San Juan Bautista, California on El Camino Real and Half Moon Bay

Postscript on our Monterey visit.  As spectacular as the area was, while we were there we stayed at Marina Dunes RV Park in Marina, CA  The one positive comment I have about this park is its proximity to the beach.  A transient flophouse on Cannery Row in the early '30s would have been a step up.  Avoid at all costs (which, by the way, was $70.00 a night).  I might have seen this coming with additional research.


San Juan Bautista, CA is mid way between Monterey and San Francisco inland about 20 miles. It lies on the old El Camino Real, connecting over 20 missions from San Diego to San Francisco.  It has beautiful landscapes with many vineyards close by and tons of wildlife.

The largest of the missions on El Camino Real is Mission San Juan Bautista, founded in 1797.  It has conducted a daily mass since its inception in 1797.  P.S. It's along the San Andreas fault.

The gardens are exceptional

On to Half Moon Bay and lunch at the Ritz Carlton.  Thanks to Caleigh and Brandon for recommending this.  It's gorgeous!  We spent the night at Half Moon Bay State Beach.

View from the dining room

Half Moon Bay State Beach

On to Palo Alto this morning, Mar 31.

Monterey, Mar 24 - Mar 27

We left Paso Robles early Thursday for Monterey.  We went directly west to Cambria and stopped in San Simeon to view the Elephant Seals.  They were amazing: hundreds of them basking in the sun on the beach, playing in the water, and a few having some sort of noisy seal romance.

"Oow!.  Get off my fins"

Leaving San Simeon, we drove north toward Carmel and Monterey.  Not to overstate, but this part of the Pacific Coast Highway is the most spectacular stretch of road we have traveled.  We stopped in Ragged Point for breakfast, which was lovely if not overpriced (Gas was $4.79 a gallon.).

We arrived in Monterey about 1:30 and took a walk on the beach.  Very windy day but plenty of sun.

Marina State Beach with the Monterrey Peninsula in the distance

 Friday we spent the day exploring.  Our first stop was Cannery Row of Steinbeck fame, and we walked its entire length.  Great history and a beautiful setting,  Now I have to reread Cannery Row.

Steinbeck Monument with accompanying Row characters

We bumped into Forest, Forest Gump

Our next stop was the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Definitely worth a visit if in the area.

Then on to the highlight of the Monterey Peninsula: Pebble Beach Golf Links and 17 Mile Drive. The good news is it is absolutely fantastic. The bad news is we couldn't justify the $500 price tag to play (plus the cost of lost balls) so no golf this day.  But we did have a great lunch in a prime location and a beautiful drive along 17 Mile Drive.

18th Fairway at Pebble Beach beckoning us

Pebble Beach 18th Green

Lunch at The Bench in The Lodge at Pebble Beach with the 18th Green as a backdrop

The famous symbol of The Pebble Beach Corporation, the Lone Cypress on 17 Mile Drive

Left Monterey on Sunday, Mar 27th for San Juan Bautista, CA before moving on to Palo Alto and San Francisco later in the week

Santa Barbara, Morro Bay and Paso Robles, Mar 21 - Mar 24

We left LA early on Monday morning for Paso Robles and a visit to the California wine country.  We stopped along the way in Santa Barbara around 9:30 am and had breakfast on the beach at the Shoreline Cafe.  Santa Barbara is a spectacular beach town with many sights.  This particular day there was a cruise ship in port.

The Shoreline Cafe

Marie says 'Hey' with cruise ship in the distance

 We arrived in Morro Bay about noon.  Morro Bay's most distinctive feature is Morro Rock, a volcanic plug sitting at the entrance to the bay.


Morro Bay is home to a commercial fishing fleet catching Halibut, Sole, Rockfish and Albacore.

On to Paso Robles.  We're staying at the Wine Country RV Resort for 3 nights.  We had lunch the first day at the Odyssey World Cafe in Paso Robles and visited Castoro Cellers in Templeton, CA.  This is the first time either of us has seen the California wine country.

Today, Wednesday, Mar 23 we did a tour of Paso Robles vineyards with our knowledgeable tour guide, Buzz.  Our first winery was Pear Valley which we felt was unpretentious with classic wines and wonderful views of the countryside.

Our next stop was Sculpterra Vineyards, our favorite so far.  This winery was far more than a wine producing facility.  It was a sculpture garden, an art gallery and a beautiful family operated winery.  Owned by Dr. Warren Frankel, much of the sculpture is by John Jagger and Dale Evers with several iron works by master Blacksmith Robert Bentley.

I don't quite know what to make of our entry to Sculpterra Winery, but it is what it is  At least we know where we are.

We call this Buzz's Whiskers.  Our tour guide, Buzz, manged to secure the whiskers with his patented whisker glue, or so we're told.

Marie's favorite is this sculpture called "Focus" by John Jagger

My favorite, also by John Jagger, is called "Sleeping Puma"

We stopped briefly at Rio Seco Vineyards but, by that time, I couldn't tell the difference in taste between a white and a red!  

Recovering somewhat, our last stop was Tobin James Vineyards, which was a 'tavern' atmosphere and our least favorite.  But the wines were inexpensive, and the staff was very friendly.  If you were in a party mood, this is the place.

Tomorrow morning, Mar 24, we leave for the Monterey Peninsula with a stop in San Simeon to visit with the elephant seals.

San Diego & Los Angeles

It has been several days since our last post but will attempt to catch up here.  This blog is probably the only way Marie and I will remember where we've been.

Our first stop in Southern California is South Carlsbad State Beach just north of San Diego.  

A beautiful beach with great surf.  It's hard to make out, but there are a few surfers in this shot.

South Carlsbad Beach at sunset

I reconnected with Kellogg Boynton, a best friend from high school, after more than 25 years.  Once again, it was as though no time had passed.  We had a great visit with Kellogg and his wife, Annie.  

Kellogg and Annie had us to their beautiful home for dinner one night.  Marie had not met Kellogg or Annie but quickly all were good friends

 Kellogg and a few others have developed a new high end brand of tequila which will be on store shelves soon.  I can vouch (hic!) for it.  Look for Tres Ochos Tequila within the next few months.

On to Los Angeles and Dockweiler State Beach.  The good news is that Dockweiler is a beautiful beach with great surf and bike trails running from Palos Verdes to beyond Santa Monica.  The bad news is that Dockweiler sits directly in the flight path of LAX.  We had a nice visit even if sleep was not part of it.

View from the Park

The first night in LA we had dinner with Myron and Mary Lou Curtis who spend the winters here. Myron and Mary Lou live in Brooksville, Maine the rest of the year and are members of the Island Country Club in Sunset, Maine.  We had a nice dinner and played golf the next day at Los Verdes Golf Club.  I managed to lose a few $$ to Myron but plan to win it back this summer.

On Saturday, Mar 19, we connected with the Curtis' and Marilyn Schroerer and Dave Goddard. We spent the day at the Huntington Library and Gardens, followed by dinner at Marilyn and Dave's home in Pasadena.  Although I didn't know it before, the Huntington is a 'bucket list' item for sure and dinner with good friends was great. P.S. There were manuscripts of: Chaucer, Shakespeare, London, the Preamble, etc.

Walt, Marie, Myron, Mary Lou, Dave and Marilyn

One of the Huntington Gardens

Part of the Japanese Garden at the Huntington

On Sunday Marie and I took a bike ride from Dockweiler Beach to Playa Del Rey, through Marina Del Rey to Venice Beach and on to Santa Monica Pier, a total of 22 miles round trip.  We saw every form of human being along the way, and a couple that we weren't sure of.

Here we are on the Santa Monica Pier

Leaving LA on Monday morning for Paso Robles with stops in Santa Barbara and Morro Bay along the way.

Update from The Springs at Borrego

On Sunday, Mar 6, we had a weather forecast that called for possible thunderstorms, heavy rain and blowing sand.  Only the blowing sand materialized, along with a rainbow.

Rainbow

Sand Storm

We continue to have a great time in the California Desert.  Yesterday, Monday, Mar 7th, we took a day trip to Indio, Indian Wells, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage and Palm Springs.  We visited the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert, took the Tram ride to the top of Mount San Jacinto in Palm Springs and had a late lunch at Lulu's in Palm Springs, all well worthwhile.

Great Horned Owl  Reminds me of Dana after a nasty hook.

Jaguar

Mother & Baby Giraffe

The Roadrunner

Golf at De Anza Desert Country Club and Borrego Springs Resort, both great courses but very different.  De Anza was a brutally hard park-like setting with super slippery greens and Borrego was a forgiving desert course with great views

De Anza Desert CC

De Anza Desert CC

De Anza Desert CC

Borrego Springs Resort

Today, Friday, Mar 11, is a very special day for Vanessa.  She is getting a complete spa treatment including wash, wax and buff.  She is very excited!

Side Portrait -- note the twinkle in the headlight

Full Frontal Shot -- I can see a smile!

We travel on Sunday to the coast with our first stop at South Carlsbad State Beach north of San Diego.