Cannery Row

Cannery Row is a colorful, fun place to walk around. There are plenty of restaurants and tourist shops, and pots brimming with flowers. You can stand by the railing and look out over the wide bay. Often there's live music playing in the plaza, though when we were there it was slightly cheesy and elevatorish. Below the plaza is a pretty yellow-sanded beach called McAbee Beach where kids can wade and play in the sand.

Made famous by John Steinbeck's novel, this area used to be filled with filth, sardine canneries, rough sailors, and prostitutes. But the sardines disappeared in 1948 due to overfishing. When John Steinbeck returned in the 1960s he wrote, "The beaches are clean where they once festered with fish guts and flies. The canneries that once put up a sickening stench are gone, their places filled with restaurants, antique shops, and the like. They fish for tourists now, not pilchards, and that species they are not likely to wipe out."
Bubba Gump is a good place to eat at Cannery Row. You can enjoy views of the water while your kids eat their meal in a paper boat and delight in the colored jello at the end. The views are just amazing! Also, it is all glass, so you are warm yet feel like you're outside!
At night, head inland three blocks to Lighthouse Rd, and check out Carbone's, a dive bar filled with signs from the old days of Monterey when the streets were filled with sailors and street girls. Bikers like to stop at this bar, as do military guys from the Naval Postgraduate School nearby. It's a strange mix of people, a real dive bar. There's a fire pit in the back. Live bands play on the stage inside on Friday nights and there's usually someone on the dance floor. Try to come when the band Freesound are playing- they are out of this world- an older guy commented to me, "I haven't heard a guitar solo like that since when Jimi Hendrix was alive," and I agree!
At Cannery Row, you can visit Monterey Bay Aquarium- if you're wondering whether it's worth the money, it is! Monterey Aquarium is more than just an aquarium- it's another world beneath the sea, with the most amazing exhibits, though it's ridiculously expensive and crowded. The jellyfish exhibit will put you in awe of nature's beauty and sense of humor. From the aquarium you can walk to Lovers Point Park- this is such an intensely beautiful walk, and you can see seals in a little cove on your way. You can walk the bike path southeast to Fisherman's Wharf, a touristy, fun spot with water every shade of green and blue. Beside Fisherman's Wharf is Del Monte Beach, which can be bright and sunny or wild and wintery- there's no way to predict which one. For a colorful playground you'll never forget, check out famous Dennis the Menace Park.
While in Monterey, take a day to do the Big Sur Coastline Drive to San Simeon. It is something you will always remember!

Directions

There are plenty of signs to Monterey and then to Cannery Row. But here are directions all the way from the 101 northbound. Exit at Monterey Peninsula. Turn right on Sanborn. Follow it for 2 miles and then turn left on Main. Follow Hwy 68 for about 15 miles and exit at Monterey. Turn right on Fremont, right on Abrego, right on Washington, left on Lighthouse, right on Drake, turn left on Foam Street and park.
There are several places you can park, along Foam Street, two blocks back parallel to Cannery Row. A parking lot is on David Avenue between Wave and Foam Street. There is also a parking lot on Wave Street (one block back, parallel to Cannery Row), between Hoffman and Prescott. Parking is pricey, $7-15/day depending on weekday or weekend.
Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, 720 Cannery Row, Monterey CA 93940, call (831) 373-1884.
Carbone's Bar, 214 Lighthouse Ave, near Reeside Avenue, call (831) 643-9169. There's plenty of free parking along Lighthouse Ave.

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