Today we departed San Francisco around 9:30 AM to travel the Pacific Coast via Highway 1.
The views were breathtaking!
This is a little further down the Pacific Coast Highway
leaving Monterey near the 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach.
This is a little further down the Pacific Coast Highway
leaving Monterey near the 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach.
Our first stop,
Montara Beach.
Montara Beach.
Our second stop along the Pacific Coast Highway 1
Point Montara
was established in 1900, and consisted of a red lens-lantern hung on a post. A new fog signal building was built in 1902, and a fourth-order Fresnel lens was installed in 1912 on a skeleton tower. The light was electrified in 1919. Finally, in 1928, the current cast-iron, 30-foot tower was installed to house the Fresnel lens.
In 2008, it was discovered that the current Point Montara lighthouse is much older than previously thought. It was built in 1881 and erected on Wellfleet Harbor in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where it stood until the light station was decommissioned in 1922. From Cape Cod, the lighthouse made a 3,000-mile journey to Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco Bay, where it waited in a depot until finally being installed at Point Montara in 1928. It is currently the only known lighthouse to have stood watch on two oceans.
Through partnerships between the Golden Gate Council of Hostelling International USA, the U.S. Coast Guard, California State Parks, and the California Coastal Conservancy,
the facility was renovated to become a hostel,
and opened its doors to travelers in 1980. Since then, HI Point Montara Lighthouse has welcomed thousands of guests from around the world every year.
http://www.norcalhostels.org/montara/history-point-montara
On to Monterey for Lunch
Home of the famous
Cannery Row
Cannery Row
is the waterfront street in the New Monterey section of Monterey, California.
It is the site of a number of now-defunct sardine canning factories.
The last cannery closed in 1973.
The street name, formerly a nickname for Ocean View Avenue,
became official in January 1958 to honor John Steinbeck
and his well-known novel Cannery Row.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannery_Row
We were so glad we stopped at
The Fish Hopper for lunch.
We were seated inside along the water front with a view of the bay.
On our way into the restaurant, we sampled the clam chowder.
It was like non-other,
The best we have tasted!
I ordered the
Sand Dabs Fresh Filets Breaded and Grilled, Topped with Diced Tomatoes and Light Basil Sauce.
Served with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Seasonal Vegetables.
Yes! It was scrumptious!
What are Sand Dabs?
The sand dab is one of California's better-kept seafood secrets.
The catch is small, not because of a shortage of fish, but because sand dabs traditionally have been available only in restaurants.
Sand dabs inhabit the Pacific from Alaska to Central America,
but the commercial fishing is restricted to the Pacific coast.
Sand dabs have a delicate, sweet flavor unmatched by any other Pacific flatfish. They are generally sold whole. These fish are pan-dressed (headed and gutted), then pan-fried or grilled.
http://articles.latimes.com/1985-05-16/food/fo-17671_1_sand-dab
Spicy Shrimp Scampi Pasta
With Mushrooms, Garlic, Fresh Herbs, Penne Pasta and a Light Tomato Sauce.
I think we need to go back!
Monterey Bay.
Quotes from John Steinbeck...
Writers are a little below the clowns and a little above the trained seals.
If you're in trouble, or hurt or need -- go to the poor people. They're the only ones that'll help -- the only ones.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
American Author
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American author of 27 books,
including 16 novels, six non-fiction books, and five collections of short stories.
He is widely known for the comic novels Tortilla Flat and
Cannery Row,
the multi-generation epic East of Eden, and the novellas Of Mice and Men and The Red Pony.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning The Grapes of Wrath is considered Steinbeck's masterpiece
and part of the American literary canon.
In the first 75 years after it was published, it sold 14 million copies.
In the novel's opening sentence, Steinbeck described the street as
"a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream."
The canneries failed after the collapse of the fishing industry in Monterey Bay in the mid-1950s, which resulted from a combination of factors, including unfavorable oceanic conditions, over-fishing, and competition from other species. In his investigation of where the sardines had gone, Ed Ricketts finally concluded "They're in cans." Before the collapse, the fishery was one of the most productive in the world due to the upwelling of cold, yet nutrient-rich water from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean that is funneled to the surface via the vast underwater Monterey Canyon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannery_Row
Leaving Monterey
17 Mile Drive.
When we booked the tour, we really didn't know what this was.
We were so glad we made this part of our trip.
The 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, California,
first opened in 1881 to horse-drawn carriages
and has become one of the most famous scenic drives in the world.
17-Mile Drive is a privately owned 2-lane road that winds its way along the Monterey Peninsula through the Del Monte Forest, along the rocky Pacific Coast,
and alongside several popular golf courses, including the world-famous Pebble Beach Golf Links. Even if you don’t have the money to spend on the expensive shopping, dining, and golfing at Pebble Beach, you get still get some million-dollar views of Monterey Bay, rocky beaches, cypress trees, marine animals, birds, exclusive homes, and famous golf courses by taking this coastal drive.
The Lone Cypress
raked by wind, swaddled in fog, clinging to its wave-lashed granite pedestal like God's own advertisement for rugged individualism.
It may be 250 years old. It might be the most photographed tree in North America. It sits alongside one of the world's most beautiful (and expensive) golf courses. It's a marketing tool, a registered trademark, a Western icon.
This is from a great article in the Los Angeles Times.
The author goes on to say,
David Potigian, owner of Gallery Sur in Carmel, explained it to me this way: This tree is to the Monterey Peninsula what the pyramids are to Egypt, what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. No wonder its keepers are hoping it will last 100 more years.
Read more...
Standing before the Lone Cypress, LA Times Atricle
Pebble Beach Golf Links
is a golf course on the west coast of the United States, located in Pebble Beach, California.
Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful courses in the world, it hugs the rugged coastline and has wide open views of Carmel Bay, opening to the Pacific Ocean on the south side of the Monterey Peninsula. In 2001 it became the first public course to be selected as the No.1 Golf Course in America by Golf Digest.
Greens fees are among the highest in the world, at $495 per round in 2008.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Beach_Golf_Links
On to
CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA
and actor-director Clint Eastwood
who was mayor for his one term that ran from 1986 to 1988.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmel-by-the-Sea,_California
Fun Facts.
No high heels law, no street addresses,
Ice Cream Ordinance,
Clint Eastwood was once mayor,
and Doris Day helped make Carmel dog heaven on Earth
are a few of the most popular ice breakers when meeting locals and visitors in this European-style town.
Carmel Fun Facts
We trekked back to the Inn after a day of spectacular views
along the Pacific Coast
Highway 1!
Just to claify you accidently name Pigeon Point Lighthouse as Montara Lighthouse. Separated by about 30 Miles
ReplyDelete