Blogs from Monterey, California, United States, North America - page 5

As we drove towards Monterey and our hotel for two nights it was still light so we made a snap decision and continued on to do the 17-mile scenic drive around Pebble Beach taking in the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course. The drive took us through dramatic landscapes overlooking the sea as well as imposing residences with their own outlooks. Luckily we saw a most dramatic sunset as we headed for the hotel. The next day (Saturday) we visited the 18th century Carmel Mission founded by Franciscan monk Father Junipero Serra originally from Mallorca. Although the Mission fell into ruin dedicated followers built it up again to the structure it is today. The Mission includes not only small museums documenting this rebuilding campaign but also well the beautifully maintained grounds with gorgeous examples of Monterey cypress. ... read more

Woke up to our last morning in Groveland. Joe made us another fantastic breakfast. Deer family of up to 10 outside the bedroom window, Baron fed them some fruit. We set off at about 10.00am for a long drive to Monterey. Felt really sad leaving Groveland, loved its quirkiness. Joe and the Cabin was like a home from home. Baron read all the directions to Monterey from a map, (no sat nav for us). We made it to Monterey, both in one piece at about 3pm. (Total 5 hours drive) We had a quick lunch at Sly Mcflys, and then a wander round the little coastal town and looked for somewhere to stay. Eventually found the The Clement Hotel by Intercontinental, on the beach. Amazing views. We went downstairs to the outside bar area to make ... read more

Monterey, Carmel and 17 Mile Drive Brrrr, where has the sun gone. We knew that San Francisco could be a little misty and therefore sometimes a bit chilly but today, as well as no sun at all, there was also a rather icy wind. We were told, later, that the cold day we had had was perfectly normal but we find that a bit hard to believe. The exotic flowers which grow here would just not survive long in these temperatures. Warning for anyone visiting – be sure to bring something warm to wear in case you get one of these cold days too. Wearing slightly more clothes than of late (so glad that I packed that jacket at the last minute) we drove out of San Francisco. No last sight of the bridge as it ... read more

We spent the night in the Best Western hotel in Monterey. As I mentioned yesterday, the hotel itself isn't great in terms of its decor; however the location is literally right on the beach. So much so that the sand was directly below our room balcony. After checking out of the hotel, we headed to the Cannery Row and Fisherman's Wharf areas of Monterey. Cannery Row is the waterfront street in the New Monterey area and has some wonderful shops and restaurants. The name 'Cannery Row' is so called because it used to be the site of a number of (now-defunct) sardine canning factories. The last cannery closed in 1973. Old wooden trolley buses are a feature of Cannery Row and look great trundling up and down the streets (see attached photo). We stopped for lunch ... read more

Down to Monterey Bay Today's travels took us down to Monterey Bay with several stops on the way there and back. A quick breakfast at the hotel, camera charged, and backpack packed, we were ready for more California scenery. Our first stop off of CA1 was a visit to Seacliff State Park. The park has an old boat at the end of the pier that you could once walk on, but has now been closed. There were birds everywhere, making the old boat their sanctuary and pier & surrounding areas very dirty. I had expected more scenic beaches with a name of Seacliff, so I was disappointed when we found no actual cliffs. In fact it was not a pretty beach or park at all. I was even more disappointed in the fact that I had ... read more