With golf courses, shopping and scenic drives to Big Sur, there is always something to do. For water lovers, there is scuba diving, surfing, kayaking and for tamer excitement, whale watching. A relaxing drive down the coast can entertain the family, with verdant nature and roadside stops along the way. In town, the Monterey Bay Aquarium will delight your family. Just outside is Cannery Row, where John Steinbeck wrote the book, Cannery Row. Fun shops and great restaurants now line the Row, and a stroll is the call. A short drive north is Carmel, a romantic getaway with spas, art galleries and lots of charm.

Finding peace is easy, here- just take a kayak out on the bay, relax and restore in the beauty of Monterey.

You also have the opportunity to explore many area vineyards & wineries and also Big Sur’s redwood groves. You can round out your trip with a drive along the Big Sur coastline on Highway One.

If you are looking to relocate, the Monterey Carmel area has great weather throughout the year and it is located close enough to the San Francisco area to do business or work there also. And if you are visiting, that means you can plan your vacation almost anytime and not have to worry about planning a certain time because of the weather. “The Row” has hotels, shops, restaurants and other activities for the entire family. From Cannery Row you can walk the recreational trail to Fisherman’s Wharf.

With the close proximity to San Francisco, you could visit both areas in the same trip.

The Pacific Coast Highway or route 1 in California covers most of the coast of California. Big Sur sits right on the Pacific Coast Highway some 120 miles south of San Francisco and 310 miles north of Los Angeles. The rugged, rocky coast line is famous for its tall majestic coast redwoods. These dinosaur like trees reach a height of 350 feet, making the redwood the tallest growing species on the planet. A 350 foot tree can be 2,000 years old and over 20 feet in girth. The big trees attract visitors from all over the world.

The remote location and sheer beauty of Big Sur provides an ideal location for many local writers and artists. Big Sur is a must stop to enjoy the town. Many small and quaint motels and bed and breakfast places dot the area.

The beaches of Big Sur differ greatly than the sandy warm covered beaches of the south. Big Sur’s rocky coast protects many species of marine creatures, more specifically the endangered California sea otter. The fun loving creatures spend much time basking along the coast in the sun and can be seen from the highway. At one time these marine mammals were almost hunted to extinction and wiped from the face of the Earth. In addition, bring warm clothing to these shorelines. The beaches are great for exploring, but not so great for tanning. A thick fog usually covers these remote beaches. Most of the shoreline belongs to national parks or state parks. Access to the beaches means hiking. Family picnics and exploring has been my families favorite past time in Big Sur. Many delights await your family in Big Sur. A great day trip packed with exploration and fun for all.

The city was settled in such an area to make it the only port of entry for imports into California. The Custom’s House was set up to oversee all incoming items. The Custom House is the oldest governmental building in the state. The Custom house was built in three stages under three different governmental ruler ships. The first was under Spain in 1814, from there Mexico added to the building in 1827, and then finally the United States completed construction in 1846.

In 1916 Frank Powers and Franklin Devandorf planned the development of the Carmel Highlands. Carmel is a small town located near Monterey. The real estate has become known as some of the most expensive anywhere. People who are famous settle in the area making it a cultural icon community. This area of the country is an ever changing frontier bound to challenge the imaginations of everyone who comes to visit.

In Monterey you can see the Monterey Bay Aquarium. No one can afford to miss the fluorescent jellyfish, nor the four sea otters who live there permanently. And there are the Pacific House Museum, which houses exhibits on local history and Indian life; and Dennis the Menace Park for children, created by the author of the comic strip; and the Monterey Museum of Art. You can also see the sea lions at the wharf!

Carmel is home to the Carmel Mission, established in 17771 by the Spaniards to convert the Indians; Point Lobos State Park, with trails that take you through kelp forests; and Gravity Garden, with its nine-foot-high sculptures by Jim Needham with no adhesives! Also noteworthy is the sand sculptor who works on the beach at the bottom of Ocean Avenue.

Yes indeed, as Woody Guthrie once sang, “California is a Garden of Eden, a paradise to live in or see.”

• Carmel River State Park
• Point Lobos State Reservre
• Garrapata State Park
• Point Sur Lightstation Historic Park
• Andrew Molera State Park
• Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
• Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
• John Little State Reserve
• Limekin State Park

We suggest that once you tire of the magnificent views the area offers that you perhaps retire under a tree in any of the above parks with a copy of Jack Karouac’s Big Sur, his 1962 novel that depicts fictional sojourns to nearby Bixby Canyon and its famous bridge that introduced automobiles to the stunning area known as Big Sur.