Monterey Travel

THERE ARE PLENTY OF GOOD REASONS for spending a long weekend, or even weeks, in Monterey. The local visitors’ bureau ballyhoos first-class resorts, exquisite spas, five-star restaurants, 25 nearby golf courses, 40 regional wineries, the famed Monterey Bay Aquarium and the National Steinbeck Center. For starters.

On two recent weekend trips, I overloaded the itinerary: a half-day at the aquarium, where a spectacular new exhibit, “Sharks: Myth and Mystery,” opened this summer; day trips to two county wineries; dinner at three first-rate restaurants, including the storied Sardine Factory in the heart of novelist John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row (order the abalone bisque); a couple of laps on the historic 17-Mile Drive through Pebble Beach and Del Monte Forest; and walking and driving tours of Carmel and Carmel Valley.

But the best reason to visit this historic coastal gem may just be for no reason at all. I had my best time when I took time to discover what you don’t have to do in Monterey. And the best way to do nothing, I discovered, is on a bicycle.

Spanish merchant Sebastian Vizcaino was the first European to set foot on the Monterey peninsula in 1602. If he’d had a bike, he wouldn’t have been on foot for long.

Going nowhere for no particular reason can be absolutely delightful. But bring a sweater, even in summer. Monterey is one of the few places in California in August where the weather can be described as brisk. Five miles east, temperatures are in the 90s. Here, on a sunny September morning, the thermometer hovers in the 60s. But then that’s perfect bicycling weather. And you can bicycle just about anywhere on the Monterey peninsula.

The coastal Recreation Trail stretches more than a dozen miles from downtown’s Fisherman’s Wharf and the Old Custom House (California’s oldest public building) to Carmel. A stop on the wharf seems a mandatory part of the Monterey package. But you may want to make it brief. This is the place to go if your wardrobe screams for another stenciled T-shirt or you have a insatiable craving for an octopus cocktail at The Dockside, followed by a cotton candy chaser at Casa Carmel Korn. If not, pedal a mile or so south to Cannery Row.

Some 250,000 tons of sardines were processed here in 1945, the year John Steinbeck’s novel, Cannery Row, was published. Today, fishing and canning are pretty much history in these parts. But then history is what Cannery Row is all about. And you can still find historic reminders here among more T-shirt shops, galleries, candy stores, restaurants and pubs with names like Bullwacker’s.

Two of the best reasons to visit Cannery Row: the aquarium, with more than 300,000 marine plants and animals, and the European-flavored Spindrift Inn, one of the more luxurious hotels on the California coast. The coastal trail winds through Pacific Grove, a community established as a Methodist retreat in the 1880s. Today, with its lazy tempo and warm, homey atmosphere, it retains a small-town feel—more a throwback to the 1950s than the 1880s. But it’s easy to imagine the early days when a curfew required shades to be pulled down and lights extinguished after 10 p.m., when dancing and card-playing were frowned on, and sunbathing was permitted only in modest suits “of opaque material, which shall be worn in such a manner as to conceal form.” Easy to imagine until you gaze on the beaches of Pacific Grove today, where you’ll see more than the occasional thong-clad sunbather on the beach near Lovers’ Point—even when the thermometer tops out at 65.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS not to do is shopping. And there’s ample opportunity for that here. The village of Monterey feels a lot like La Jolla— without the attitude. Not a lot of chain stores. Every other storefront, it seems, leads to an art gallery, a restaurant or wine store. You can go inside and buy something, if you choose. Or you can treat the galleries like museums, pause to savor the beauty, then ride on.Plenty of wine in the restaurants.

Something else you should plan on not doing in Monterey: exploring the wild nightlife. With fresh seafood from Monterey Bay and the freshest vegetables from Salinas Valley, the dining scene is fairly spectacular. But quiet descends on the village early.

And nightclubs are in short supply. When I asked a charming blonde teenager named Tanya what folks in Monterey did for excitement at night, she didn’t hesitate. “We go to San Jose,” she said.

I did think a little place in the village called Doc Ricketts Lab—offering “Comedy, Live Entertainment and Dancing”—looked promising, at first. But then I found more than a dozen other things you can plan on not doing in Monterey. At least not at Ricketts Lab. Below the marquee, prominently displayed, is a list of more than a dozen don’ts at Doc’s: “No tank tops, no sports attire, no punk rock attire, no heavy metal attire, no baggy clothes, no excessive display of jewelry, no hats, no one under 21, no admittance after 1:15 a.m., no smoking on patio after 1:15, no beverages to leave premises, no blocking of sidewalk, and no glassware on patio. Have a good time!”

Oh, well. I was planning an early bike ride in the morning, anyway.

IF YOU GO

A DRIVE TO MONTEREY takes most of a day. But Southwest Airlines offers direct flights to San Jose, 60 miles north. Fares range from $63 to $109, one way. And San Jose has plenty of rental cars. I stayed in two Monterey hotels, both operated by The Inns of Monterey. The Hotel Pacific, an allsuites inn with views of the bay, provides a warm and comfortable launching pad for walking tours of the village. Suites start at $189 a night. Lodging at the luxurious Spindrift Inn at Cannery Row, with in-room fireplaces and spectacular views, starts at $169 (Cannery Row room) and $279 (ocean view). For reservations at either: 800-232- 4141 or www.innsofmonterey.com. Bay Bikes rents bicycles at two locations, Cannery Row and Fisherman’s Wharf. Both charge $5.50 per hour or $22 for a full day. For more information: 831-655- 2453 or www.montereybaybikes.com.

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