Monterey, Pebble Beach, Carmel

After staying just outside Yosemite in a funny little RV park, we hopped back in Terry and aimed for the coast. We stopped at Monterey, and after having some trouble finding somewhere to stay for the night (settled on a motel car park for $70 - big city prices!) we headed for the Fishermans Wharf area for a splash in the pacific ocean and a seafood dinner - and maybe a little candy (mum's a bit partial to caramel "taffy")!

It was also a lot cooler than we were used to.

The next morning we set off and couldn't believe the layer of cloud that gets stuck in this region. Due to the heat of inland California, the cool, wet air gets sucked into the coast, but it gets caught in front of the coastal mountain ranges. As you can see by the pics below, it was pretty thick and we dipped in and out of it all day.

We decided to take the famous "17 mile drive" through Pebble Beach, this was just gorgeous! Obviously for the rich and famous, this area is like a gated community on a headland - in fact it costs $9.75 to just drive through! The houses were artistic and gorgeous, and the golf courses, pristine. The rocky coastline had surf at times, but was mostly weedy and bay-like.

One of the touro spots "The Lone Cyrpress" - a pine growing out of a steep rock jutting out of the ocean.

There are five or six (links) golf courses through this area, but the main one is obviously Pebble Beach - home to the USPGA Pro-Am and the occasional US Open. They clearly have many tourists passing through, as there are quite a few shops and restaurants, but from July 3-8 it was holding a Seniors Tour competition, playing alongside the best juniors - so the place was jammed.

They directed us to some truck parking and we went in for a look. Trent was very excited and the kids and I thought it was pretty cool too. The Lodge was beautiful and sits right at the 18th hole, where we could check out the tournament action.

The kids got involved by writing messages on the player support board - a scribble from Thomas, and "goob luc" from Livvy.

Then we drove on to Carmel-by-the-sea, which is south and just outside of the Pebble Beach area - such an adorable beach town! A continuation of the elaborate architecture and rugged coastline - a bit tight for driving a motorhome through, but we got there in the end. Trent is now a master of the big rig.

Then on to Highway 1 southbound to close off our adventure!