San Diego to Big Sur/Monterey May 9th - 14

On the Friday morn, after coffee on the second floor lanai overlooking the Pacific surfers, we headed.up I5 and did a little shopping at Whole Foods before driving the short distance past UCSD and one of the Scripps hospitals to Torrey Pines.  Big park set down on the ocean with tall sandstone cliffs which front the beach.

Anna, Jess, Boyd & Ellie - Torrey Pines

Semi arid terrain with lots of succulents.  Lots of folks out doing some short hikes with families, and CA's youth on display.  Interesting bird watering system made of funnels strung vertically.  Spent some time photographing a very cute baby seal who was hanging out on the beach surrounded by onlookers.  He looked for all the world like he was posing.

Jess & baby seal - Torrey Pines Beach

Rangers finally came down the beach to check the animal out as we were walking back to the Silver Beast, Susan's rental Suburban.  Went to dinner at a nice local Mexican restaurant called Isabella's Cantina where Kate Saavedra joined us.

Rich Thomas arrived from Washington D.C. on the same flight from Houston that Andrea and Cassie came in on and moments later Bettina arrived from visiting her brother Ced and my cousin Gordon in Santa Rosa.  Made the 20 minute drive back to the rental at 655 Loring St. and Dane and Anna had brought all sort of edibles and wine for us to enjoy together.

The Ladies at 655 Loring (Anna. Andrea, Cassie, Bettina, Susan, Ellie)

Met Dane and Anna at their place down in Mission Bay and took a walk back along  and the by and then out on the Pacific beach where the Treasure Run (5K & 10K) were taking place.

Family plus Stella minus Bettina down by Mission Bay

We had the long awaited Baby Shower at Anna's mother's home in El Cajon, about a 30 minute drive east of us toward the mountains.

Bettina with daughter Jessica Bracamonte at baby shower

 She put on a great Mexican spread and we had an opportunity to mingle and get to get to know the family better.  Anna's mom is Wanda, sisters were Jennifer and Stephanie.   Charlie, her 82 year old grandfather from Kentucky was there, sunning himself while indulging in some alone time with his cigarettes.  Also met Anna's Japanese grandmother (married to Charlie since just after WWII in Japan).  When the actual baby shower got under way with opening of  presents, Dane, Rich and I took off in Anna's Prius to the Stone Brewery, a 55,000 square ft. brewery/restaurant in an old military facility.  Some clever developers took over the military property, converted the numerous Spanish style buildings into various stores, and restaurants.  Quite the happening place with bocce ball, beautiful ponds full of coi and outstanding beer.  Right under the airport's flight path, so got a bit noisy while sitting at the high bar stools under the umbrella.  Ellie had given Rich the beast's car keys, and they had both forgotten to retrieve so we took Uber (internet connected taxi service) back to Anna's mother's and then cruised back to Mission Bay.

Andrea and Cassie cruised the beach Monday the 11th in the AM down to the wharf which houses a number of cottages, and then we took off and had breakfast at the Cottages in La Jolla, where we managed to go over the hour parking limit and secure a $52.50 parking ticket.  How to hijack the tourist's money! Hung out at the rental the balance of the day.  Downtown La Jolla as expected is yuppie to the max with numerous high-end boutiques.  Showed m.y mother how to use an ATM then returned to our four-bedroom house perched over the arroyo that leads down to the beach.  Later that day we went back down toward the airport to meet Brendan Ellixson, for lunch.  Brendan was one of Cassie's friends when in middle school in Hilton Head.  We had dinner, a Kettner's, a hip spot with rooftop lanai that overlooks SD.

Andrea, Boyd and Bettina at Point Loma

Tuesday took us to Cabrillo Park and Point Loma south of SD.  Big tide pools with anemones, monument to Cabrillo, the Spanish explorer who discovered this part of CA in 1542, and great vistas of SD Bay and the Navy ships.  We had a nice lunch at Seaside Village before returning to the rental. Dane organized for a private chef, Andreas to prepare a meal at our place.  Were served some outstanding salad followed by Alaskan Halibut with a carrot/orange sauce.

 Andreas, the chef is trying to set up a co-marketing scheme with 710 Beach Rentals, the company Dane is Operation's Mgr. for.

Wednesday was filled with Balboa Park, with it's amazing collection of classic Spanish style buildings, museums and phenomenal landscape architecture and gardens.  Particularly was enamored with the lath conservancy which is constructed of pieces of lath wood in a quonset hut type style.  It housed a plethora of tropical and sub-tropical plants, many of which we recognized from out time in Hawaii.
Bought a terra cotta frog, that is position in the "OM" position at the sculptor's guild.  I took apart the Thule bike rack in the afternoon as the bracket holding onto the crossbar had not been installed tightly enough and it had come become unattached along the way and had to be held together with a bungee cord.  After disassembly, tightening of the bracket and reassembly, it appears to be fit for travel.

Bettina McCleary & John Brant at 655 Loring

Wednesday we organized for our leaving, and after the crew ate some leftovers on the lanai, Dane and Anna arrived and we did some final loading of the two vehicles before hitting the road for San Simeon at around 7:30.  We tooled along at 70 plus till I heard the unsettling voices coming from a highway patrol, telling me I needed to travel at a max speed of 55MPH with  trailer.  Luckily, it was just a warning, however, it did have a sobering effect on my speed, which I kept down to 9MPH over the speed limit henceforth.  Cruised through LA without a hitch after passing through Laguna Beach, Camp Pendleton, and Long Beach.  Got onto the 101 and continued north past Hollywood, Universal Studios and the numerous suburbs like Burbank, that are frequently characterized as being populated by movie types and other rich Californians.  Dane and Anna traveled separately and were behind us after taking the 405 around LA with us staying on I5.  They passed us along the way when we, desperately needing to void accumulated fluid stopped to fill up at $4.49/gal (ugh!) but managed to get off the expressway at a station without restrooms.  We found another station a little further along and bought junk food and used the restrooms.

Further north into the night we passed through what was now a lonely stretch of the highway off the 101, the Chugash Highway, which cuts through the mountains with some significant elevation gains and many hairpin turns.  Cassie fell asleep in the back of the Highlander, which is now loaded to the gunnels, and we continued on HIghway 1 to find out motel in San Simeon, around 1:30AM.  Eyes were tired and the bed felt good.

In the AM we five had breakfast at a diner next door, then toured Hearst Castle which was just six miles north.  Quite the home on top of a beautiful hilltop surrounded by maritime grassland.  Thought old William Randolph Hearst had cheaped out on the decorations adorning his front entrance, as the friezes were made of cement, not marble or other carved stone.  The adornments inside were impressive in their old-world way, with wooden carved ceilings, tapestry covered walls and statues.  While the outdoor pool of black and white tile and marble was impressive in size, the indoor blue-tiled grotto pool was spectacular with it's marble ladders, and art nouveau lighting.

Two friends at the seal rookery along Highway 1

Following the Hearst tour of grand rooms, we drove Highway 1 north through Big Sur to Monterey and stopped along the way to see thousands of seal lions and some cute and friendly squirrels.

Andrea at seal rookery

Was a cloudy and overcast drive, but ethereal at times with the clouds coming down upon us.  Often, the drive is perched 1000 ft. or more above the ocean, and views of the craggy coastline are abundant.  The lower hillsides as we approach Monterey are populated with a multitude of succulents with bright colored flowers.  This creates a palette of color which is uncharacteristic against the more monotone greens and browns.

You come into Monterey after passing by Carmel by the Sea with it's 30-50 million dollar part-time homes.  It's a sometimes quaint town, with the usual boutiques and a range of seafood restaurants that center around the wharf.  We walked out on the wharf and were entertained with two sea otters who repeatedly dove to gather up some dinner which they proceeded to eat while paddling on their backs. After a short stop at a nice wine bar where I reacquainted myself with a lovely Merlot.  Had a nice pub diner with seafood predominating the menu.  Andrea indulged in Four Roses bourbon straight up and Dane an I enjoyed an Anchor Steam lager.  Anna continues to forgo the alcohol in light of her pregnancy.  We walked the 10 minutes back to the Colton Inn where I re-parked the Highlander with Go into the parking lot off the street.

We are enjoying a leisurely morning of coffee here at the Inn, and will then be heading south to our camping spot in the Big Sur, after lunch at The Bakery.  The Bakery is a restaurant/gift shop/full-service gas station that began in 1937 after Highway 1 was completed, by some of the original settlers of Big Sur.