Ocean views, the boardwalk, and a snazzy hotel.

You know the deal, we left wine country and headed back down through San Francisco to hop on the PCH and drive down the beautiful coast of California!

Obviously, I can not even begin to describe the true beauty that is the California coast line.

[And seriously, this is just the beginning when things were still foggy and before hitting SF]

D took the first leg of the driving to get us back through SF.  I had big hopes of stopping and getting some typical touristy pictures in front of the Golden Gate Bridge.

[Seemed like those touristy pics weren't meant to be]

And so we kept trucking through San Fran.  I did research while D drove.  Hopping on the Pacific Coast Highway/Hwy 1, there are just a million things to see.  

We stopped two, maybe three times along the way.  We decided to make our first stop for some food in Santa Cruz.  Since D was on a hunt for a brew pub in every city we visited, we decided on Seabright Brewery.

The beers were pretty good here.  Nothing stellar, but they do have beers that have won awards at the Great American Beer Festival.  The food was actually pretty good here!  We got the nachos (which aren't on their online menu but were really amazing) and the salmon fish and chips.

After filling our bellies, we trekked (and dealt with parking issues) over to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.  I can't remember ever going to a boardwalk before, so it was a must-see for me!

 [It was a Saturday, so it was a bit heavy with people]

 [No big deal, we rode the sky buckets]

D picked himself up some classic "fair" foods (ice cream and chocolate sauce covered waffle), and we were back on the road.  I took over driving (and of course was unluckily stuck in traffic for a while), and D took to Priceline to search for a hotel.  He hit the jackpot and got us a spa hotel in Monterey.

[Portola Hotel & Spa]

Monterey ended up being probably my favorite city of the trip (side note: while I say I want to live in a big city, my favorite cities to travel are by far the little, quaint places).  The hotel was obviously wonderful and right on the Fisherman's Wharf.  

 [View from Fisherman's Wharf]

 [Window view of seals from our dinner restaurant]

We had an amazing dinner that I honestly did not want to end even when I was stuffed to the brim: clam chowder in a bread bowl, seafood fettucini alfredo with house made sauce, steamed fish platter, local beers.  We walked and explored the wharf.  I wish we would have made it to Cannery Row.  It would have been ideal to have a second, full day in Monterey.  I'd love to go back, rent bikes to ride around town and explore the aquarium.  We left fairly early the next morning to get back on the road towards Big Sur.