Point Lobos State Park
Click on an image to see a larger version
After the tour of Hearst Castle it was time to head north
along Highway 1 towards Big Sur. By this point it seemed like
filling the car's gas tank would be a good idea, and we could
do with some nourishment too. I pulled into the gas station,
only to find the price was amazingly high. So just add enough
to ensure we could make it to Monterey (which was closer than
I thought). Then it was time for coffee, so we ordered some at
the store by the gas station. And had a most unpleasant server,
who was apparently totally disinterested in customers, and
seemed unwilling to speak other than the minimum number of
words to sell products. This photo was taken at that stop,
with the large cactus (?) showing off some pretty flowers.
You can just see a little of Highway 1 above Peter's left shoulder.
From Big Sur it was onwards and upwards, so to speak.
Next destination was Point Lobos State Park. This
view shows Yvonne and Peter, on the far side (from normal)
of the Pacific Ocean, and with a view south along the coast.
Enjoying the shade. This part of the coast is wide open to
winter storms, and the vegetation reflects that, with this
tree growing more in a horizontal than vertical direction.
The Brothers Harris at Point Lobos.
 |
 |
| Protected side |
Exposed side |
The above two photographs show how the weather affects
the vegetation. They are more detailed images of each side
of the photo above them. The left hand side shows how
the plants survive on the protected side - protected in this
case from the southerly winds and storms. The right hand
side is fully exposed to wind and wave action, and the bare
rocks limit what grows. And even the trees are very stunted
from the wind, almost following the line of the point.
Sea lions. The same variety that figured out how to get
to Seattle and feed on salmon passing through the Ballard Locks.
Wildflowers in bloom, looking back towards the Sierra de Salinas
mountains.
And even Bambi (well, this is California, the home of Walt Disney
Company) came for a visit as we were leaving the park.
Carmel Mission
From the park we continued north a short distance to the Mission
at Carmel, founed by Blessed Junipero Sera in the 1770s as part
of the chain of missions which extended at least as far north
as San Francisco. Alas, the Mission was closing as we arrived,
so we could not enter, which is a pity, as it is quite an
interesting building.
The (restored) church of Carmel Mission. This photo was taken
through the entrance gate, and was as close as we could get.
Saratoga
From here we headed to Saratoga to visit Jeff and have a look
around his home before heading off to a pleasant dinner.
And from an old British comedy, this looks like "Everybody Out!".
We arrived at Jeff's, and drove the car down the back while
we organised ourselves.
The travelling trio in Jeff's backyard, before the property tour
and refreshing ourselves before heading out to dinner.
After dinner we said our farewells, and continued onto Fisherman's
Wharf where we had accomodation reserverd for a couple of nights.
By now it was dark, and not being familiar with San Francisco,
the GPS receiver was a real bonus. It lead us to the front door
of the motel, and without effort handled the detour required
by streets blocked off due to a baseball game finishing.
All in all, a most enjoyable day. Tomorrow was to play tourist
around Fisherman's Wharf.
Inside Casa Grande
RtW Tour Page
Updated at 11:57 EST on Wed Nov 8, 2006
Copyright (C) 2005 - 2006, Lindsay Harris
After the tour of Hearst Castle it was time to head north
along Highway 1 towards Big Sur. By this point it seemed like
filling the car's gas tank would be a good idea, and we could
do with some nourishment too. I pulled into the gas station,
only to find the price was amazingly high. So just add enough
to ensure we could make it to Monterey (which was closer than
I thought). Then it was time for coffee, so we ordered some at
the store by the gas station. And had a most unpleasant server,
who was apparently totally disinterested in customers, and
seemed unwilling to speak other than the minimum number of
words to sell products. This photo was taken at that stop,
with the large cactus (?) showing off some pretty flowers.
You can just see a little of Highway 1 above Peter's left shoulder.
