Whale watching season is here and there’s no better place to see these magnificent creatures than the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. This great wildlife migration happens every March when groups of Gray whales can be spotted from shore as they journey northward along the coast, completing the last leg of their 14,000-mile annual round-trip.

Let your eye be fooled at the Monterey Museum of Modern Art, as Pam Carroll’s powerfully real work nearly comes to life on the walls. The Monterey Museum of Art has long honored that which is amazing in the historic and the modern, and Ms Carroll’s work is no exception.

We love going to the movies on chilly afternoons – and we bet you do too. In Monterey though, we don’t just go to any theatre – we go to the IMAX. Next time you’re here, drop into IMAX , grab the 3-D glasses and buttered popcorn and explore the stunning world of the Na’vi in the Academy Award-nominated movie ‘Avatar’.

Monterey is the epicenter of fun outdoor activities.  Our beautiful coast line just begs to be hiked or biked. The Monterey Bay brings out the kayaker in all of us. Whale watching anyone?!
Here’s how to get started - meet our friends Frank and Michelle!
We love our pals at Adventures by the Sea – you will too…..here’s why:
Adventures by the Sea began as just that – with adventurous love of the Monterey Peninsula and the outdoors. Frank Knight, owner of Adventures by the Sea, spent many of his early years bicycling, kayaking, surfing, and generally engulfed in the beauty and serenity of the Monterey area.
Wanting to share his experiences with others, Frank began a small rental business delivering bicycles to the local hotels for the enjoyment of people visiting the area. Continued enthusiasm and success have allowed the growth to add kayaking, surreys, surf boards and beach parties.
Frank and his wife Michelle now have locations on Cannery Row, Lovers Point, Pebble Beach and a fantastic Beach House location in downtown Monterey. Both Frank and Michelle are active in community affairs and in the ecological preservation of the Monterey Bay Area.
The beach house, nicknamed Pirate’s Cove, has also become a favorite if not famous attraction due to Frank and Michelle. Classic California beach parties are their specialty and can they throw a party! The beach house has been the perfect location for corporate groups, schools, weddings, birthdays and more!  Visit www.adventuresbythesea.com to see all the fun.

A visit to Earthbound Farms is a great day trip for families.  Earthbound Farm began in 1984 on a 2.5 acre raspberry farm in Carmel Valley. Today it’s a 30-acre research and development farm dedicated to all things organic and sustainable.
 You’re invited to help celebrate their 25th anniversary all summer long with the fruit that began it all – raspberries. Or on the first Saturday of each summer month you can take a bug walk and release ladybugs into the fields. Of course, fresh farm-ground produce and fruit is for sale.
For more information about summer activities, please visit www.ebfarm.com

There is now yet another compelling reason to visit Made in Monterey at the Monterey Museum of Art-Pacific Street. Besides the beauty of the sweeping 50th Anniversary exhibition and engaging new family gallery activities, locals and visitors alike can try their hand at a contest titled Where Oh Where in Monterey? Monterey’s glorious landscape and romantic architecture has sparked the creativity of generations of artists. While many of these historic scenes are immediately recognizable, others have changed over the decades.

Participants can put their sleuthing skills to the test by correctly identifying nine different locations selected from works in the exhibition. Entry forms that correctly identify all locations depicted will be entered into a drawing to win a one-night stay at one of the luxurious Inns of Monterey.

It’s the seahorse!  In its new, jaw-dropping, interactive exhibit, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has 15 species of seahorses and their kin—one of the nation’s largest collections of these charismatic animals.
Meander through four multimedia galleries and discover how these shy and secretive animals grow up, attract mates and give birth—this is the only family in the animal kingdom in which the males get pregnant! You’ll also learn how you can help save seahorses and the vulnerable marine habitats they call home.
Our favorite is the stunning Leafy Sea Dragon. Seahorses, sea dragons, pipehorses and pipefishes come in many shapes and sizes, but beneath the surface they’re all fish, with fused jaws and bony plates in place of the scales normally associated with fish.
Perhaps what most distinguishes seahorses from the rest of the animal kingdom is their unique life history—the males become pregnant and give birth. Seahorse fathers shelter their young in protective pouches, while sea dragon and pipefish fathers carry their young on spongy patches on the undersides of their tails.
No one knows how many seahorses actually exist. That’s because identifying seahorses is difficult. The smallest known species, discovered in 2008, is the half-inch-long Satomi’s pygmy seahorse; the largest species is the potbelly seahorse, which grows to about 14 inches long.

Monterey’s beloved My Museum – that’s code for Monterey County Youth Museum – is now open at 425 Washington Street, in Downtown Monterey, conveniently by the Monterey Sports Center and Dennis the Menace Park. This 8,500 square foot museum is packed with a variety of hands on exhibits, making each visit unique and exciting. It compliments any visit to the Monterey area or makes a good day into a great day for those who are fortunate to visit on a regular basis.
For more about My Museum’s zillions of activities, please visit www.mymuseum.org.

Monterey’s Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo, also known as the Royal Presidio Chapel, reopened recently after an extensive two year restoration. Work included seismic retrofitting, renovations to alleviate the moisture problems that plagued the chapel for more than 200 years, rebuilding of 80 percent of the rear walls, and the removal of layers of paint and plaster to reveal original decorative painting. Blocks of those paintings have been preserved for viewing.

Did you know? The entire Gray Whale population migrates past the Monterey coastline every winter and spring. These whales have one of the longest animal migrations known, traveling over 12,000 miles from their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea to their winter breeding grounds in Baja California and back again. Killer Whales have recently been spotted along the Monterey Coast as well!