Monterey in a Day...

We are sitting in the lovely Carmel Mission Inn, in Carmel, CA, getting ready to work/have fun with Primal Wear, Inc. for the next four days at the Sea Otter Bike Expo.

We decided to turn this "work" trip into even more fun by driving out a day early and visiting my relatives in Bakersfield and then spending a day in Monterey.

I haven't been to Monterey since I was a little kid, and I only remember the aquarium.

So, we spent last night at the awesome and affordable Monterey Hotel!

We unloaded the car and grabbed Delta and some warm jackets and set off for an evening run. We went out on Fisherman's  Wharf, ran through Cannery Row, and had authentic Mexican food at Chipotle-ha ;)

It's amazing how much you can see by running!

Then this morning we took Delta on a run in the opposite direction and saw the beach and a cool downtown park and beautiful cypress trees.

Then on to see if my childhood memories served me well by revisiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium! When you look up a list of things to do in Monterey, the aquarium is at the top of every list. We don't usually patronize places that display captive and captured wild animals, but this aquarium is different-I hope...

They are non-profit and most of their animals are rescued from bad situations, nursed back to health, and released back into the wild, if possible.

We saw all the exhibits and a short documentary on great white sharks. Obviously I'm not super excited about swimming in the waters around here anytime soon...!

And like the little kid in me, I had to get a commemorative stuffed penguin!

Thanks for reading, and if you happen to be at Sea Otter in the next four days, come by the Primal booth and say hello!