Monterey & Carmel-By-The-Sea

Sunday, 7/22, Sara headed back to San Diego and the rest of us took a short road trip from Paso Robles to the coast. Our first stop was in Monterey. We enjoyed a walk through the quaint little town. It was fun to see Cannery Row. Since high school, I have been a huge John Steinbeck fan. 

The Pacific coast enticed me yet again. 

After our visit in Monterey, we continued towards Carmel-By-The-Sea and drove along the beautiful 17 mile drive. Slowly, the clouds started to lift. 

17-Mile Drive is a scenic road that runs along the coast and connects Monterey to Carmel-By-The-Sea. There are several golf courses. The most famous being Pebble Beach. I honestly, just loved seeing the rocky shoreline of the Pacific. 

It didn’t take long for the clouds to settle again. Bird Rock is pictured on the background. Again, you can’t hear all of the California sea lions lounging on Bird Rock. Using Mark’s binoculars, they were easy to spot. Using a picture from my iPhone, not so easy to spot. 

One of the most iconic spots along the drive is the Lone Cypress. The clouds had definitely settled by this point. Nonetheless, we enjoyed taking tourist pictures! 

We stopped in Carmel-By-The-Sea for lunch. 

After lunch, we continued driving south to Big Sur. For the next two nights, Sue arranged for us to stay in an amazing airb&b at the top of of Palo Colorado Road off of US1. Before heading up the mountain to our airb&b we made a quick stop at the grocery store. Would you believe our luck – they had a wine tasting! Thank you, don’t mind if we do! 

The house were we stayed was spectacular! The views were incredible. We literally were above the clouds. The Pacific Ocean is under the clouds. 

We enjoyed a lively game of dominoes as we watched the sunset. 

Watching the fog roll in after the sunset was captivating and eerie. 

Despite the low clouds, Allison and I enjoyed a clear night sky to stargaze. We saw two satellites and three shooting stars!