Monterey Driving Tour: From Del Monte Beach to Cannery Row and the Aquarium
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About the Tour
About the Tour
Monterey’s story is as beautiful as its scenery. When European explorer Juan Cabrillo first laid eyes on the bay 500 years ago, he was astounded by it, and he wrote such a glowing description that other explorers followed. Eventually, Monterey became a city.
This is the tour of Monterey I take friends and family on, when they come to visit. Whether this is your first time here or you visit the Peninsula regularly – and even if you live here – you’ll discover something new on this tour of California’s second oldest city. After all, there are more historical buildings in Monterey than any other city west of Santa Fe, New Mexico. You’ll see both sides of Fisherman’s Wharf, take in the actual locations in John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row and end the tour at the Monterey’s most visited attraction, The Aquarium.
On this tour, you’ll discover:
- Several incredibly beautiful beaches including one with a view of the bay that most people drive by and never see
- The Lower Presidio which has spectacular views and an amazing story involving Native Americans
- The Hotel Del Monte, a 19th century destination that was the Disneyland of its time
- The Naval Postgraduate school which a third of all U.S. astronauts attended
We’ll also go to spots where California was born together, including:
- Larkin House, once the headquarters for all of California
- Beautiful San Carlos, now the oldest stone building in California
- California’s first theater
- The Custom House where all goods coming into the U.S. from the west had to be cleared
- And I’ll tell you why Monterey has been dubbed The Language Capital of the World
And that’s just the beginning!
Credits:
Feel Good Rock, Jason Shaw
(Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License)
Bass Vibes, Kevin MacLeod
(Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License)
Sheep May Safely Graze, BWV 208 Kevin MacLeod
(Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License)
Chapter 19
Music - Arise - Podington Bear
Chapter 38
Sound from Zapsplat.com
Chapter 42 - The Presidio
The Highway Robbers - Rollin' and Tumblin'
Americana
by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
Thanks to BerlinAtmospheres for sfx
Chapter 60
Del Rio Bravo Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
Still photographs by Pamela Hamilton and Bob Hamilton, MyMontereyPeninsula.com
Tour Producer
Tour Producer
Bob Hamilton
Bob Hamilton is a 60 plus year veteran of the radio, music, television and online industry....disc jockey, program director, industry magazine producer and writer of five books about and for the radio/music industry. He is also a pioneer in online publishing, creating New Radio Star, an online network for the radio music industry in 1982 that continues to exist today. He was host of Fast Forward for two years, a weekly show with major recording artist guests in the early years of MTV, but also seen around the world. He is an audio and video producer, a former Billboard magazine radio producer of the year. He worked with many major recording artists and record companies, producing life stories to accompany World Premieres of releases for artists like Abba, David Bowie, Heart, Kenny Loggins, George Strait, Hall and Oates, Jefferson Starship, Paul Anka and many others. He has stayed on the forefront of new technology and multi-media, creating the life story of the group Heart on CD-Rom in the 1990's. Most recently his dedication has been to video, especially documentary. Recently, he created the 8 hour documentary, RVing the Bay Area (about the San Francisco bay area), and is now producing the New Radio Star Youtube channel about the California coast and exceptional creativity. At their invitation, his entire collection of work has its own place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library in Cleveland, Ohio.. After growing up in Oklahoma he spent many years in New York City and Los Angeles, but, moved to Carmel By the Sea in 1977, where he has most of the last 40 years. Over those years, he took many friends and family members who came to visit, on a tour of his beloved Carmel and dreamed of the day he could do so electronically. It was a dream come true when Voicemap came along. He is honored to get to show you, not only Carmel, but, Monterey and now Pacific Grove,. the other wonderful place on the Monterey Peninsula .You can contact Bob by email at [email protected] or see more on his website, MyMontereyPeninsula.com.
Pamela Hamilton, Bob’s wife and partner for over 40 years, took a more active role on this production of the Pacific Grove driving tour. Pamela grew up in Minnesota and spent
Years at KDWb, in Minneapolis. She jointed Bob in New York, then moved to LA and then
To Carmel in 1987. She has been part of New Radio Star for over 40 years also. Pamela
Has done all of the driving and helped with the writing of all three VoiceMap tours on the
Monterey Peninsula. She is also an exceptional still photographer, and, she took most of the photos you see as part of the tour.
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This work is dedicated to the memory of our beloved daughter, Miss Elizabeth Hope Hamilton. Miss Bech died in Pacific Grove, just after turning 30 years old. She suffered from daily pain from a long illness, but, was still known for her beautiful smile and love of singing. We love you and miss you so much , but, know you are pain free and joyous today.
Preview Location
Preview Location
Location 1
Start - Home Depot Parking Lot
My name is Bob Hamilton and I'm a multimedia producer and long time resident and lover of the Monterey Peninsula. I love Monterey’s history, its beauty and its fascinating story and I’m ver... Read More
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Major Landmarks
Major Landmarks
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Fisherman’s Wharf
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Herrmann Hall
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Del Monte Beach
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Carmel Mission Basilica
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Dennis The Menace Playground
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Larkin House
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Colton Hall Museum and Jail
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Presidio of Monterey
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Custom House Plaza
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Monterey Bay Aquarium
Getting There
Getting There
Route Overview
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Start location1590 Canyon Del Rey Blvd, Seaside, CA 93955, USA
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Total distance13km
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Final location900 Lighthouse Ave, Monterey, CA 93940, USA
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Distance back to start location4km
Directions to Starting Point
We are starting at the Home Depot Store Parking lot in Seaside, just on the edge of Monterey
There is only one Home Depot store on the Monterey Peninsula and everyone knows where it is, so it’s easy to find...
We are beginning the tour of Monterey in the east as we want you to get the whole story, which includes the Southern Pacific railway and the del Monte hotel area…
The parking lot in front of Home Depot is huge and will let you easily park and get your tour set (there is also a Smart and Final there in case you need last minute snacks to take with you...
From the south - Take Highway 1 north…Follow CA-1 N to CA-218 E/Canyon Del Rey Blvd. Take exit 403 from CA-1 N..
Turn right on 218/Canyon Del Rey...pull into the huge Home
Depot parking lot…
From the north - Follow Highway 1 to CA-218 Exit/Canyon Del Rey Blvd. Take exit 403 from Highway 1...turn on 218 and you will see the Home Deport parking lot
From Pacific Grove - Take Lighthous Blvd..it becomes del Monte Blvd in Monterey...take that street to 218/Canyon
Del Rey Blvd..turn left..you’ll see Home Depot on the right
From Monterey downtown take de Monte blvd east to 218/Canyon Del Rey Blvd..turn left..you’ll see Home Depot on the right
Show Directions
Tips
Tips
Places to stop along the way
Del Monte Beach, Rest stop across from hotel Del Monte, Dennis the Menace Park, San Carlos Church, Pier 2 and Fisherman's Wharf, Stevenson's Hotel Garden, Cooper Molera Adobes, Alvarado Street, Larkin House, Colton Hall, The Presidio, Old Whaling Station, Breakwater Cove, Doc Rickett's Memorial, Steinbeck Plaza, 800 block of Cannery Row, The Aquarium
Best time of day
Especially in the summer, this city of 28,000 doubles in population...specifically, on the weekend. It's better to take the tour during the week, because of less traffic, but, you will also find more places you may want to visit inside on the weekends. Of course, like most cities traffic is heaviest during work commutes time..so, after ten and before 4 is ideal. The best time to take the tour is when you have plenty of time so you can park the car and go inside some of these amazingly, intersting places.
Precautions
#1 precaution is to watch for pedestrians. This includes downtown, Monterey as you turn on some of the narrow streets. But, the most important caution for pedestrians is when you go across the coastal trail and this happens quite often...bicyles, joggers and walkers are going down this trail and you are expected to stop for them...most of them pay little attention to the cars..best in all cases is to really take your time on the tour...it's not about the destination...it's the journey...drive slow!
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