17-mile drive through paradise

Monterey Peninsula - such a nice place to live, a real treasure! We started on Monday morning with the Monarch Grove Sanctuary, just around the corner from our hotel. Arriving in October, until about February, monarch butterflies cluster together on pine, cypress and eucalyptus trees on this plot of land - a really unique place! We were just to early, too cool still, and, therefore we only spotted a couple of them flying up high around the tree tops.

Next: the famous 17-mile Drive (pics above and below) - a stretch of road along the Pacific coastline from Pacific Grove to Pebble Beach featuring awesome sights and views along the way. There are iconic landmarks like  The Lone Cypress, Spanish Bay, Stillwater Cove,  Del Monte Forest, and the world-renowned Pebble Beach Golf Links, where just last weekend a big golf tournament took place. Thanks to a gentleman by name Samuel Finley Brown Morse this piece of land is really pristine and precious. Morse founded Pebble Beach Company in 1919 and he was the one who promoted the Pebble Beach Golf Links under the premise that it would help increase interest in the development of the area. He purchased property, founded hotels and developed the area in a careful way. Today a very unique piece of natural beauty, with some huge mansions and many world-renowned golf courses - a world of its own!

Lone Cypress - an iconic motive!

Pelicans flying low (above)

Carmel(-by-the-Sea) is a small artisty town with fancy boutiques and restaurants, parks and other places for the beautiful people. It was founded in 1902 and is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history. Several of the city's mayors have been poets or actors, including actor-director Clint Eastwood and they were known for their unique rules and laws in town.

Our lunch at Carmel Bakery: pistaccio cannoli

Monterey, our next stop, on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, is much older: Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under Spanish (1804-1821) and Mexican (1822-1846) government. From the old times, many historic adobe buildings, the mission and governmental buildings are still in pretty good condition. Courtyards are beautiful, blooming abbundantly.

Later, the city became famous for the abundant fishery. The  expansion of the Monterey fishing industry at the turn of the century gave birth to the fish canning industry and the street that would become Cannery Row. The first major cannery on Ocean View Avenue was the Pacific Fish Company, born on February 14, 1908. Canneries expanded rapidly during WWI and another boom followed during World War II. A few of the old structures have been preserved along Cannery Row at Fisherman's Wharf, and they are featured in "Sweet Thursday," the sequel to "Cannery Row" of famous author John Steinbeck (portrait below), who was born in nearby Salinas.  

 

 

Back in Pacific Grove we first visited the Farmers' Market with local organic produce and bought tasty, juicy oranges, then walked over to the lighthouse and the beach where John Denver's plane crashed.