California's First City

On our way home from our honeymoon in Carmel, we had to stop to see the sights in Monterey. Located at the Southern edge of Monterey Bay, this city was actually California's first! Monterey was the capital when California belonged to Spain and Mexico from 1777 to 1846 and was the only port. When California was claimed for the United States, it was done by raising the US flag over the Customs House in Monterey. The city also had California's first theatre, public building, public library, publicly funded school, printing press, and newspaper.

We didn't really get to experience many of these historical sights on our brief stop. We walked past the aquarium, stopped for lunch overlooking the bay, walked past the pier, into some shops, and passed the time as tourists. Below are a few of the images from Fisherman's Wharf, Cannery Row, and more!

And this certainly reminded us of Molly's family's store in Downtown Chico...