July 23 Morro Bay - Big Sur - Monterey

We had a very busy day ahead of us, so an early morning wake-up-and-go was necessary. We headed back up the 1 toward Big Sur.

This is where we really noticed the highway getting dangerously windy as you drive inches from the coastline, making hairpin turns with little warning. There were also a lot more vehicles on this section of highway coming from the north. There are pullouts and vista points in frequent locations. The first one we stopped at was to see the Elephant Seals.

 The road was very curvy and we were very lucky to make it out without a slide after passing all of the construction and slide signs.

 There was a lot more traffic coming south, and a tonne of suicidal motorcyclists who will pass you doing 60 on a curve.

 We were very lucky, because if the slide actually closes the entire road, you have to back track quite a distance to get to another road that will avoid it. This stretch of the 1 is completely separate from any towns or roads.

Onwards we made our way to Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park. We paid the $10 this time, but were disappointed and wish we had parked with the other skeptics on the roadside pulloff. The "hike" was less than a quarter mile, and was filled with people, walking to see the small waterfall, and landslide, then back. 

There were two other trails here. One was roped off and the other followed a creek through the forest, where you could stop and picnic. It was nice, but took us no time, not really what we would consider hiking, but pretty none the less.

 We continued north. We were getting hungry, and heard all the hype about Nepenthe so we decided to check it out. It is extremely busy, and this is based on the internet hype it receives for the view. Honestly, all it is, is a restaurant with benches facing out to the coast. Bring a picnic and sit at any of the vista points for the same view and save your money. The menu is ordinary and over priced. Needless to say we left.

We did however find a gem in stopping at the Redwood Grill at the Fernwood Motel. The food was delicious. We shared the Halibut and Chips with a chipotle flavoured dip, and a taco salad with home made chips. I think staying here would be nice too. They had a deck in the back, and I believe hot tubs as well.

Bixby Bridge was our next stop.

  We continued on our way to Monterey. We had pre-booked a room at The Pacific Garden Inn in Pacific Grove and are very happy we did. The Inn was amazing. Great room, complete with wood burning fire place, popcorn machine and pop corn. Outside, there were two private hot tubs that were opened all night. We were greeted by our host Robert, who was all smiles and offered great advice and tips on how to do the 17 mile drive for free.

http://pacificgardensinn.com/ 

 I highly recommend this place. We didn't want to leave. Breakfast was continental, and consisted of large fresh muffins, cereals, fruits, hard boiled eggs, and more.


After checking in and showering, we headed for the 17 mile drive. We did manage to enter for free. Talk about a gated community.

These were some of the houses you come across. It was hard to tell the difference between houses and golf course buildings. There were way more houses here then I thought there would be.


Everyone else has to pay $9.00 to drive around the neighborhood. It was nice, but I would have been upset had I paid since it was very overcast that afternoon.

The Lone Cypress

The Pebble Beach Pro Shop

The Lodge at Pebble Beach

We got score cards at the pro shop, and Shay bought a hat. We opted not to eat at the lodge, and made our way off the property down to Cannery Row, where Robert informed us of a Pebble Beach outlet that sells Pebble Beach memorabilia for a more reasonable price.


As we approached downtown Monterey we realized why we were being passed by so many bikers along the way. Apparently there was some sort of indy and Monterey was closed to cars, but open to motorcycles and pedestrians. It was packed!

Very cool, accept when it came to finding somewhere to eat. All of the restaurants had 45 minute line ups and we were starving. We opted to walk back towards our car, and eat at this small bbq place. It wasn't very good. From here on we found yelp.com extremely helpful at finding good restaurants in our neighbourhood.  Back to the Pacific Garden Inn to relax in the hot tub!