Jul 01, 2015

Slept in again this morning and me with a GPS on low vision followed Norm all over town (as in San Fran) looking for Highway # 1 so we could follow the coast and finally found it. Passed lots of 'boxes made of ticky tacky' on our way out of town and dipped in and out of mist covered  terrain throughout the day. We encountered overall very little traffic interspersed with heaps of stop start traffic for short , bizarre, and finally after riding through heaps of and dunes and beach areas and pockets of intense market gardens with dry hills behind ended up in Carmel which is a treat for the senses with delightful restaurants  shops and galleries with all sorts of beautiful things to look at and buy. What a contrast!

In the lobby at the Hilton, Dame Edna eat your hear out at these gladdies.

　

And a celebratory dinner at an Irish Pub last night. Norm quite likes a guinnes.

And some 'little boxes made of ticky tacky' as we head out of San Francisco this morning. We had passed many beautiful homes around the park but couldn't stop to take the shot. DOH!

　

It's official, we are out to the Pacific Ocean again.

　

And a great shot of the Pacific.

　

What is that thing on the bluff?....apart from a bizzare shape that is.

　

Ah hah, a military battery from the second world war, incredible erosion since then!

　

Looking back to where we had come from, and the original Highway #1 went to the left of the tunnels and we had hoped to follow it back but it was listed as no motorised vehicles allowed, only pedestrians and cycles. Damn.

　

And a close up. It was an impressive tunnel which was longer than it looked but we could see light at the other end for the whole lot of it so was deciving.

　

And beaches ahead beyond the battery.

　

Lovely beaches.

　

Cute lighthouse even though tiny.

　

A rugged coastal cliff (check out the tree at the top).

　

Yep, the wind has moulded it to exactly the shape of the cliff. How's that for a stiff westerly breeze!

　

Smart birds, out of reach of people.

　

Beautiful sights in passing. Birds taking to flight.

　

Pigeon Point lighthouse (looks better from the distance, looks very tired close up) and shows the intensive market gardening going on right up to the cliff face.

　

Robert Louis Stevenson's home at Monterey. Unsure how long it was his home, we saw a home of Mary Queen of Scotts in Scotland where she stayed for 3 months too ill to travel further, but now billed as her home, so who knows?

　

The Custom House at Cannery Row Monterey. This is at the start of a six block Harbour front street which was once the site of 720 fish packing plants that procesed sardines. In 1945 the sardines disappeared and the buildings now house restaurants and shops. It's a bit like a permanat fair site. Didn't know much about sustainable fishing in those days we have to assume.

The Marina.

　

Part of Cannery Row where I had a delicious hot chocolate (Norm a coffee) and I checked out some beautiful sculptures. Sometimes it's a bugger to be on a bike!

Surviving fishing industy.

　

And a couple of the survivors.

Last two Night's Accommodation:

 

Hilton San Francisco Union Square, 333 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco, CA 94102.

Nice hotel (huge) and room (reasonably small but nicely decorated and comfortable). Handy to the trolley cars and shopping. Staff friendly and helpful. Bed nice and comfortable. I personally didn't enjoy the hotel, seemed way to big and noisy in public spaces and limited eating options with only one restaurant and a Starbucks which was always bulging with customers. There is another coffee area being developed which is way overdue in my opinion. Surprisingly, Norm thought it was okay. Go figure, we are so different!