Day 3

So we got home last night, of course the flight was delayed. Actually we got home this morning at about 1am. Poor M is at work, I'm up trying to coerce the jet lag out of me because we have the closing tomorrow at 830am. The flight was uneventful once we were on it. M and I weren't seated together so I talked to the agent and he switched us around. Only he didn't. He reissued our boarding passes so it looked like we were seated next to each other but there was someone in M's seat...M got put back into his original seat. Oh well.

So my plan is to continue detailing what we did each day and adding the appropriate pics once I get them off of M's computer. There's some great ones!

Day 3
We travelled south from Carmel to the Big Sur area. Words really can't describe the views and I'm sure they won't translate as well into pictures. If you ever get a chance to do this drive, you will be happy you did. Words that come to mind are dramatic, breathtaking, ridiculously beautiful etc. Sweeping cliffs, crashing waves....it was amazing. There are tons of turn outs and you are expected to stop and take pictures. There are tons of state parks to stop at with hiking trails and beaches. We stopped at two...Pfeiffer State Park and Julia Pfeiffer-Burns State Park (we thought the first park was actually the second). We stopped at the first one and did a hiking trail through the redwoods. I have to say, the redwoods weren't gigantic like I had imagined. There were other parks that touted the redwoods more than this one, so maybe they were larger in other areas. Who knows. Interestingly, the trail we were on (and many others) were closed due to wild fires. The trees had been destroyed but hadn't been removed yet so it was unsafe to travel on the trails. We went to Julia Pfeiffer-Burns because the view was supposed to be unparalleled and indeed it was. It was absolutely incredibly...pictures coming soon. The site of the park was formerly the site of someone's home. She bequeathed the site to the state of California with the understanding that the home would be torn down and a public viewing area would be erected.

On the way back up, we stopped at Nepenthe which is literally on a cliff in the middle of Big Sur. They have a great patio area with a fire pit and lights strung up, the whole patio overlooks the ocean and crashing waves. The prices for the food go along with it. We're talking $20 salads here people, but it's the price you pay for the view I guess.

We got back from Big Sur and proceeded to Monterey Bay and checked into our room at the Intercontinental Clement Monterey which was right on Cannery Row aka the major touristy area. For once, we indulged and didn't take the cheap room. We stayed in room 303 which overlooked the ocean and had a balcony and a gas fireplace. It was very very nice but Monterey was not on the top of my list of places we saw. It felt a little too much like Downtown Disney, like it was a set of a California seaside town. A bit too touristy for us. We had a horrible Italian dinner that night at Linguine Louie's, very substandard for very touristy prices. That night, we had some local wine via travel candle light on our balcony while three teenagers got stoned on the board walk beneath us. Ah, Monterey.

Plan for tomorrow is to check into our next hotel in Watsonville (going back to our frugal ways) and check out the surrounding area then head up to Santa Cruz.