In early June I had the blessing to go on holiday for an entire week to the beautiful coast of Monterey Bay, California. It always was a dream of mine to travel to the Bay Area of California, after a very hectic semester both academic & personal, my sister Aimee & I decided to take a trip to the west coast where our loving cousin Alejandra lives. Ale got married last year & since dippers we've been very close now that she moved away no matter the distance our bond is strong as ever. But we missed her dearly & getting to meet a new place is not that bad of a sacrifice. It was the first travel my sister & I made without our family which added to the adventure.  

Monterey is located in norther California making part of the beautiful bay area. There are beaches & mountains giving it a Twilight feel to the scenery. These beaches are not at all your ideal summer warm destination, comparing it to the southern heat the weather is quite cool, between 50s-60s degrees Fahrenheit, but stays around the same all year. There didn't pass a day that I didn't wear a cardigan or jacket, it is my favorite kind of weather so it wasn't a big deal at all.

Monterey is well known for it's populous wildlife, there is a underwater cayon right in the middle of the bay that is greater than the Great Cayon. This allows many anilams to live & travel the needed ocean depth but still be close to land.  There are sea lions, otters, dolphins that are just chilling around all over the bay & where whales are spotted daily from boats not far in the sea. With an already beautiful landscape the rich wildlife makes it all even more magical. 

Having our very own personal tour guide being a resident of the area, we where able to go to various places & see the wonderful place that California is. There are many ways I can share this experience with you but there where many adventures within the adventure that a travel diary is the best way to share my now memories. 

Arrival


We left Texas on a Tuesday afternoon made it to San Jose, California in the evening, we drove about an hour to get to Monterey. When we where arriving there was quite a lot of fog & by a lot I mean a lot. I live in the Texan desert there isn't much water therefore green. The mountains are full of trees & with the fog & time of the day it was very similar to Twilight. We ate dinner at Chilli's then went to my cousins home & rest from the flight.



Day One

The first day we went to go grab breakfast from Starbucks & Jamba Juice, it was very California & delicious. After that we went to take a walk down Del Monte beach where not even five minutes there the wild life welcome us to their home as dolphins were playing in the water.

 Then we went to a more rocky beach that was unbelievably beautiful called Lovers Point. All along the way there are benches & a path way for couples can enjoy together the scenery. Later we went to walk along the wharf, it was one of my favorite places in Monterey. it is not at flashy or big but the restaurants they have & shops are so cute the environment is calming you can't but feel happy. There was this salt water taffy place that is highly proclaimed one of the best & after tasting I few I can see why. 

I had my very first In-N-Out, I will say this it was a very tasty burger & the shake probably one of the best I've ever had, I do believe it is a bit overrated not the best but definitely in my top five.

This is one of my favorite pictures ever, it is in the moment & genuine laughter with my sister.Wildlife just chilling at Fisherman's Wharf.

Day Two

If you are familiar with a certain blue fish that forgets things then this place is will be very familiar, Monterey Bay Aquarium. Yes it's the one from Finding Dory & yes it is exactly like the one in the movie( no joke when I say exactly). I really enjoyed the aquarium, it has a great amount of fish & sea animals but what is even better is that it is not just an exhibition they teach you about them, the importance of conservation & protection of our oceans. Ironically I forgot my camera this day but I was able to take some photos from Aimee & Ale. 


Day Three

This day was one to remember, we arrived at Fisherman's Wharf in the early morning & booked tickets to go whale watching on a boat. We ate a very small breakfast from a little tea shop called Water + Leaves that was right across from the boat that will be taking us. After a chi tea & many ginger everything later we boarded the boat. We had the time of our lives, my lovely cousin decided to save some seats where no one was seating towards the front of the boat. We all were wondering why no one would sit there if it seem like a great place to be. Well we got our answered as soon as we set to sail, the water was crashing right where we were which soaked us all in the fishy ice cold water. We laughed about it the entire way but in the end it was worth it because we had the perfect view as we watched two humpback whales for almost three hours. It was nice & enriching to see animals in their natural habitat living & behaving like they want to.

When we got back hunger seem to kick in & decided to grab lunch at the wharf, it was hard to decide where because to the many options they have but in the end we ended up at a little place that had clam chowder on a bun which is one of the most delicious things in this earth. Then Ale decided that because the seafood was fresh Aimee & I should try oysters for the first time. My sister tried them first & it was one of the best reactions ever she still doesn't know whether she liked them or not. I took my time but I ate it & I have to admit I actually did like them.

Later on in the evening & after cleaning ourselves from the ocean water, we went to Cannary Row & ate dinner at Bubba Gump's. If you are familiar with the movie called Forest Gump it is based on the movie, there is movie trivia, photos, merch & for the food they have shrimp this, shrimp that & like the movie the list goes on. Dinner was absolutely delicious I ate some fried shrimp with snowflake crab doesn't get better.
To end the day full of unexpected adventures we where able to witness one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen, truly unbelievable.

Aimee, myself & Ale.
At the end, this day was like a box of chocolates, never know what you're gonna get.


Day Four

This was a very special & long day on it's own there will be a post alone on our adventures in San Fransisco in the upcming week.


Day Five

Early in the morning my sister & I went to Sunday mass to the cutest church ever. It was mainly an Asian-American community in Monterey, very different from what we are use to but the faith just as beautiful.

After we when to Santa Cruz, which is also about an hour distance from Monterey. I will confess the first time I heard about this place was in a 5 Seconds Of Summer song, Wrapped Around Your Fingers said something about the Santa Cruz sand & I decided I really wanted to go there. We where on the Boardwalk & had so much fun playing indoor mini golf, which I sucked, eating lunch, getting in rides & watching beach soccer, it was very fun.

Day Six

This was our last full day, what better way to spend it than in the beach. We didn't get in the water but we stayed there for hours & it was just as fun. We talked & talked & talked about all things cherishing this moment in our hearts. The dolphins that said hello our first day seem to want to say goodbye too as the kept jumping around the area all the time we were there. I fell in love with the ocean it is not just relaxing but it fills be with happiness I can't explain, just know that it feels close to home.


Day Seven

For our day of departure we left early to Fisherman's Wharf we drank some tea & coffee then headed to the shops to buy souvenirs walking around. Aimee & I couldn't leave without another taste of the local calm chowder so we ate lunch at a little restaurant. It was very bittersweet & I really didn't to go back home. We drove to San Jose late in the afternoon & made it back home in the night. 

I don't know what it was but saying goodbye was hard, to this place, to the food, the people, my family but like our little inside joke, we will see you Sunday. 



I don't know what it was but saying goodbye was hard, to this place, to the food, the people, my family but like our little inside joke, we will see you Sunday, California. 

 There will be a travel post up every Friday in the next couple of weeks, thank you for reading.