Road Trip

We talked about going on a drive at some point of the weekend. Marc has wanted to drive around the Bay for awhile and since we didn't really have plans for the weekend, we thought it might be a great weekend for a road trip. Friday I came home with a debilitating headache and went to bed around 6:30. I woke up around 7 a.m. feeling much better. I did a little sewing then decided to wake Marc up. We went out for crepe's for breakfast then took off for Half Moon Bay. As we descended the costal mountains, the road was surrounded by pumpkin farms and fresh produce stands. Autumn! It feels like autumn in San Francisco, weather wise, but besides a few bushes here and there, the fall colors are nonexistent. We continued into town and it was very charming. It reminded us of the small towns in Door County. We stopped and shopped for awhile. Empty handed, we continued down highway 1. 

We took Highway 1 North of San Francisco and on our honeymoon and I was gripping the door handle most of the trip. Not only were the roads winding and steep, they were narrow and the lack of guardrails only contributed to our nervous feelings as we inched up the coast. In contrast, Highway 1 South is wide. It, too, has beautiful views of the Pacific, but it is not winding and even has guardrails on the steep cliffs. We pulled off on several overlooks to take pictures and breathe in the salty air. We were intending on taking Highway 1 for awhile then shooting over to San Jose' before looping around on the bay side. We reached the turn for San Jose', but we were enjoying the drive, so we decided to keep going. 

Santa Cruiz was the next major town we hit and we decided to pick up some picnic supplies. We gathered a few items then headed down to the beach. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a place to park. The beach was lined with a boardwalk on one end and an amusement park on the other. It seemed like a lot of fun, but the crowds were not what we were looking for. We headed down the road and found a State Beach. We pulled off and enjoyed a shady spot right on the ocean. The beach had a large dock to walk on where fishermen and tourists enjoyed the beautiful ocean views. 

After picnicking, we decided we were so close, only about 30 miles to Monterey, that we should continue down highway 1. It was a beautiful drive around Monterey Bay to the city of Monterey. We arrived around 4 and found the visitor center. Marc said we should just wear the same clothes tomorrow and stay overnight. I said we should go shopping and by new clothes and stay overnight. I won out on that one. 

We found a hotel, went shopping for some clothes, deodorant, and tooth brushes. After shopping, we ventured down to cannery row, an old sardine factory, which is now a touristy shopping center right on the ocean. We stopped in a few shops, took some pictures, and found a place to eat. 

On Sunday morning we walked around Fisherman's Wharf then drove around the old downtown area. We decided to drive down to the famous Pebble Beach golf course which is on the underside of the peninsula. We drove around the the 17 mile loop which was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately my camera battery died shortly after we started the loop so we didn't get as many pictures as we would have liked to. It was beautiful and really how we pictured the Pacific: large waves, bright blue and green water, rocks, and endless sea. Beautiful. I looks different in SF. We decided to head home after our tour. We took the interior route so we could go through San Jose'. We even went through Gilroy, the garlic capital of the world. San Jose' was hidden mostly behind sound barriers that surrounded the highways barreling through California's third largest city. We decided to continue home and venture into the city on another day. 

We have a lot of pictures from the weekend which I will be posting soon. If (when) you come to visit, Monterey is only about 2 hours south and I don't think it would be difficult to talk Marc into going back.