During our 3 night stay here on the Monterey Peninsula, we’ve been thrilled to re-discover just how beautiful this Pacific Ocean coastline truly is. We’ve visited here before but time has a way of making memories fade a bit, but the sound of the huge waves of blue water and white foam hitting the rocks and beaches will, I hope, make this year’s memories of Monterey last for a long, long time.
Asilomar State Beach in Monterey, CA
Having done the 17 Mile Drive on Friday then taking the awesome Hi-Way 1 from Monterey to San Francisco on Saturday we decided to stay a bit closer to home yesterday and have an up close look at the stunning Asilomar Beach Preserve. We drove by it on Friday and saw there was a long boardwalk of a little over a mile that ran parallel to the ocean with stairs going down to the beach at frequent intervals.
We left our RV park early Sunday morning because we wanted to get back in time to have a good, long rest before heading up through Oakland on Monday and then over the Richmond Bridge to H-Way 101 which we’ll follow up through Oregon.
There are lots of pull-over parking places along the shoreline of Asilomar so we didnt’ have any trouble parking the truck – even though it was only 9am, we were amazed to see how many folks were already out walking along the boardwalk and more amazed to see so many crazy surfers out in the pounding waves!
The entire 1 mile long walk along Asilomar was breathtakingly gorgeous – one of the best walks we’ve ever been on. Even having to walk back the 1 mile was a pure pleasure as we got to see so many scenic spots we missed the first time.
It was a warm morning with the temperature about 60F and only a very slight breeze coming off the ocean. Still, after nearly freezing up in San Francisco on Saturday, I decided to wear a sweatshirt over my t-shirt but I really didn’t need it.
With all the stopping to watch the waves, take pictures and simply enjoy the scenery, it took us a little over 2 hours to finally make our way back to the truck.
If we had kept on going in the same direction we very quickly would have come to the gatehouse for the 17 Mile Drive. It was tempting to do it again but we figured we had too much else to do back at the rig and besides, we wanted to rest up for our Monday drive.
Turning the truck around and heading back into Monterey, Paulette and I both discovered that the long walk along the beach and the fresh salt air had made us quite hungry. Since we were heading right by Cannery Row we decided to make a pit stop and check out a few of the stores and maybe find a Starbuck’s for coffee and see what else the area had to offer.
A few of the eating establishments along Cannery Row
Cannery Row is definitely a fun place to visit with all of the shops, cafes, restaurants, bars and touristy type stores. I have to say though that after the walk along Asilomar Beach, the phrase “from the sublime to the ridiculous” flashed through my mind.
How’d you like to lay down for a nap on this rock!
All of the huge old Cannery factories and stores have all been taken over by quaint looking shops and restaurants now. They all come with their ingeniously planned names to try and attract curious tourists. I’m thinking the locals must avoid this place like the plague even though we found it kind of fun to walk along the main drag.
At least Californians have a good sense of humour
Paulette found a Starbucks while I spotted Lily Mae’s Cinnamon Rolls and that sounded to me like a nice healthy Brunch. Wow! Hang on to your wallet on Cannery Row – I bought 2 rather small Cinnamon Rolls at a cost of $12 and change. We took our coffee and gold priced Cinnamon Rolls, found a bench in the sun, and watched folks walk by while we enjoyed our expensive Brunch.
On the way back to the RV Park, we made a quick pit stop at a local Monterey Quilt Shop just in case Paulette started to go into Quilt Shop Withdrawal – that’s not a pretty sight for sure! With that taken care of we headed back to the Marina Dunes RV Resort to rest up.
Paulette dressed for the Arctic Ocean at Marina Dunes yesterday
Same beach, same time – it was just a beautiful afternoon!
We went down to the Marina Dunes Beach late Sunday afternoon for one last walk along the beach.
Rylie and Molly go to go for one more long run on the sand
Then, boo-hoo, it was time to say good-bye until next time!
Have a great Monday, and thanks again for visiting!
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