Monterey Trip Day 2

Yesterday the skies were bright blue, not a cloud to be seen, and temperatures in the low 60's. Today dawned gray, damp and temperatures in the 50's with just enough wind to give you a good chill. Oh well, that's Monterey.

This morning we went over to the Portola Plaza Hotel where the Jazz Festival is held and watched the Mission Viejo Jazz Band perform. They were really on it today - best show I've seen them do with a well-paced three song program that took most of their 25 minutes allotted time. Here's a photo of the group in action. The tall trumpet player on the right belongs to me:


We shopped around a bit after the program and stopped at a local pizza joint for lunch. The pizza on the wall is roughly the same size as the large ones they serve.


In the afternoon it was time to head over to the 17-mile drive. The wind was brisk and skies were pretty gray, but the ocean along the coast never disappoints. With the rocks and wave action, there's always a show on. Here the girl is shooting some photos of her own near Bird Rock (or more appropriately Bird Doo-Doo Rock):


We made a stop at The Lodge at Pebble Beach, home of the AT&T Pro-Am (formerly "The Crosby"):

This is one of the most famous holes in golf - the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach:

Dinner tonight was a Bubba Gump's in Cannery Row, right on the water. Our dinner entertainment was provided by a pair of California Sea Otters which were enjoying a meal of their own right below our window. One is pictured here, though there a little tough to make out in the photo. Otters pick up shellfish from the bottom of the bay and then float on their back while beating the shellfish with a rock to break it open. This guy is working on his dinner:
The girl and I went mini-golfing after dinner at an indoor black light place with an undersea theme. It was fun, but the place was hot, crowded, and had a long wait for each hole. We still did our best to have a good time.

Tomorrow we pick up the boy in the morning and then will spend a couple of hours at the Monterey Bay Aquarium before heading home. More pictures tomorrow.