bugsy running on lone rock beach with the airstream and f-150 in the background

One night in Marina, CA–Big Trip #4

We were in Marina in mid-October 2022, as part of Big Trip #4.

harbor seals on rocks
harbor seals!

Marina was a last-second one-night stop on the way from the interior national parks in Northern California (Kings Canyon and Sequoia) to our originally-planned first stop on the coast, Santa Cruz. We thought we’d be able to visit Monterey from Santa Cruz, but it’s a pretty long drive between the two, so we were happy to be able to squeeze in a night near Monterey to get a quick overview of the area.

Bugsy admiring the Pacific Ocean in Marina

Marina is in central Monterey Bay, between Santa Cruz and Monterey, but closer to Monterey in the south. Our goals for this stop were: to show Bugsy a good time on the beach, and to introduce the humans to Monterey.

Campground and environs

the Airstream in our campsite at Marina Dunes
our campsite at Marina Dunes

We stayed at Marina Dunes RV Park. Our campsite was tiny–our truck was too big to fit and had to park across the street–but pleasant, with a picnic table and privacy walls. The best part of our campground was that we could walk to the beach in Marina Dunes Preserve, which Bugsy thought was pretty sweet. Dogs are allowed on the beach in Marina Dunes Preserve, but they are not welcome at the adjacent Marina State Beach.

Bugsy galloping on the beach at Marina

Bugsy LOVES the beach, as we’ve seen in many previous Airstream destinations, and we’ll see more as we move down the California coast. Some of her favorite beach experiences thus far were in Jekyll Island, GA; St Augustine, FL; Eastpoint, FL; Wilmington, NC; Houghton, MI; and Page, AZ. This was her first time playing in the Pacific Ocean!

Bugsy running on the beach in Marina

The beach at Marina Dunes was pretty (and empty when we visited) but we were a little surprised at the amount of kelp and kelp flies on the sand, which we would learn is normal on California beaches. Fortunately, Bugsy didn’t seem interested in eating or rolling in anything gross.

oysters and cocktails at Salt Wood in Marina
oysters and cocktails at the bar at Salt Wood

The campground was big and nice and kind of a party scene. There was a beach resort across the street, The Sanctuary, and we had dinner and drinks at the bar at Salt Wood, their wood-fired restaurant. We expected to just have a cocktail at the bar and head home for dinner in the Airstream, but the place wowed us and so we stayed for dinner.

Exploring Monterey

Bugsy enjoying walking along Monterey Bay

The next morning the three of us drove into Monterey for a couple hours. It was a 15-minute drive from the campground to downtown Monterey. We wanted to see Fisherman’s Wharf (very touristy) and Cannery Row (much cooler); we didn’t have time this visit for the renown Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is at the top of every best-of list for Monterey. Next time, it’s our #1 priority.

Captain + Stoker Coffee in Monterey

To fuel our explorations, we started our Monterey visit at Captain + Stoker, a very popular and very cool coffee shop and roastery a couple blocks from the wharf. There was a Sunday morning artisan market happening out front and an energetic, friendly vibe from the employees. We really liked that it had a local feel while being so close to the touristy wharf.

Customs house in Monterey
Old Custom House

On the way to the wharf, we passed the Old Custom House, built in 1827 and the oldest governmental building in California. Monterey was the original capital of California under Spanish rule, and the custom house is where the American flag was raised when the US first claimed California for its own.

Bugsy walking down Old Fishermans Wharf
walking down the pier at Fisherman’s Wharf
Bugsy posing by the whale watching sign
obligatory tourist pose

Fisherman’s Wharf is full of restaurants and gift shops, and is the launching point for fishing charters and whale-watching cruises. Built in 1870, the wharf was an active fish market until the 1960s, when the local fishing industry declined due to the collapse of the sardine population in the Bay. We walked through the crowds to the end of the pier and then moved along.

Monterey Bay
a piece of the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail
Bugsy watching the wildlife
Monterey Bay wildlife–the floating potato is a harbor seal

Between the wharf and Cannery Row, we wandered around the bay waterfront, including along a portion of the 18-mile Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail (which we could have ridden to Monterey on from Marina, if we had bikes and a trailer for Bugsy), looking at historic buildings and laughing at the antics of the harbor seals.

Monterey Canning Company facade
the old Monterey Canning Company, now home to shops

Cannery Row was named for the many sardine canning factories once lining the street when Monterey was the Sardine Capital of the World during WWII. There are lots of hotels and restaurants in this area spanning from the wharf to the Aquarium, but the businesses felt less cheesy than at the wharf, and the architecture was neat.

Bugsy on a seawall by Old Fisherman's Wharf
Bugsy in front of the wharf

We only had time for a quick overview of Monterey, as we were due at our previously-booked campsite in Santa Cruz to spend a couple days on the north side of Monterey Bay. Next time we’ll spend more time investigating Monterey’s history and outdoor activities.

Sardine factory on Cannery Row
vestige of sardine canning on Cannery Row

To do

  1. Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium
  2. Check out Carmel-By-The-Sea, a pretty village south of Monterey
  3. Read Steinbeck’s Cannery Row

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