Carol,
For most of our Monterey adventures we'll be conveniently within the town, but if you want to show Jess famous Seventeen-Mile-Drive (beautiful homes on rocky bluffs with crashing surf, sea otters, Pebble Beach, lovely little coves) or take a trip farther down to Big Sur to see some California Redwoods, you might want to rent a car. It's really amazing. Carmel is very pretty, too, with little storybook cottages and a great beach.
Chrono! Hey, hope you can make it over! This region is pretty much ceph-central in California! We're going to be collaborating with MAOS, the oceanography academy at Monterey High School, and some of the students ought to be sharing their research with us as well!
Erich