I’ll admit it, we are so lucky to live near the Monterey California area. I know I’ve said this before, but just last week we were able to take a two-day trip to one of our favorite mini-getaway locations the precious town of Pacific Grove, California in Monterey County. Here are my latest photos of that trip which will hopefully inspire you to #GrabYourMoment and visit Monterey for yourself.

Lovers Point Beach

When we stay in Pacific Grove, we always stay in this little hole-in-the-wall location called The Borg’s Motel right next to Lover’s Point.

Borg's Motel

The hotel has all the basics – it’s clean, has hot water, free wifi and cable tv, but I tell you, the biggest draw is it’s location. Right on the water – with most of the rooms having Ocean Views and it’s within walking distance of the cutest downtown area of Pacific Grove.

Borg's Motel View

Pacific Grove has plenty of views to take in, streets to stroll along, restaurants to dine in and fresh air to breathe in. Oh, and, of course, little shops to browse for local treats.

The Beach House Restaurant

Bring your bike if you like and you can jump on the waterfront trail that will take you into downtown Monterey or, head the other way, towards 17-mile drive, Pebble Beach and Carmel. We’ve biked it all and it NEVER gets old.

Bike and Walking path along coastline

This trip, we left our bikes behind and strolled through the charming (and sometimes funky) neighborhoods of Pacific Grove. I would seriously own a house here if I could. A vacation house would be even better, but I would then always want to be on vacation there! Here are some examples of the sweet, little places we viewed.

home in Pacific Grove

home in Pacific Grove

row of cute cottages

Cute cottage home in Pacific Grove

We had dinner at a DELISH little Mexican restaurant we haven’t tried before called Peppers.

Peppers Restaurant

Pepper's Menu

People, listen to me here….if you go, try their Blood Orange Margaritas – the are so stinkin’ yummy!!! Oh, and if you know me then you know I believe all meals should have chips of some sort – and ones with delicious chips and salsa are even better!!!

Blood Orange margaritas and chips and salsa

Because here in Monterey County, Pacific Grove is pretty near Castroville the home of the Artichoke Festival (and I LOVE artichokes), the menu had the most divine artichoke enchiladas on it, so, of course, I had to try them!

Artichoke Enchiladas

AND some super yummy veggie fajitas too!

veggie fajitas

The weather was just perfect, the meal divine, the views some of the best in the world – how blessed are we?!?!?

Lover's Point shot

Day 2 – we start with breakfast and then a walk through the town. The local breakfast joint Toasties never disappoints!!

Toasties Restaurant

And here are more views from our morning walk:

house in Pacific Grove

view in Pacific Grove

painted garage door in Pacific Grove

free library in Pacific Grove

view at Lover's Point

What a start to a day. Then we set off to drive along the coast, along 17-mile drive and into Pebble Beach. Here are some shots from our journey:

Asilomar Beach

view along Monterey Coast

view along Asilomar Beach in Monterey, CA

view along 17-mile drive

We stopped for a bit at the main lodge and Pebble Beach shops – turns out Jimi’s never stopped here – how is that possible?!? So, we had a snack lunch and walked around watching all the cool golf people – and the views weren’t so bad either!!

Pebble Beach Lodge

Pebble Beach golf area

Pebble Beach golf area

Of course, most people come here to play golf, but what do we do? We play chess in the pro shop.

playing chess at Pebble Beach

Then it was time to head back home – and enjoy the views along the way.

One of the essential stops is this pottery shop in Moss Landing (another cute town in Monterey County with precious antique shops that’s also worthy of a trip).

pottery shop in Moss Landing

pottery shop in Moss Landing

Thanks for following along!! AND if you get to the Monterey area, please let me know what your favorite stops are!! Need a little more motivation? @SeeMonterey will be giving away 5 pairs of tickets to the Monterey Bay Aquarium! Simply leave a comment below and they will be selecting the top 5 comments to determine the winner. Tickets to expire 7/31/16.

P.S. if you’re wondering, all shots were taken with my iPhone.

Lita