During our previous trips to California we spent more time in the interior rather than on the coast. That is when we were not in the three major cities. After all, California has some spectacular national parks---Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Joshua Tree, and Death Valley. None of these famous places is along the shoreline.
So, this time we decided to spend time on the coast. Once again, this was not entirely new territory for me. During his first trip to California in 1974, I had taken his parents along Rt. 1, all the way from San Francisco to Los Angeles. However, that memory had faded by now. Meera had never travelled on this road.
Our drive up North along the coast consisted of reaching the San Francisco area at a leisurely pace. We stayed in Paso Robles for one night, Carmel-by-the Sea for two nights, and Santa Cruz for one.
After we left LA with its frantic traffic, we stopped at Santa Barbara for lunch. I had come there a couple of times for work in the 80s but Meera had never visited. It remains nice town but has become quite touristy. After visiting the famous Mission of the town, we went though a mountain pass before we got back to the highway on ocean. We had to remind ourselves that the California coastline is full of hills and passes.
One unusual aspect of our stay in Paso Robles was that our Airbnb consisted of a luxurious RV in the backyard of a family. Jessica and Lucas use the RV for their own vacations and when they are not using it, guests can stay at a modest price. They are from New York who moved to California a few years ago. After an initial stint in LA (“hated it”) they moved to the central coast, which they love. They were in the process of moving to a two-acre field with a simple house. So they were busy doing the same kind of things we were two months ago.
Our plan was to get some wine from a grocery store and some food to eat. Then we would relax in the RV in front the TV. Paso is well known for wineries and so we picked up some inexpensive bottles (one for consumption, the others for taking back to LA) and frozen Indian dinners. We were all set, except the TV would not work. We could not connect directly with Jessica and had to go through the Airbnb channel, which we did. Lucas came in a short time and found the problem to be with his WiFi router. He had to work on it for a while but then everything worked. How to get TV working is always a problem no matter where we go.
The next day was spent in going along the famous Rt. 1 on the Pacific Coast which we found to be rugged and simply spectacular. We particularly enjoyed views of the calm ocean with spots of sunshine peeking through an increasingly cloudy day. We stopped often before reaching our destination Carmel-by-the Sea, a touristy and cute town on the shore.
The weather had started worsening. There was forecast for rain for the next couple of days. We went to Point Lobos nearby but were told that there was an entrance fee for the car and the park would be closing in 45 minutes. So we parked outside and walked in. The ocean was already quite restive and the big waves crashing helped me take some good photographs.
The town it a bit too cute. There are no streetlights so going about can be challenging. The street signs are written vertically on hard to notice wooden poles. There are no fast food restaurants, so eating can be expensive. The streets are full of art galleries and shops carrying the type of stuff we just got rid of just a month ago. We were at a stage that even the thought of buying something non-essential was repugnant.
Given the worsening forecast, we decided to drive on the famous 17-mile Drive in Monterey one day earlier. It had already started raining. Once again, the windy and rainy weather made photography more interesting than would have been the case if everything were calm and sunny. The Drive offers plenty of good spots for photography. At one point we found a couple of surfers so I got some good shots of people indulging in a scary sport, from the view point of someone like me who can barely swim.
In the afternoon, we went to a town called Salinas, the birthplace of the famous American writer John Steinbeck. They have constructed a Steinbeck Center devoted to his life. What we liked about the museum inside the Center was how well it was organized. For each of his famous books, there was a section devoted to bring it alive with objects, photographs, videos and descriptions. We both got inspired to read his books. Besides watching a movie version of Grapes of Wrath, we had not enjoyed the output of this prolific and talented writer.
In the evening we ate at a Middle-Eastern restaurant. The food was good and the manager, a Mexican, was quite chatty. In a very short time he bared his soul. His wife, also a Mexican, had abandoned him and was now fighting a custody battle. He could not fathom why she would do that. Poor fellow.
At night it poured. There was also a loud thunderstorm.
We had no specific plan for the next day. It was going to rain hard and the wind was howling. On the spur of the moment we decide we would stay in Santa Cruz, about one hour drive along the coast. We booked a place in an Inn along the ocean. Since it was last minute, we got a really good deal. The rain was coming in waves. The sun would come out for a few minutes and then it would be pouring.
We went to Monterey and tried to explore Cannery Row, the subject of one of Steinbeck’s more famous novels. (See, we are serious about Steinbeck ;-)) The moment we came out of car, we got caught in a drenching shower. We abandoned the plan and just drove around. Then we started driving toward Santa Cruz, stopping at what promised to be an interesting place, Fort Ord Dunes State Park. The Fort is an abandoned military base and the dunes looked promising. However, a few moments after we started walking on the trail, it started pouring. We were drenched again. Enough of this drenching game, we said, and drove to our hotel in Santa Cruz.
This place tuned out to be very nice. On a cliff right on the ocean, it came with magnificent scenery. An additional bonus was that he surf was high and soon a bunch of surfers appeared. What a great place for watching (and photographing) them! Just outside the hotel, we met a guy who was watching his son surf. He also pointed out cameras mounted nearby. Through them, he was able to watch his son remotely on his smart phone.
We are starting to discover the joys of not rushing through life. By spending a bit of time, we are able to enjoy lovely spots and meet interesting people.
Ashok (29th December 2018)
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