After a restful Sunday, we left early to head north. (Do you know the way to San Jose? - anyone remember that song?) Leaving the RV at Walmart in Salinas, California, We jeeped the 25 miles to Monterey. Returning later in the day, we went on to overnight in a Walmart in San Jose. Check the map. This part of the state is where much of our vegetables come from. We past fields and fields of veggies, most of which we could not identify from the road. And we found out where retired school buses go. They are painted white and used to haul the workers to the fields, towing a trailer with 2 or 3 porta-potties. Many, if not all, fields have sprinkler systems. Can you imagine how much piping and water pressure that takes? Monterey is a popular tourist area for the history, climate, and scenery. It's an old fishing port and at one time had several fish 'canneries' and they were located on, what else, 'Cannery Row'. Now modernized, most buildings are shops and restaurants. Commercial fishing still goes on here. The 'commercial pier' is where the fishing boats dock and unload their catch. People and businesses come to buy fresh seafood, but that's not unfamiliar to us who live in Houston. And Mary Lou found another new friend! This is the same park my kids played in 40 years ago. More scenes from around the Monterey coast. This is the Monterey Cypress Our picnic spot with more of Mary Lou's new friends. And always the flowers. Driving along the coastline, Mary Lou spotted at least 3 whales blowing and cruising just off the coast. Here's a picture of a tail out of the water as one of them 'sounds' or dives. Look closely, it's just a speck. Adjoining Monterey to the south is the village of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Joining the two is the famous '17 Mile Drive' along the coast and in the hills and among famous golf courses including Pebble Beach Golf Links, the scene of many celebrity tournaments. This is a very exclusive neighborhood with many fine homes. Note the bird on the deer's back, and the houses in the background. The most famous feature of the 17 Mile Drive is the 'Lone Cypress' tree. It has withstood the ravages of wind and sea for over 250 years and is now supported by retaining walls and wires. Carmel-by-the-Sea is an old retreat for the rich and famous and is a touristy place with shops, restaurants and art galleries. Can you believe Clint Eastwood was mayor here at one time? The photo below is the only one we took because of the unusual roof. From Carmel we retrieved our RV from the Walmart in Salinas and went up the road to a Walmart just south of San Jose to spend the night. Many cities around here prohibit overnighting in Walmart parking lots but this one did, in fact we could stay several nights. The parking spot was very nice and private, but another overnighter told us about an RV park at the Alameda County Fairgrounds and that was convenient to our plans for San Francisco. This morning we drove the 30 miles through beautiful countryside to a very nice reasonably priced park. We even washed the dirty RV at the free pressure washing station. We've spent a leisurely afternoon enjoying the cool breeze and getting rested to assault San Francisco tomorrow.
Stay tuned.
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Who Are We?
Chuck and Mary Lou have been traveling in their RV since 2002 and have lately been taking longer, extended trips. This is our way to share our experiences. Trip Reports
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