Any bay area peeps?

[TheSiege]

anything I should be aware of?

 

[KLin]

Yes.

 

[OdiN]

Monterey != Bay Area

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: OdiN
Monterey != Bay Area

Boardwalk either.

 

[KLin]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor

Originally posted by: OdiN
Monterey != Bay Area

Boardwalk either.

2 important things to be aware of.

 

[Vehemence]

Originally posted by: OdiN
Monterey != Bay Area

Yeah I can't wait for my vacation on the east coast. New Mexico is gonna rock!

 

[Cruisin1]

Originally posted by: dNor

Originally posted by: OdiN
Monterey != Bay Area

Yeah I can't wait for my vacation on the east coast. New Mexico is gonna rock!

Oh come on... its not that big of a deal. If he's willing to drive an hour then he is close enough to the bay area. I'd avoid the Boardwalk... EXTREMELY lame... in fact just stay away from Santa Cruz

 

[TheSiege]

im staying in san jose, i am just visiting those places, so yes i will be in the bay area

 

[Dr. Detroit]

The Aquarium is boring and most definitely a tourist trap.

The Boardwalk is fun. Best way to enjoy a day in Santa Cruz is to arrive at a decent hour like 10am and set up your beach spot newar the water. Ogle the womenz, take a dip in the water tol cool down, roll up to the Boardwalk and buy some deep fried artichokes and an oil-can of Fosters. At some point, buy yourself some tickets and hit up the famous Giant Dipper ride (best at night when the Boardwalk is lit up), hit up the Cave Train, the ring-toss Carousel, Sky-Glider & Loggers Revenge.


Bring a cooler to the beach and drink out of red-cups and the police rarely hastle you for drinking at the beach. Need more beer and don't want to pay $6 for that oil-can, well there are 2-3 conveniance stores across the street from the Boardwalk & beach area.


Have fun.

 

[BoomerD]

The MB aquarium isn't bad. I've been there many times, and in fact, helped build the "Outer Bay" exhibit when they expanded about 15 years back.
Bring a warm jacket. When the marine layer rolls in during the evening, it can get cold as hell there...and wet. The fog can be VERY thick sometimes. We went to Monterey for the 4th of July in 2003. It was kind of cool watching the fireworks in the fog. Most of time, it was just a sudden burst of color in the fog, rather than the bright explosion of color that you normally get with fireworks displays.

My favorite restaurants in Monterey are:
Hula's (on Lighthouse near the aquarium) small place-great food-Hawaiian cuisine
Bubba Gump's (cannery row, near the aquarium and right on the water-good seafood-Forrest Gump atmosphere-fun if you've never been to one)
The Breakfast Club (on the hill on Fremont street IIRC-used to be the best breakfasts in town-great food-huge portions)

For a first-time tourist, Santa Cruz can be fun. Lots of female bodies to look at, some decent food available on the pier, great roller coaster.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: Fmr12B
The Aquarium is boring and most definitely a tourist trap.

The Boardwalk is fun. Best way to enjoy a day in Santa Cruz is to arrive at a decent hour like 10am and set up your beach spot newar the water. Ogle the womenz, take a dip in the water tol cool down, roll up to the Boardwalk and buy some deep fried artichokes and an oil-can of Fosters. At some point, buy yourself some tickets and hit up the famous Giant Dipper ride (best at night when the Boardwalk is lit up), hit up the Cave Train, the ring-toss Carousel, Sky-Glider & Loggers Revenge.


Bring a cooler to the beach and drink out of red-cups and the police rarely hastle you for drinking at the beach. Need more beer and don't want to pay $6 for that oil-can, well there are 2-3 conveniance stores across the street from the Boardwalk & beach area.


Have fun.

Well, you have to know what you're getting. It's not a balls out aquarium. It features the unique marine life of the California coast so you get a few very well done exhibits like the two story otter exhibit and the kelp forest and lots of smaller tanks with reef fish. I have to say that the anemone exhibit was new to me last time I went and it was really cool.

But, really, there is so much else to do down there. Beautiful drives and great restaurants. I also happen to love those kinds of beaches with lots of rocks and tide pools. Just don't picnic there.

 

[Dirigible]

I like the aquarium. I don't like spending much time at the Boardwalk, but the Giant Dipper is a fun old wooden coaster. I go to other less crowded beaches when I'm there. There are some semi-sketchy neighborhoods right near the Boardwalk, or at least there used to be, so you may want to be careful where you park.

Other activities: A surfing lesson in Santa Cruz if you don't know how. Fun even for novices. You could rent a sea kayak and paddle around Elkhorn Slough about halfway between Santa Cruz and Monterey.

 

[0roo0roo]

heh they have a bubba gump restaurant near the aquarium