See Life in Monterey

Monterey has had gorgeous weather the past couple weeks. These are the September days when the 24-hour temperature range is typically 60 as a low at 5am in the morning and around 70 to 74 as a high in daytime sunny skies. Morning fog is present at least half the days near the coast, but burns off by 9 to 10am.

Typically, when I travel I take 200 to 400 photos daily. I have only downloaded my memory card photos twice in the past six weeks. All my photos were primarily Monterey Peninsula scenes taken in August, the foggiest month of the year in these parts.

California sea lion sleeping at Coast Guard jetty, Monterey.

Cannery Row is the primary tourist attraction of Monterey. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is on the west end of the Row. The east end is the Monterey Plaza Hotel; a place I consider one of the best choices for an ocean view room on the Monterey Peninsula. 

Dolphins fountain on the large oceanfront patio of Monterey Plaza Hotel. This space is public access.

Monterey Plaza Hotel on Cannery Row.

Cannery Row still has some grit, even though the past few decades have seen a development facelift with the Monterey Plaza Hotel, Monterey Bay Aquarium and InterContinental The Clement beautifying the waterfront.

One of the waterfront development projects recently went bust and there is now a move to turn the largest remaining vacant waterfront space into a city park.

Kayakers off Cannery Row with Coast Guard jetty and fog shrouded coastline of Monterey Bay in background.

The Coast Guard jetty is the best location for getting up close to large California Sea Lions. A sturdy, thick metal fence keeps viewers safe, yet up close to sea lions which normally occupy the rocky outcrops off the coast.

A hard life is evident in the scars on this sea lion. He is hanging out alone on the rocks next to the concrete wall along the jetty. Most of the sea lions are social and hang out together on the rocks past the fence.

Getting up close and personal is risky and actually against the law to interfere with a sea lion.

All the sailboats indicate this was a Wednesday in Monterey. Mount Toro and the pastures of heaven seen in the background. The Salinas Valley is east of Mt. Toro.

Sea lions have a loud bark and I can even hear these sounds at times from my home about 1.5 miles away from the jetty and wharves. Sea lions have big teeth too.

Two sea otters were resting by the jetty rocks. The pup was too cute wrapped in kelp with little paws over little eyes while mom stayed near.

Sea lion pups were all around too on this foggy August day in Monterey.

The protective fence between the jetty rocks and the pedestrian zone.

I’ll leave you with a video of the sea lions on the jetty since sound is such an important part of the sea life experience in Monterey.

The fog can be depressing in August when it sometimes settles in for days on end, especially if you planned a summer trip to the coast when most of the USA is warmer and sunnier. But that all subsides with a walk around town to see life in Monterey.