Sunday

Monarchs In Pacific Grove


Monarch_3862.jpg by gclemenson
Monarchs In Pacific Grove
     If you are in Monterey or are considering a trip don't forget to go check out the Monarchs in Pacific Grove. It is really something to go see. I have seen It before but it always awes me every time I go. When you first start walking down the trail into the butterfly sanctuary you don't really know what to expect. You can smell the Eucalyptus and wonder to yourself  what is a butterfly sanctuary? Basically it is a place for the Monarch Butterfly's to stop off and rest on their way between Mexico and Canada. The Monarchs winter here from November until late February. They can be seen hanging in clusters of thousands of monarchs in the Eucalyptus trees. At first the hanging bunches look like dead leaves but then you realize hey those are really thousands of Monarch Butterflies hanging there. If you are lucky enough to be there when there is a docent around they will usually have a small telescope trained on the bunches hanging in the trees. It truly is something to see. Be sure to bring a small pair of binoculars and your cameras. Then, there is a magical time when the temperature gets warm and the clusters start to rustle around and the Monarchs start to fly. When it starts to really warm up there will be literally thousands of butterflies flying in the air all over the butterfly sanctuary. It is truly a beautiful sight. So if you are in Monterey or PG during that time of year don't forget to stop by and check out this beautiful sight. It truly is amazing seeing all these Monarchs in the air at once. When you first see them flying they look like small bats flying and then you see the brilliant orange color that only a Monarch Butterfly has.  The Monarch Sanctuary is open from Sunrise to Sunset and docents are available from from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. and admission is free. Monterey (CA)

 Monarch_3862.jpg, a photo by gclemenson on Flickr.

Saturday

Roller Skating in Monterey

Roller Skating in Monterey
     With the closure of the old and much loved Del Monte skating arena in Monterey by the Naval Postgraduate school Monterey has been left without a roller rink. But a local business has been able to step up and accommodate those skaters who used to go to Del Monte. Water City Roller Hockey which is located a few miles away at 2801 2nd Ave. Marina Ca 93933. Water City has always been a good place to pick up a hockey stick and go have a good time on your league night with your friends but now they also offer roller skating with open skating time just like a normal  roller rink but with a little bit of hockey flavor thrown in. The first time I was ever at water City was actually to play Lacrosse, they had an indoor lacrosse league for awhile but that ended some time ago and they have stuck with their main talent of roller hockey and now skating. So if you are in Monterey and it's one of those cold foggy days and you can't find anything to do come out to Water City and take you kids yourself skating it warms you up and you have a good time for a few hours.

Wednesday

Beutiful Winter Weather

Beautiful Winter Weather
I don't know if you have noticed but the weather has been beautiful. When I say beautiful i mean 70 degrees at the beach in December and January. Those are temperatures we don't expect in Monterey until more like May or June. So these days are definitely a plus to anyone planning a weekend getaway to Monterey. So if you are coming up for the weekend or just a couple days during the week you can pack your shorts and plan to see the sun. Where normally we would be having foggy wet rainy weather it's nothing but clear blue sky and beautiful days. So it's a wonderful time to go golfing or kayaking or just for a ride on the bike trails. Not to mention many of the hotels are having deals at this time of year so that's a plus.