving down the Pacific coast
We checked out of the Fairmont in the early morning and walked down the treacherous Mason Street hill to pick up our rental car in Union Square. We booked an Enterprise rental via Costco Travel which was the best priced option I had found. We were upgraded to an SUV which turned out be great for all our luggage, the car seat, and some extra legroom.
It takes about two hours to drive directly from downtown San Francisco to Monterey. We took a break half way in Santa Cruz. Initially we had thought about going down to the boardwalk and wharf, but we had been unimpressed by our visit to Santa Cruz earlier in the week so just stopped at Costco for a $1.50 hot dog and to stock up on some snacks for the trip.
The second half of the drive along Highway One was very scenic, with views of the rugged Pacific coastline.
Del Monte Beach and Cannery Row
We arrived in Monterey in mid-afternoon. There was an In-N-Out Burger in Seaside, a few minutes from our hotel, so had to go there as a mandatory stop when on the west coast. 😋
We checked in at Portola Hotel & Spa in Old Monterey, where we stayed in their spacious Executive Harbor View room. It was large enough that we were able to place Teddy’s travel crib in a corner so he would have a somewhat separate sleep space.
The hotel was just across the street from Del Monte Beach, so we went over for a short stroll.
After a post-beach shower and relaxation time, we ventured past Old Fisherman’s Wharf and to Cannery Row for dinner. This waterfront street in the New Monterey area was formerly home to multiple sardine canneries; these are all now defunct, with the last one closing in 1973. The street name was previously a nickname for Ocean View Avenue, and it was officially changed in 1958 to honour John Steinbeck and his novel Cannery Row.
We did a Google search to identify a suitable restaurant for dinner and decided on The Fish Hopper. The location was nice, with views directly over Monterey Bay, but the food was mediocre.
We called it a night after this. It was getting quite chilly so we rushed back to the hotel to get Teddy to bed and relax for the evening.
Monterey Bay Aquarium
The next morning, I went down to Carmel Bakery to pick up a coffee and their famous pretzel for breakfast. After Teddy had his oatmeal, we walked over to a Mexican place to get Mr. Chuckles a breakfast sandwich and then headed back up to Cannery Row to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
We had fun exploring the Aquarium and, of course, it is the perfect family friendly activity with a baby. There were stroller parking areas on the main level so I put Teddy in the carrier to give him a better view.
The exhibits were impressive and Teddy was mesmerized.
The sea otters were my personal favourite.
It took us a couple hours to see everything and when Teddy started nodding off, we left to find lunch while he napped in the stroller. We had a delicious meal of Baja tacos and fish ‘n chips at Sea Harvest which made up for our blah dinner the night before.
Old Fisherman’s Wharf
On the way back from the Aquarium, we made a visit to Old Fisherman’s Wharf. This historic area was an active wholesale fish market until the 1960s, now converted into a tourist attraction. We explored along the boardwalk and stopped at a candy shop to pick up some salt water taffy.
In the evening we had a meh dinner at the pub beside our hotel and then had a relaxing final night in Monterey just watching tv and letting Teddy practice his crawling around the room.
Goodbye Monterey and hello again San Francisco
Before departing Monterey for our trip back to San Francisco, we went on one more walk along Del Monte Beach.
After a small breakfast, we packed up our car and drove back to the Fairmont for our last couple nights in San Francisco.
Overall, our trip to Monterey was a success and a perfect destination for baby’s first road trip!
I've Bean Travelling 
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