Day 4- Hwy 1- The Pacific Coast

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.

Our first stop,
Montara Beach.

Our second stop along the Pacific Coast Highway 1

Point Montara Lighthouse

The first light at
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

Monterey,
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

This was Doug's delicious dish!
Spicy Shrimp Scampi Pasta 
With Mushrooms, Garlic, Fresh Herbs, Penne Pasta and a Light Tomato Sauce.

I think we need to go back!

The Cannery Row Monument

Stepping into the cold waters of the
 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.

Cannery Row
 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

We rode along the
 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.

http://independenttravelcats.com/2013/11/14/17-mile-drive-scenic-drive-along-monterey-peninsula-pebble-beach-california/

 
The Lone Cypress

It stands along famously scenic 17-Mile Drive,
 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

Along Pebble Beach.

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

We enjoyed strolling through the scenic streets and shops here.

Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history. In 1906, the San Francisco Call devoted a full page to the "artists, writers and poets at Carmel-by-the-Sea", and in 1910 it reported that 60 percent of Carmel's houses were built by citizens who were "devoting their lives to work connected to the aesthetic arts." Early City Councils were dominated by artists, and the city has had several mayors who were poets or actors, including Herbert Heron, founder of the Forest Theater, bohemian writer and actor Perry Newberry,
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

Carmel-by-the-Sea's one-square mile village is as unique in charm as it is in
 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!