Day 9 - Newark - Monterey, CA

Just outside San Francisco is the Big Basin Redwoods State Park, California's oldest state park.  On our way south, I thought this would be a great way to start the morning.  Well, it turned into an adventure for sure!  The road in was essentially 1 1/2 lanes and some of the curviest I've ever seen.  Add on that we were running low on gas (I thought there would be a gas station on the edge of the park), and it made for some exciting times.  This road was a windy, twisty path through the forest with trees of every size going past on either side.  We arrived at the visitor center and discovered that it was a very popular location for a Sunday morning!  People were everywhere.  Unfortunately the rangers had no gas and I was honestly a bit queasy from driving that road in.  After a brief rest, we continued down the road and pulled into a gas station at Boulder Creek safe, but on fumes!

We soon found lunch in downtown Santa Cruz at a local place that was packed with college kids, a few young professionals, and then older folks.  It was an interesting mix of folks who were enjoying each others' company and the good food.  Santa Cruz is known for it's boardwalk area (voted America's favorite seaside amusement park per signs) which includes several permanent amusement park rides:  a wooden roller coaster, log ride, etc.  Again, Californians were out in droves to enjoy the sun and warm temps.  It was a neat sight to see on our way out of town.

We were soon driving down California 1 and past Monterey and Carmel.  We entered the Big Sur area of the highway to see even more dramatic sea to shore landscapes, along with a lot of traffic, especially around the Bixby Creek Bridge (the famous one everyone wants to photograph).  We continued down the road until we reached McWay Falls.  We made a u-turn and then headed back towards the Monterey Peninsula.  This area was beautiful as well, but in comparison, I'm fonder of the coast up north of San Francisco.

We drove through some of the Carmel neighborhoods marveling at how these folks live.  Soon we paid to enter the 17-mile drive in Pebble Beach.  This route took us to all the major scenic points in Pebble Beach.  We were very taken with Spanish Bay where the wind was howling in, but the cairns erected on the beach were unmoved.  The drive around the area was beautiful:  waves were crashing into the shore; the houses were huge and gaudy; and we were able to watch the sunset right as we saw the Lone Cypress which has become the symbol for Pebble Beach.

A short stop in the Pebble Beach club gift shop and we were soon on our way to dinner in downtown Monterey.  We found THE best place ever:  Montrio Bistro.  Our waiter was very friendly, along with the rest of the staff, and we could tell the kitchen folks put a lot of thought into each selection.  YUM!!!  Our hotel was nearby and soon we were checked in and looking forward to our final day in the car.