04.09.11
Monterey & Point Lobos
We had grand plans for our full day in Monterey, which started off with a super yummy breakfast at the Cadillac Cafe in Corralitos. With our much needed energy for the day, we made our way to Monterey Bay where we rented sit-on-top kayaks. After a quick, but quite good introduction to paddling strokes, we were on our way!
I took the risk and brought the DSLR with me (in baggies none the less) and before we knew it the seals found us, posing for pictures! The harbour seals, sea lions, and sea otters all hang out together on a peninsula near the wharfs and the kayakers definitely pique their curiosity. We had shadows for most of the trip, but took care not to get too close a we didn’t want that huge fine for interacting with them. (but that didn’t stop the critters from checking us out)
We worked our way towards the aquarium where there is a nice kelp forest. The water was a spectacular deep green, and the kelp flowed with the currents in hypnotic waves. We took some time to enjoy the view, the fresh air, and give our muscles a break from working our way out against the wind.
Eventually the breeze started to chill us so we made our way back, with no spills and cameras still dry.
Fisherman’s wharf was calling (Chowder, chowder, chowder! come eat me!) and so we did. After a few tastings we decided to get a bread bowl and warm up on a couch with its own fireplace. After exploring the wharf a bit more we determined we didn’t have enough time for both the aquarium and Point Lobos, so we decided to hit the point… those jellies are coming to chicago so i wasn’t too disappointed.
After a short drive and parking scuffle, we were hiking out to the beautiful points of Point Lobos. Once again the water is just a beautiful deep blue, crashing into the cliffs.
The famous cyprus trees surrounded us… taking our time we walked the loop stopping so many times to enjoy the views.
I found some paintbrush wildflowers (orange!) and enjoyed snapping pics as i saw them. On our way back the light was shining just wonderfully through the trees and it felt almost like Middle Earth… the trees weren’t talking to me, but with a bit of imagination the ents would have said, sit down and stay… don’t rush!
After a fun afternoon of hiking we decided to try to drive the 17 mile drive, but then detoured when we realized you had to pay and realized the houses in the area were awesome anyways… there were some crazy roofs (wavy!) and just some cute rock homes, very gingerbready…
We made our way home, fixed some yummy food, and finished the night watching a movie all cuddling together on the couch.
Time to head home
So my last day of my trip we decided to head back to San Fran/Oakland after a leisurely breakfast. We made good time and stopped in to grab Mariana’s ID, as it was the Peruvian voting day. We made our way downtown and realized there are a LOT of peruvians in San Fran! We dropped her off to get in line to vote and went off to try to find parking… after much circling we realized there were too many voters and opted to head a bit more west and found a great ramen place. YUM!
We were just heading back when we heard voting had been completed, and Mariana had a plan… crazy ice cream at Humphry Slocombe. And when i say crazy, i mean crazy… Salt & Pepper? yep. Foie Gras? Yep (but not that day), honey thyme, jesus juice, corn… it goes on.. You can taste any of them and they ran out quickly of the best flavors (salt and pepper wasn’t one of them) but i ended up getting Secret Breakfast… corn flakes and bourbon! WTF? oddly good, even though i’m not a bourbon fan!
a perfect end to my trip, a fun city day with basically no pictures haha! Thanks to both Geoff and mariana for a wonderful finale!