Monterey Weekend

Boyfriend hasn't come down to Monterey with me for Big Sur since 2009.  Can you believe that?  We made a mini getaway vacation out of the weekend and I'm hoping we can do that every year.  This was my 7th trip down to Monterey since we moved to California.  At first I had a hard time thinking of things to do but we revisited some old favorites and I already have ideas for next year.

After the race we stuffed our faces at Chili's (original, I know) which was right by the hotel.  Boyfriend ran 17+ miles while I was running and barely had enough time to get to the finish to see me. So we were both starving by the time we got back to the hotel and needed food faster than searching for a cool local eatery would have taken.

We then checked into a new hotel with a great location and only emerged later so I could secure this:

Topped with caramel and sea salt.  SEA SALT. The way to my heart is through salt.

And a photo with this:

Who doesn't love a giant sea otter?

The next day we went to the aquarium which we hadn't visited since 2007.  We got to catch the otters at feeding time.  There was a rescued baby otter (the darker-faced one) and his surrogate aquarium mom. It is hard to get photos of the otters.  They move so quickly and you're looking through glass that is constantly being sprayed down with water.  Plus there is a huge crowd around the glass at feeding time.

Flipper-tude

So cute, I die!

The only thing better than bunny butt is otter butt.

I'm also a huge fan of the jellyfish and seahorse displays.  The jellyfish are so peaceful and I'd love to have a jellyfish tank of my own.  The seahorses are just so bizarre and beautiful all at once.

Boyfriend found a restaurant he wanted to visit out in Moss Landing.  They're famous for their cioppino, but I opted for some pasta.

Y.U.M.

All in all it was a fun quick getaway and one of the reasons I love doing the Big Sur Marathon every year.

I thought this was so clever.  Almost bought a mouse pad, but Boyfriend talked me out of it :P