The dream of a family African Safari takes a tremendous amount of work and planning. If you’re one of the many families like mine, who dream of an family safari in Africa like Amie’s, keep planning and saving. If you find you need a little inspiration along the way, consider an easily arranged safari adventure in the open space of Monterey County, California.

amous for its world class aquarium, there’s a wilder side to Monterey that many don’t know exists. Wild Things was created in 1983. At first the animals …

I read an article recently about the rapidly dwindling number of California sea otters (they don’t know why this is the case yet) that left me sad. As a native Northern Californian, I grew up appreciating our spectacular coastline from Monterey to Big Sur. This is home to the much-adored sea otter.

It’s rare my family travels somewhere they don’t like. Chalk it up to research, great recommendations or plain old good luck. But it’s just as rare to travel somewhere we could call home. My family could easily call Carmel home.

We’ve spent countless weekends in neighboring Monterey with kids, but for some reason never really considered Carmel. It took a school project on California’s missions to show us what we were missing.

I’m a beach person. Born and raised on an island, there is something about being close to the water that keeps me sane. It doesn’t even have to be warm. Walking on the beach, or even chasing two kids down the beach can pretty much guarantee a great day.

I guess that’s one of the reasons I enjoy Monterey so much. Miles and miles of beautiful beaches, a world famous aquarium, entertaining wildlife, and great food.

It’s like walking into a fantasy world. Ocean-filled tanks bigger than a house, filled with sea creatures all the colors of the rainbow. So close, you feel as though you could reach out and pet a seahorse or splash a fast moving sea otter. A visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium has all the makings of the perfect day. Until you realize, a lot of other people had the same idea.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has been educating and entertaining visitors for more than a quarter of a century. Every year 1.8 million visitors flood through its doors.

This week’s Photo Friday Post is about the Monterey Peninsula in California. This has to be one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the world …