Saturday morning we headed down to Monterey Bay where we would be spending the night at a quaint little B&B. The little area we explored is made up of three main towns: Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Carmel. I was hoping we would be able to explore a little bit in each of the three towns, but there is soooo much to do that one weekend just wasn't enough!
The weather forecast for the weekend was less than appealing. Rain. All day. Both days. The coastal area is beautiful, and the beaches are especially nice, but I knew we wouldn't be able to enjoy many outdoor activities in the rain.
Monterey
We started Saturday at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which Sam was SUPER excited about. Now the Monterey Aquarium is not as massive as the Georgia Aquarium, but it definitely has it's own perks. The aquarium is on Cannery Row, one of the touristy spots of downtown Monterey, and actually sits on the Bay. One of the workers explained to us that they pull all of the water for their aquariums directly from the bay which they then clean and filter back out. They also have a patio and an outdoor ampitheater that looks out onto the water. 
They have a pretty wide variety of creatures, although sadly no Beluga whales or big sharks. They had an awesome jelly fish corner and a seahorse exhibit. The turtles are always a favorite of mine, and Sam was particularly intrigued by the octopus and star fish.
One of the highlights of the visit for me was grabbing lunch at their little cafe. We snagged a table next to the windows and were able to watch otters, sea lions and dolphins playing while enjoying our meal. It was so wonderful! And definitely not something you can get at the Georgia Aquarium! The seagulls were particularly persistent in trying to steal the poor little otter's meal.
Sam navigated us through all of the exhibits. I don't know how many times I would turn around and he would be gone- off to the next exciting fish! We accidently stumbled on one of their presentations where they brought Makana, their resident albatross. Apparently, she is one of the only albatross in captivity in the US. She was found injured and isn't able to survive in the wild anymore. It was definitely a fun experience to see her up close!
Part of the aquarium had an outdoor area with injured birds that the aquarium takes in and rehabilitates to release back into the wild.
The salt water aquariums were so pretty and colorful. Maybe one day Sam and I will be ambitious enough to have our own salt water tank.
Pacific Grove
After the aquarium, we checked into our adorable little Bed and Breakfast in Pacific Grove. We were welcomed with a chilled bottle of champagne and some delicious chocolates.
Sam and I hardly got any of our wedding cake at our wedding reception, and for some reason, our reception venue didn't keep the top layer of the cake like I had asked. (We weren't going to save it for a whole year, just take it back to California with us after the wedding) So, since we weren't able to indulge in our wedding cake, I decided to have a little cake made for us to enjoy for our anniversary. It was red velvet with cream cheese icing...delicious!
We finished up the day with a late dinner at this little hole in the wall seafood place (how could we not?) called Monterey's Fish House. I feel like I can hear my mother-in-law now, "seafood, at a rinky-dink place like that?!?!" Well, maybe she wouldn't say "rinky-dink" :-) Don't worry though, with over 400 reviews on Yelp and 4/5 stars, we were not disappointed! Sam had the Sicilian Holiday Pasta (mussels, clams, calamari, octopus, and some kind of fish), and I had one of the specials- artichoke hearts, clam, prawns, and scallops in a white cream sauce. Wow. Both dishes were delicious, and totally worth the wait.
Even though it was rainy and cold, our first day in Monterey Bay was oodles of fun! We were totally holding out though for whale watching and walking around Carmel the next day if the weather was good :-)
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