350 miles to Los Angeles

We have 1 week to travel the 350 miles to Los Angeles... Here we go!

Our first stop was near Monterey Bay, where we discovered we arrived just in time for the Sea Otter Classic (the largest cycling festival in North America that kick's off cycling season). This event made it more challenging to find a hotel, but we persevered and found The Lone Oak Lodge. It was a homey place - and the owner looked just like Cruella de Vil. It was perfect. And finally, we didn't seem odd with our bikes on the roof!


We drove to Monterey to bike the 17-Mile Drive. We've read wonderful things about this drive, but we've also read some really awful things about this drive - the most annoying one is pay a fee to drive it. Last report we saw said $9, but the information center in Pacific Grove said it was $9.25. Well, we decided we didn't want to pay a fee to see a few golf courses, some fancy homes, and a beach. Lucky for us, we have our bikes, and cyclists can ride the 17-Mile Drive for free - Yippee!


Pebble Beach Resorts rave about this drive with its 21-points of interest. As we approached our first point of interest, we could see the disappointment on the drivers who actually paid the $9.25 to see this place. We were able to enjoy it knowing we didn't pay a thing... not even for a tank of gas!


Most people travel this road for 2 things...

ONE:
The infamous 250 year old Lone Cypress. (We've heard the tree is trademarked/copyrighted and photographers are prohibited to sell or distribute any images of the tree.)

TWO:

The Pebble Beach Golf Links
Home to the 2010 U.S. Open

Just to give you an idea of the money that is on this peninsula... The greens fee for Pebble Beach Golf Links is $495. If you are a resort guest, that price includes a cart. If you are not a guest at the resort, you must pay $495 PLUS the cost of a cart for the day.

I tried to photograph the first hole, but couldn't interrupt the golfers... nor would I want to bother someone who paid almost $500 to play a game of golf!



And along the 17-Mile Drive we ride...

This spot is known as Bird Rock. As we approached the parking lot, we could hear the barking of the Habor Seals and Sea Lions. It was comical!

And this is known as Spy Glass Golf Course
(Greens fees here are $340 - what a steal!)

I don't know the first thing about golf - except that you hit the little white ball with a club into the little hole - but I'm happy to learn and be a caddy. The rate for a caddy is $75 per bag plus gratuity! Heck - I could do it - I've seen Caddy Shack I and II.

Interesting fact - the first Caddy Shack was released the day (and year) I was born!

That's it - I'm changing careers. It's meant to be!

We biked with more Escalades, BMWs, Lexus, Caddilacs, Mercedes, and Porsches than we've ever seen! We also saw two Ferraris!

I'd say if you were up for biking - this is a phenomenal ride. But if you want to just drive through - it is overrated - and probably not worth the $10 to enter.

As one blogger put it... I wonder what the Home Owners Association dues are. At the first stop, we counted 25 vehicles... which is almost $10 per car... which totals $250. And that was only at 11am on a Saturday. We read the best time to travel the 17-Mile Drive was in the afternoon once the morning fog burned off - so imagine how many more cars travel through the peninsula!

From Monterey, we traveled Highway 1 south. This road is known as the Big Sur Highway (aka Cabrillo Highway) down to Morro Bay.

Big Sur Highway was named America's Most Scariest Drive by Joe Yogerst. In his words:

Alfred Hitchcock could not have conjured a scarier highway—122 miles of vertigo between Monterey and Morro Bay. Two lanes for nearly its entire length, the road meanders along cliff tops poised high above the Pacific, including 33 bridges and countless drop offs into liquid oblivion. Anyone faintly squeamish should not attempt to drive this route.


Personally, I think driving across the Huey P. Long Bridge is scarier, but that's just me. I'd say the Big Sur is one of the prettiest drives we've been on yet!

Strawberry Fields on CA Highway 1

On our way to San Simeon State Park (Central California Coast), we were surprised to spot hundreds of seals along the shore. Turns out this small nook near The Piedras Blancas is home to about 15,000 Northern Elephant Seals!


Thankfully a non-profit - Friends of the Elephant Seals - has worked hard to fence and protect the beach area. It provides a safe place for new pups to rest. They actually are here for 2 months to fast and convert their fat into muscle. On our visit, the juveniles and adult females were molting.


We watched as the seals swatted sand to keep cool, wiggled onto land to rest, and belched and snorted like nobody's business!

It was quite a show!

Morro Bay was a funky surfer paradise and classic fishing town. It is most known for Morro Rock - a 576 foot tall extinct volcano.


The rock is home to numerous birds - and there are clear warnings not to climb the rock. But we did hang out and watch the surfers in the bay - and watch the squirrel watch the surfers.



And today we are in Oxnard (Richie thinks they've misspelled Oxford. While you should use different hands to type them, the N and F are pretty close on the keyboard.)

It was a day for a picnic on the beach...

Playing in the sand...

Showing off the "Chaco Tan"

Finding Lady Bugs...

And taking fun pictures...

I know, I know - you simply can't get enough of us!



Tomorrow we land in Santa Monica.