Right on the heels of my friend's wedding, I hit the sky for a trip to California with another of my best friends for a girl's week. We thought the California coast would provide the perfect mix of our two interests - photography for me and wildlife for Bethany - and it was exactly that!
We arrived on a sunny afternoon in San Francisco and hit the road south for Monterey. The drive along Hwy 1 was beautiful. Since we had no specific agenda, we took our time and stopped a couple of times along the way when we found something of interest - point one Bethany University! How could we not stop and take a photo of Bethany in front of the Bethany University sign... so we did. Our second stop was Moss Landing - looked like we could take our first peek at the ocean... well, yes except for the crazy winds. We hopped out of the car and fought our way up the dune only to be overcome with the sand exfoliation we were receiving from the winds. Needless to say we did not make it down the other side. We were emptying sand from our hair, pockets, ears and eyebrows hours later! It was crazy!!
We arrived in Monterey late afternoon and checked into our hotel - a great place called
Casa Munras. It's a multi-building property with great landscaping, fire pits and great outdoor space. We were greeted by the most friendly, helpful staff of any hotel that I've stayed in in a long time. They checked us in, provided coupons for local restaurants and gave us great recommendations for damn near everything! The room was spacious with super comfy beds and even had a fireplace!
We promptly headed down the main drag to window shop and make our way to Fisherman's Wharf. Took some photos, wandered through some shops and decided on crepes for dinner. It was a very calm and easy day given the mileage we traveled.
The next day we hit the road for 17 mile drive - stopping at almost every point of interest for a stroll and photos. I read an awful lot about how it's a rip off because they charge money to take the drive, but I totally thought it was worth it. It's not that much money and you get some really amazing views. The roads are well maintained and the signage is great from point to point. We really enjoyed the drive - took us several hours with all of the stops.
After the drive we ended up in Carmel, the cutest little city ever! Adorable shops, interesting architecture and unbelievably pleasant people. I was pretty impressed with the California attitude - everyone was so helpful and just seemed so happy. Quite a difference from Chicago!! We had a late lunch at Merlot Bistro and it was wonderful.
We decided to stop at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. We weren't quite sure what there was to see or do, but it had rave reviews everywhere we had looked. I think it cost $10 to drive in - we saw lots of cars parked on the street with people walking in, funny. We drove to the main look out point and WOW! WOW! WOW! We followed the trails up and down and all around and were amazed around each corner. The surf, the plants, the wildlife ... it's mesmerizing. Bethany got to see real tide pools for the first time and found fun things like starfish and muscles and was so excited she could hardly stand it. I was transfixed by the surf. I could sit and listen for hours. I'm not really into hiking or heights and let me tell you there were some sketchy stairs and edges of cliffs that I was not super comfortable on, but I made it and I'm super glad I did. Anything to get the shot, right?
Plum tuckered out after that day of fun, we stopped for dinner at Lollapalooza. Had a great meal, a cocktail and a funny waiter - perfect end to an action packed day. Sadly the last stop for me was Walgreens for some cold medicine .. was starting to feel a little sore throat and stuffy coming on, but I wasn't going to let that get me down... no way!
Waking up to rain is a bit of a bummer when your on vacation.... in California! Time for some indoor activities, we hit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They have some outstanding exhibits. Bethany spent a long time at the touch pools and I watched the jellyfish forever - oh and the otters too. They look like they have so much fun!!
We had lunch on Cannery Row and then the most amazing salted caramel hot chocolate at Ghiradelli. Crazy to think it's the end of May and we're in jackets drinking hot chocolate... but it was a little slice of heaven. We wandered through the shops and artist studios on Cannery Row - not all that impressed - then to the lookout areas behind the shops. We stood watching the waves crash along the piers and listening to the birds for a while. I took a little iPhone video - what the heck did I do before I had this device? I mean really?
(no idea why Vimeo rotated the video ... gotta figure out how to fix that)
With no planned events for the day we decided to take the long and winding road to see the Hurst Castle we had heard so much about. Hwy 1 was A M A Z I N G. Quite possibly one of my favorite places on earth - and I have a lot of favorites! We had the craziest weather - cool with clouds that would roll in and through the hills creating the most perfect dramatic landscape. The perfect photo was literally around every turn - good thing I was driving or I'd have filled up my memory card with a ridiculous amount of photos from the drive.
We arrived at the castle later than our scheduled time - oops! - but luckily were able to hop on the next tour. Would have been a shame to drive all that way and not actually see the castle. The only way to visit is via a tour since it sits atop one of the hills - you have to be bussed up. We took the overview tour and saw the outdoor pool and gardens, inside one of the guest houses and the receiving and dining rooms inside the main house, the movie theater, tennis courts and indoor pool. Everything was over the top. The indoor pool might have been my favorite - hand crafted marble staircases with custom marble railings - come on! Come on! I could see the draw to a place like this - even though it's in the middle of nowhere - it's literally everything you need an then some. The views are spectacular and again with the dramatic clouds rolling in and around the property, it was simply dreamy. Save me a space on that lounge chair ... I could stay there forever.
Our last day we spent doing girly stuff, it was after all a girl trip! We slept in a bit, set up spa treatments at the hotel spa for scrubs, massages, mani/pedi and facials. The massage was fabulous, Bethany enjoyed her facial, but the mani/pedi was not the best. We topped the day with the new Sex and the City 2 movie and dinner with Bethany's friend who lives in Monterey.
Despite being sick for more than half of the trip (driving thru the mountains with sinus trouble was not a great idea) I had a great time and would love to venture back to this area in the future. Next time more beach and some wineries!
I have over 650 photos to process, so I will likely post a Flickr album once I've finished making my way through those. Thank goodness for my iPhone or I'd have no photos to even post. Again I ask, what would I do without it??
