Romance on a Shoestring
Want to sweep your partner off his or her feet without completely emptying your pockets? Here's some low-cost ways to make your significant other swoon.
- Drink some wine with a view at A Taste of Monterey on Cannery Row. Sit at one of the tables next to the floor-to-ceiling picture windows and enjoy a breathtaking view of the bay while you sample some of Monterey County's best wines.
- Take a romantic ride on the beach with Monterey Bay Equestrian Center. Enjoy the sea air and each others' company for an hour and a half as you transport yourself back to a gentler time.
- Arrange a tour of Tor House, the stone home that poet Robinson Jeffers hand-built for his wife. Docent-led tours are limited to a handful of people, and the story of Robinson and Una Jeffers is sure to stir the heart.
- Enjoy the romance of the open sea with Monterey Bay Sailing. Let a qualified sailor do all the work while you and your partner admire the marine life, the sea air, and each other. Or, if you're a qualified sailor, make it a boat trip a deux!
- Pack a picnic and head on up to Jacks Peak County Park. The Jacks Peak Parking Area is only a few yards from the summit; you won't have to get out of breath to see the breathtaking views. For a romantic picnic, the best spot is on the Jacks Peak Trail, about 50 yards from the intersection with the Skyline Trail. A perfectly placed bench allows you to eat a leisurely meal while taking in sweeping views of Point Lobos State Reserve and Carmel Valley.
- It's not called Lovers Point for nothing! Pack up some pastries from Paris Bakery Cafe, get up very early (or stay up all night), and head to Pacific Grove's Lovers Point to watch the sun rise. Due to a quirk in local geography,it's one of the few places on the West Coast where you can watch a sunrise over the ocean.
- Pack some wine, cheese and a beach blanket and head to Marina State Beach in the late afternoon. Savor the flavors, and the company, as you watch a magnificent sunset. If you're lucky, you'll get to watch the hang gliders dance through the air as a prelude.
- Have a romantic bathing experience, carefully orchestrated for maximum impact by Borgia and Associates' Romantic Room Designs. Your partner will be swept away by the candles, rose petals, music, decoration and fine scented bath products designed to whisk her away.
