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| SantaCruz Sentinel "The Guide" |
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Carmel for Kids
By: Ruth Carlson
As the sun sets over Carmel By-the-Sea, I’m content to watch the surfers, but my date wants me to join him rolling down the white sand dunes. Guess I shouldn’t have expected him to sit still; he’s only nine years old.
With romantic restaurants on every corner, a burgeoning wine region, and world-renowned beaches, the Monterey Peninsula is known as a lover’s retreat. But I recently discovered it’s also great place to take kids.
I don’t have any children of my own but my sister in Walnut Creek was only too happy to lend me hers, nine-year-old Mehdi, and eleven-year-old Linda, for the weekend. Knowing how kids love to swim in hotel pools, I booked a room in sunny Carmel Valley. We stayed at the newly renovated Quail Lodge, a kid friendly hotel where the minibar is free! In a wise move to welcome families, the hotel stocks cokes, chips, salsa, and cookies for the kids to enjoy gratis and complimentary wine and beer for mom and dad.
While my husband Rich and his friend Pat enjoyed a morning round of golf on the 18-hole championship course, the kids and I went for an educational boat ride. Science Under Sail is a 65-foot boat that encourages young people to become marine biologists during their three-hour tour. Mehdi was fascinated with collecting plankton and examining it on the onboard computer while Linda dipped the crab pot in the ocean and held orange and pink starfish in her hands. They both took a turn at the ship’s wheel, steering past seals, otters and sea lions.
Make sure your kids dress warmly. It gets chilly on the bay and a certain clueless auntie assumed the kids, who packed their own suitcases, had appropriate clothing. Fortunately, when the crew caught the kids shivering they lent them two of the extra jackets they keep below deck. Several of the youngsters, including naturally one of mine, (Linda), got seasick. Again the staff was well prepared with wristbands that quelled the queasiness almost immediately. Onshore, Mehdi announced he was going to become an entomologist when he grew up. Now that his career was set, we needed to celebrate, so I let them choose some sweets at one of the many candy shops lining the wharf.
Our afternoon was spent at the Monterey Bay Aquarium where the kids gave the highest rating to the new shark exhibit. Mehdi, who is fascinated with penguins, was disappointed by the small size of the species in the Splash Zone, but he let me buy him a stuffed animal as a consolation prize. (Teachers be sure and bring some id, so you can take advantage of the educational discount.)
Back at the Lodge, we played our own version of miniature golf on the hotels’ 9-hole executive putting course. By now I was exhausted, but the kids were still wide-awake, (could it be the candy?), so we went to the lobby where they selected free movie rentals. They begged me to let them order room service and ordered smoked salmon and Casear salad. These are not your normal kids happy with mac and cheese. They grew up in Paris and order off the adult menu.
Leave it to kids to find the least expensive pastime their favorite. They enjoyed stepping on the bathroom scale every few minutes to see if their weight had fluctuated and announced the results. Mehdi was particularly happy after a big meal when he said he gained a pound. (Note to self: Get my sister Debbie a scale for a housewarming gift so she has a few minutes to herself.)
The next time you need a break, bring the kids to the Monterey Peninsula to try some of these low-cost activities.
1.It’s a universal truth that every child loves the beach and kids of all ages travel from around the world to see the white sandy hills in Carmel. Build sandcastles, watch the surfers and wade in the surf. Located at the end of Ocean Avenue, Carmel by the Sea.
2.Play at the Dennis the Menace Playground designed by the carton’s creator Hank Ketcham. Rock climb, walk on the rope suspension bridge, and climb aboard a real, full size, 1956 steam locomotive. Located next to Lake Estero, where you can rent paddleboats and cruise past families of ducks. Open 10-dusk and closed Monday except for holidays. Pearl St and Camino, Monterey 646-3866
3.Visit the Cottage of Sweets in downtown Carmel by the sea, where kids get free samples. This traditional British-style cottage has 45 kinds of licorice and imported British candy. On Ocean Ave between Monte Verde
. (831) 624-5170
4. After hearing Mehdi whine,” I’ve waited my whole life to go fishing,” Uncle Rich promised to take him to the commercial pier in Monterey where you can while away an afternoon hoping for a bite on your line and a conversation with your child. www.monterey.org/harbor
5. Search for sea creatures in the tide pools between Pacific Grove and Asilomar State Beach. Just be sure your little one doesn’t sneak anything in their pocket or you’ll have a rude surprise when you do the laundry.
6.Take the kids on a trip down the 17-mile drive. If you buy any food or drinks at the Inn at Spanish Bay they’ll reimburse you the drive’s entrance fee. Get there at sunset and listen to the haunting melodies of a bagpiper walking along the sand dunes.
www.pebblebeach.com
7.Rollerblade, bike, or rent a four-wheeled surrey along the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail, an 18 mile paved pathway along the waterfront.
8.See thousands of migrating Monarch butterflies at their temporary winter home in Pacific Grove. Unfortunately this year the guide said no one knows why, but the population has decreased. (October through March) www.pacificgrove.org
9.Give the kids a thrill and your arms a workout by kayaking next to otters and seals. www.adventuresbythesea.com
10.Go fly a kite on the windy sand dunes of Seaside.
Monterey County Visitors and Convention Bureau
Montereyinfo.org
888-2211
Quail Lodge
www.quaillodge.com
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| Monterey Peninsula Family Fun |
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