Coastal Journey, Day 3: Monterey to San Francisco

Another day, another institution: The famed Monterey Aquarium. Located in one of the old sardine canning factories in Cannery Row, the Aquarium is well-organized and a great place to bring the Kid Formerly Known as Blogger Toddler. For history buffs, there’s even an exhibit on the rise and fall of the canning industry there (basically, the sardines disappeared from Monterey Bay virtually overnight due to overfishing, killing the industry.) Another interactive exhibit goes into detail on which seafood to avoid at restaurants, due to harmful fishing practices or endangered species.

The view outside the aquarium.

Divers examine sea life outside the aquarium.

Our favorite sight at the aquarium: Sea otters swim and hold on to plastic balls.

The back of the aquarium.

After the aquarium — yes, we had to drag the kid away once he discovered the play area — we acted on another piece of Chowhound advice and headed up to a small market near the Presidio of Monterey for sandwiches (above). Several people had recommended Compagno’s Hilltop Market, and we weren’t disappointed. Large sandwiches — I ate half there, and saved the other half for the drive up. (Maria did the same.) It’s a mini-mart, but they did have a few tables out there.

Meanwhile, back on the road, we encountered Castroville — artichoke capital, so they say.

And they have a big-ass artichoke statue to prove it. Good enough for me.

After that, we sped up to San Francisco, driving through Santa Cruz, heading up and briefly stopping at IKEA in San Mateo for a break (we loves our IKEAs). We made it to the Hotel Intercontinental by 6, and set out to meet our friend Lisa and her husband and son at Osha Thai near our hotel. (Evan, of course, wanted to ride a street car at that very second. It took every effort to keep him with us; he might have ran off to find the cable cars himself hWe wound down the day by grabbing a piece of cake at the Red Ribbon Bakery connected to Jollibee near the Metreon.

Next up: On Day Four, clang, clang, clang goes the Street Car.