Municipal Wharf

The Municipal Wharf, one of Monterey's three wharves, and one I have not blogged about much before, despite its blog-worthiness.

When life gives you lemons...

Southern Hotel

Built in 1907, lovingly restored and reopened in 2014, the Southern Hotel is one of the focal points of downtown Covington, LA. It was a pleasure and a privilege to stay there in its current, 21st century incarnation.

 

Satsuma Maple

The Satsuma Café on Maple Street in New Orleans. I had been to the other one in the Bywater neighborhood, which I also liked. Both are worth visiting for their great food, coffee and atmosphere.

sea lion or harbor seal?



They have many physical similarities and Monterey Bay has both. I think this one is a sea lion due the size of the flipper (a sea lion's are larger), the brown color (harbor seals are gray) and since the nearby Coast Guard Pier is covered with sea lions.

Marina Dunes Preserve

For years we had been going to Marina State Beach, one of the best spots in the area to view whales, not realizing that right next door was the equally worthy Marina Dunes Preserve.

Embarcadero

Around this time there was also a trip to San Francisco, to stroll along the Embarcadero and check out various points of interest, such as the relocated Burning Man sculpture "SOMA"  (above) and the Exploratorium, an interesting museum I had heard about for years and that we liked, but is a little bit like cheesecake or acorn woodpeckers - too much to digest at one time.