TanksPanky: FTJ, Entry 97: From Steinbeck to Big Sur to Pebble Beach

In Steinbeck country, we made a day out of Cannery Row and the world famous Monterey Aquarium. I was excited about the area, since John Steinbeck is my favorite author. Beau was excited because he has always wanted to visit the aquarium.

In the 1920s, people came from all over to fish or work in the sardine canneries here. But by the mid 1940s, the sardines dwindled and eventually all the canneries closed. Monterey Bay is now part of the country's largest marine sanctuary, "a stretch of ocean that runs from San Francisco south to San Simeon." Cannery Row is now the site of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and many of the old cannery buildings have been converted into restaurants, retail stores, apartments, offices, and condos, retaining at least some of their old "factory" atmosphere and look..

Check it out.

The marina at the old fisherman's wharf in downtown Monterey.

Cannery Row -- Steinbeck country!

At the entrance to the aquarium.

That's a "mounted" California grey whale in the shadow above Beau's right hand.

Outside the aquarium there were seals and otters in the kelp.

Inside, there were all kinds of marvelous sea creatures.

I'd never heard of the Leafy Sea Dragon -- related to the seahorse.

This giant creature is an Ocean Sunfish. Isn't he pretty?

For this leg of our trip we stayed at Marina Dunes RV Park right on the coast. The dunes were impressive, but the weather was pretty gloomy much of the time. That dang marine layer just sits over the coast here!

Our site at Marina Dunes campground on the 4th of July...

...where we nearly froze to death! They claimed we were in a heat wave for the Monterey area.
Could have fooled us!

The dunes behind our campground on a gray day.

Big Sur Does Not Disappoint

We also took a day to drive the coast and see Big Sur. Another wow wow wow experience, with breathtaking coastal vistas one after the other. We were lucky to get great weather for the drive.

The coastal road winds around, eventually rising above spectacular cliffs.

Nice place to live, huh?

There were wildflowers everywhere.

What an incredible experience.

17-mile Drive and Pebble Beach

We also took a day to do the scenic17-mile drive up north, taking in Pebble Beach and then the charming coastal community, Carmel-by-the-Sea (where Clint Eastwood was once mayor).

Some views along the 17-mile drive:

The plaque (in Pacific Grove) commemorates where John Denver's plane crashed.
You can see why he did not survive.

And the clouds rolled in again.

Hmmm -- I think it might get windy here. This huge bush has not fallen down. This is how it grew.

A golf hole along the 17-mile drive.

Believe it or not, that's a golf tee in the rocks. Fore!

There were lots of places to pull off on the 17-mile drive, including a beach where the seals congregate. It's odd how they pick only certain areas in which to haul out.

In front of the famous Lone Cypress, the symbol of Pebble Beach.

Speaking of Pebble Beach...

We Peed at Pebble Beach!

Here are some snaps of the famous golf club.

We walked around, checked out the Lodge, and ate lunch here (we had Buddy, so we got sandwiches from the deli and ate in our car) -- then we peed here. Now THAT's something to reminisce about!

YES! We peed in these bathrooms on the grounds. Exciting, huh?

The famous Lodge at Pebble Beach. Loved being on the same paths where the golfing greats -- Nicklaus, Palmer, Woods -- likely walked. Hey, Tiger may have even housed a mistress (or five) in the lodge!

Various Pebble Beach plaques. The bust is of Samuel Morse (inventor of Morse code) -- who we were surprised to learn was the founder of the famous golf course. More education!

Inside the Lodge -- you can barely make out the final green and the grandstands through the windows.

Part of the course at Pebble Beach.

On to Carmel-by-the-Sea

If you saw the movie, Play Misty for Me, much of that was filmed in Carmel (and other locations in Big Sur and Monterey). Carmel is a lovely seaside village -- but has terrible traffic jams on the weekends.