![]() ![]() Little ones tired of the big fish? A new machine lets kids create bubbles big enough to stand in at the colorful Monterey County Youth Museum (601 Wave Street 83 admission $5.50, children under 2 free), a short walk from the aquarium. Call (866) 963-9646 to reserve.Īt Monterey Bay Aquarium, a touch pool. The $79 cost for 90 minutes includes underwater time with a certified dive instructor, a photo of the child in full scuba gear and post-dive hot chocolate. Bonus: surface scuba diving sessions in the Great Tide Pool are available for children ages 8 to 13, June 16 through Labor Day Weekend. “Wild About Otters,” a lavish five-gallery exhibition that opened in March, also showcases more than 30 species of fish, plants and reptiles that share waters with the otters. And don't miss the newest arrivals - 10 spirited freshwater otters, including two African spotted neck otter pups. Small fry can run around at the interactive Splash Zone. Touch a velvety ray in the Bat Ray Petting Pool. Marvel at the otherworldly beauty of the jellyfish. Watch divers feed fish in the kelp forest (the kelp grows four inches a day). Sardines are among the more than 35,000 fish, invertebrates, mammals, reptiles, birds and plants that can be seen at this oceanfront structure that, 23 years after its debut, remains Monterey's showplace. ![]() It's fitting that the Monterey Bay Aquarium (886 Cannery Row 83 admission $24.95, children 3 to 12 $15.95, under 3 free) is on the site of a former sardine cannery. (The wharf is also a prime spot for watching harbor seals.) And though the fish canneries that inspired John Steinbeck's “Cannery Row” have morphed into gift shops and restaurants, you can watch the fishermen unload their catches most mornings around 8 a.m. The humble desk where Robert Louis Stevenson reputedly wrote down ideas for “Treasure Island” is on view at Stevenson House (530 Houston Street 83 free admission), the $2-a-day hotel where he lived in 1879. And as every California fourth grader knows, Monterey was once the capital of California and is jam-packed with history, much of it on view in the city's old adobe buildings, many open to the public.įor a small city (population: about 30,000), Monterey also has a rich literary past with family appeal. A temperate climate means you can pursue outdoor activities year round, from sailing and kayaking to a bike ride or a stroll along the Monterey Peninsula Recreation Trail. Sea otters, sea lions and whales are just a few of the appealing marine creatures often spotted in the bay's cool blue waters. But these days it's hard to visit the relaxed seaside city of Monterey, about 120 miles south of San Francisco, and think anything else. IT'S doubtful the Spanish explorer Juan Cabrillo was thinking “family friendly” when he spotted Monterey Bay in 1542.
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