Monterey Bay Area

We have spent the last couple of days touring Monterey and its environs. Actually they were nearly the last days of the trip. We decided to walk to a local restaurant for supper this evening. This involved crossing the access roads to coastal highway route 1 and under the road itself. On the way back a car lost control on one of these roads, flashed across the sidewalk/pavement in front of us and came to rest on the grass verge. Not only was it on the edge of a watercourse, it had narrowly missed a tree, a steel post, and US! If we had been ten yards further on we would have been right in its path. A sobering thought!




This is the longest continuously operating lighthouse in California, having been in service since 1854. It is low down like the one at Point Reyes for the same reason, to be visible below high level fog.




We saw this bird sitting on a fence just outside the lighthouse. Friend Doraleen has identified it as a 'red shouldered hawk'.




Carolyn visited an antique shop and couldn't resist this display of salt 'n pepper shakers. Apparently these are only a small portion of what the owner has at home!




This is the house where John Steinbeck was born, grew up and wrote some of his books. It was built in 1899 and is now a restaurant.




We had a good long hike around Point Lobos State Reserve near Carmel and saw more sea lions lounging about on the beach. We were also fortunate to see a gray whale on its journey south.








The Reserve has one of two Monterey cypress groves which are the only place in the world where they grow wild. The other grove is up the road in Pebble Beach.