Roadtrip (During Covid-19) - Peidras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, Pacific Grove, and Dinner at Passionfish

We had really enjoyed our time in Cambria; from dinner at Madeline's to walking the wonderful trails at Fiscalini Ranch. But it was time to head to our next destination. I walked into Cambria and back to Cambria Coffee Roasting Company for our caffeine fix, we packed, then headed on out. Our next two evenings would be spent in Pacific Grove. The Missus had been to Monterey several times; I've always thought it too touristy for me and decided that perhaps we should stay just a short stroll away. Plus, there was a restaurant I'd always wanted to try out.

We stopped several times along the way, first at William Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach.

And took a walk along the wooden pier. 

On this day, it was a peaceful and scenic spot.......the breeze from the Pacific lightly caressing your face.....a lovely November (2020) day.

Just a few miles up the road was our next stop; the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery.

There was a lot of parking and a nice boardwalk where you can view the Elephant Seals. This was November, when according to this website, the large male Elephant Seals will start arriving.

No huge males on this day....just a bunch of adorable Elephant Seals relaxing and sun bathing.

And the occasional seal taking a dip to cool off.

We both found this stop relaxing and entertaining.

Maybe next time; once it's back open, we'll check out the lighthouse further on up the road. 

We drove up Highway one thru Big Sur (this was before the portion of Highway 1 collapsed). Only stopping once near Big Sur Station.

We made good time to Pacific Grove and arrived before check-in. Which, in the time of Covid was done touch free......everything was done by key code; we never saw a single employee during our stay. I called the provided number and was told we could check in an hour earlier than scheduled. Still, there was a bit of time to kill. So, we found parking on the street near where we were staying and decided to do some exploring.

Pacific Grove is known as "Butterfly Town USA", so we decided to walk on over to the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary down Lighthouse Avenue. 

First thing I noticed were how charming many of the homes were.

In fact, this would lead us to a fun little walk later on during our stay.

Loved this sculpture at the Post Office on Lighthouse Avenue; it's called "Butterfly Kids".

It was a nice walk to the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary.

Monarch Butterfly's usually start appearing in October to stay over the winter.

And yet we saw none as we walked the trails.....

And so we decided to sit on one of the benches for a while. After a few minutes we saw two Monarch Butterflies....unfortunately, those would be the only two we would see. 

And while we were a bit disappointed to only see two; it has now turned to sadness upon reading this. 

 Our accommodations were at the historic Pacific Grove Inn, a Queen Anne style mansion built between 1904 and 1908.

The Missus was a bit leery about staying in an old house like this, creaky floors and all; but I got us a huge room on the top floor, which was way more room than we needed. I mean, how often are you able to stay in such an historical house....with no one to bother you?

I'm sure that in times not driven by the pandemic there might be some great amenities; but I truly liked being left alone to my own devices.

Dinner was a place I'd been wanting to check out for years; a favorite of the late Ed from Yuma, Passionfish. In fact, Ed did a three part post on the place. Of course, with Covid-19 I wasn't sure what was in store. It was all outdoor dining in the area at this time and the restaurant had done a wonderful job setting up on the patio upstairs in front of what looked like a nail salon.

Service was very efficient and professional, the restaurant had even created a satellite drink/wine station upstairs so customers could get served quickly. Ed had mentioned the amazing pricing of wine at Passionfish; bottles are sold at retail prices. Of course, we really weren't going to do entire bottles, so the Missus got Hers by the glass and thoroughly enjoyed things.

We started things off with some Buttermilk Biscuits.

My goodness; these were some of the best I've ever had; perfect, moist, wonderful flavor, a great balance in texture......man this was good!

The Spicy Fish Stew was a bit of a disappointment. It was quite bland; really tasting like a watered down mariscos consomme that one could get from a Taco truck.

Dungeness Crab Salad was excellent.

The sweet-savory crab meat, along with the almost buttery avocado was a nice one-two punch. The vinaigrette added a perfect touch of aciditiy.

Sea Scallop was perfectly seared; still rare in the middle. We both loved  the caper-walnut topping.

Though we found the artichoke risotto cake to be a bit too mild in terms of flavor.

Smoked Trout Ceviche Tostadas were a bit overwhlemed by the spicy salsa and the mild tones of the smoked trout were lost.

Passionfish was a pioneer with regards to serving sustainable seafood and we were excited to try at least one fish dish. So we ordered the Rockfish, with a Jicama-Mint Salad, Rice Crisps, and Cashews. The fish was cooked perfectly; tender and moist. The spicy nuoc mam sauce might have been a bit too much for such a delicately flavored fish, but you couldn't complain about how well the fish had been prepped. Not a big fan of the grapefruit, but the Missus liked it. Loved the greens, a nice combination of bitter-savory-sweet and the cashews added another layer of savory-nutty tones.

 All in all a very nice meal; a couple of dishes that missed the mark a bit; but wonderful service and the Missus and I talked about Ed....how he'd be viewing the pandemic, etc.

Passionfish
701 Lighthouse Ave.
Pacific Grove, CA 93950

On the way back we noticed something in the window of this art store.

It was a cat!

We loved it! From this point onward, we'd always stop and check out the "art store cats" to see what was up! They kept us entertained on our walks back to our accommodations.

We were really enjoying Pacific Grove!

Thanks for stopping by!

Comments

[Junichi]

Did you get to see the P.G. Butterfly House? That thing's a trip.

[Kirk]

The one on 9th Junichi? No, we didn't....maybe next time. I actually have it marked on my map.

[kat]

looked like a quite relaxing adventure, thanks for sharing!

[Soo]

That was a cool house you stayed at! WE visited a lovely lighthouse on one of our trips up the coast:
Point San Luis Lighthouse
https://www.hungryones.com/2016/07/road-trip-san-diego-to-san-francisco-day-7/

[Kenneth Bonus]

Nice report and timely too as we plan to visit Cambria in the fall. Pretty much walking in your footsteps, same hotel, etc. Thanks!

[Sandy]

I love Pacific Grove over Monterey, free parking and so close to 17 mile drive views and Carmel…. Too bad about Passionfish, did the chef change? Haven’t been in a long time.

[Kirk]

Thanks for reading Kat!

The lighthouse was closed because of the pandemic Soo.

Hope you have a great time Ken!

I think it's still the same chef Sandy. The food was good; with a couple of outstanding dishes, but a couple that fell short as well. We really enjoyed the vibe of Pacific Grove.

[caninecologne]

How sad, reading about the lack of the butterflies.

We were last here in 2009, passing by during a road trip. We stayed with my godmother in Pebble Beach and they took us to their haunts in that area.

[Kirk]

I know; really sad CC......