742 March 3, 2022 Point Lobos

Happy Birthday David!!!  We love you and we are so proud of you!

We woke up before the sun this morning.  We watched the sky turn pink.  The valley was dense with fog.  The forecast for today was for clouds and rain.

I got out early to walk…these hills!!!  I walked around the racetrack and just when I was on the last portion back to the campground, I ran into a locked gate.  I turned back and walked the way I had come!

Today was our last day on the California Coast.  We have spent the last two weeks wandering along the water’s edge.  This part of America is very beautiful.  If you haven’t seen it…put it on your list!

We wanted to return to Point Lobos.  Last time we tried to go it was crazy busy.  Today was the perfect opportunity to see the park.  I think that the weather forecast kept people away.  First, we hiked the Cypress Grove Trail.  The Monterey Cypress trees only grow in two places in the world; here and Pebble Beach. 

The trees are battered by salt water and wind and here they thrive.  Biologists have tried to grow these trees elsewhere but they succumb to a fungus…they only grow here in this harsh Pacific environment.

The cypress trees drip with lace lichen.

This is a Natural Reserve.  The park service is very serious about protecting the natural beauty of this place.  Roads and signs are kept to a minimum.  There are severe penalties for breaching the fencing.

There were danger signs on the cliffs.  Visitors were advised never to turn their back on the ocean; to be vigilant and to watch for large waves that could sweep you out to sea. 

Next, we walked on the North Shore Trail.  Here we saw a group of harbor seals leaping through the water.  We sat to watch.

Old Veteran.

In the next cove, we saw a sea otter mom and her baby.

We stopped at the Jeep for a snack.  People always stop to ask where we are from.  They marvel at the fact that we have traveled across the country to be here.  There are not too many East Coast visitors out this way.  We get lots of questions about our roof top tent.  When we talk about selling our house and living our dream, we hope that we inspire others to follow their dreams.  Everyone says that they want to be doing this…we wonder though how many people will seize the chance and make it happen.

We took the Sea Lion Point Trail.  We could hear the sea lions barking no matter where we hiked.  Their noise could be heard over the roar of the crashing waves.

We also saw these pelagic cormorants nesting in the cliffs. 

The waves here are particularly violent.  I am not sure if this is normal or if it was exacerbated by the incoming storm.  The Devil’s Cauldron is an area of especially turbulent water.

Deer grazing in the nearby meadow.

We got back to the RV and just a short time later, light rain began to fall.

We are not entirely certain where we will go tomorrow.  We are going to head east and south.  We had hoped to go to see Sequoia National Park and the Sierra Nevada Mountians but the weatherman has forecasted 12-18 inches of new snow there.  The roads are likely to be closed and we are ready to go somewhere warm.

741 March 2, 2022 Monterey Bay Coastal Trail

My morning walk was down the hill from the campground to Route 68. The grade on this park road is 16% for 1 mile.

Once I was at the bottom, I turned around and walked back up. It was very hard work but it felt great!

We packed lunch and took the Jeep with the bikes to Lovers Point. This is the southern terminus for the Monterey Bay Coastal Bike Path.

We passed Cannery Row and the Monterey Aquarium. Steinbeck lived here in Monterey. His novel Cannery Row, is set here during the Great Depression.

A divers memorial. Fishing divers were instrumental in helping to pump sardines from the bay to the canneries.

The marina.

We had beautiful views of the bay as we rode on.

We had our lunch in a small park away from the wind.

We took the path, 5 miles, all the way through the town on Monterey. We stopped at a small produce market and found some dried figs and a papaya.

We cycled down the commercial wharf where the working boats were docked.

We walked our bikes on Old fisherman’s Wharf.

A statue dedicated to the fishermen whose labor made Monterey the “Sardine Capital of the World.”

We could hear the sea lions barking from benaeath this seafood processing plant across the water.

As we biked back, we saw harbor seals. There was an aqaurium volunteer answering questions and providing education. He said that it was almost pupping season. The females are nocturnal and fish all night. During the day, they rest on this beach.

This was a great place to ride and we enjoyed our day in Monterey!

Sunset.

740 March 1, 2022 Shopping Adventure

First thing this morning, I was walking along the beach in Marina.

I was walking by the water in the firmer sand, chatting with my mom on the phone, when a rogue wave crashed onto the beach and soaked me from the knees down…drenched shoes and socks and pants. Time to turn back. Everything was caked in sand by the time I walked the mile back to the RV. I met a couple walking the other way. They noticed my wet clothes. They told me that there were rough surf and high wind advisories today. Gotta laugh…always an adventure!

Today we moved again. We traveled just a short distance to Laguna Seca Recreation Area. On the way we passed trhough the very fertile Salinas valley.

This is a huge complex. It is most famous for the race track.

The campground sits on top of a hill. The views are incredible.

This afternoon, I set out for Monterey with the mission of looking at Macy’s for a gown for Kyle and Allison’s wedding. I always feel good when I navigate on my own in a new place. I found a beautiful dress! Remember when you could go to a nice department store and get really good care? I had great customer service from Linda and Cheyenne and they both worked in the luggage department!

I picked up salads from Chipotle and got back to the campground at sunset!

739 February 28, 2022 Marina Dunes

One last walk among by the Big Sur River, among the redwoods.

We moved today to Marina. This was a short drive north on 1. At several points, there was roadwork that stopped traffic. Near Bixby Bridge, the site of the wildfire earlier this year, we were waiting. We had a very close view of some of the fire damage.

We arrived in Marina early in the afternoon. Tim rested and I went to gather some groceries.

This evening, we packed our dinner. I walked to the beach using the access trail. It was 500 yards to the beach. I met Tim at the Marine Beach State Park.

We had quinoa bowls with purple sweet potatoes.

We walked on the beach and sat on a log to watch the tide.

We waited until sunset before heading home.