Feeling Very Welcomed in Monterey Bay!

Several weeks ago, we met a couple from California staying in the camp site next to us. We asked them for advice on things not to miss as we wandered through California. They have lived in the Monterey Bay area for many years, and they recognized it as one of the most beautiful places to visit.

We've been working our way north in the central valley of California. But with a suggestion like that, we followed their advice and turned straight west towards the central coast. We spent one morning on the coast, driving Highway 1 that hugs the ocean. It was a cloudy day, but the views from the highway were still very nice.

We stopped at several turn-outs, and the wildflowers added color to an already dramatic coast line.

Much of the coastal area next to Highway 1 is protected from development, and several state parks conserve the shore line. We were pleased to find that admission to these state park areas is free. Denisa was waiting to take this picture of Mark standing on the cliff. She really liked the thick red plant that is covering the hillsides this time of the year. All she needed was a dramatic wave to hit the rocks behind Mark, thrusting its powerful spray into the air. When she explained to Mark that she was waiting to take the picture until she saw a good wave, he helped her out by raising his arm and giving her a wave.

It's interesting that this hill is completely covered with a curiously named plant. For an area that enjoys warm weather all year, the plant that grows so well here is this ice plant. The foliage has taken on a reddish tinge, with bright purple and white blooms.

Just like many roads in California, Highway 1 has also been affected by recent rains. We now understand the mud slide issues, with steep hills coming right down to the road. Over-saturated hills slide down over the roads and wash out bridges over the rivers that drain to the ocean.

That happened 26 miles down Highway 1, so that is far as one can drive south from Monterey. But that would get us deep into the Big Sur coast for today's drive. We were in search of the famous Bixby Bridge that Denisa had seen pictures of in the local tourist brochure. In the hazy distance, it looks like we are getting close to the bridge. We also see in the foreground we caught a rock arch close to the beach.

Besides looking for big bridges, Denisa also likes looking for little wildflowers.

We stopped with the other cars parked on the side of the road, and took pictures of this engineering marvel.

There was just a little water in the creek under that tall bridge, but plenty of water out in the ocean along this stretch of the Big Sur coast.

There was a lovely sandy beach beneath the bridge, but obviously no way for people to get down to that level so far below the highway. Our parents will be glad to know that we didn't try something risky like crawling down to that beach.

That's when we saw that the parents of these two foreign visitors wouldn't be so happy. These two guys were climbing down the side of that rocky hill. They finally made it to the sandy beach for some epic pictures of just how far off the beach floor that cement bridge really is.

We took pictures of other beach dwellers. Those red specks are actually hereford cows meandering the green valleys next to the ocean. These cattle might have the best view of any herd on either side of the Mississippi.

We thought we had made it to our destination on Highway 1, until the GPS informed us that we were still a couple miles away. It seems there are two historically beautiful concrete bridges along this section of the road. We finally made it to the real Bixby Creek Bridge. It is one of the tallest single span concrete bridges in the world.

Since the Bixby Bridge is the most photographed bridge in California, we had to take several pictures just to catch up with our last bridge stop. This bridge was completed in 1932, actually 5 years before Highway 1 was finished.

The U.S. Postal service recognized this as one beautiful bridge, as it became immortalized on a stamp in 2010. This view is as pretty as a postage stamp!

We made one more stop along Highway 1, mainly because there were so many cars parked along the road here. There must be something very special at Point Lobos State Nature Reserve for so many cars that they couldn't fit inside! Actually, many are parked outside because there is a $10 fee for parking inside, but it's free to walk in from the road. We walked one of the trails to the ocean, but our favorite view was of the giant trees and their branches that reach to the ground.

We're heading back off the Big Sur coast now because we have a dinner date. Dale and Carelyn are the people from Monterey Bay that told us so many good things about visiting here. We've been emailing since we met them, and they were glad that we changed our direction and came to the coast. Then they honored us with an invitation to their home here for dinner.

The picture above is the front yard of their home on the beach. It's a short walk through the native brush to the beach. We were the only ones on the beach for as far as we could see in either direction.

Dale took us for a walk on their private beach. Technically, the state of California owns the sand, but only the home owners have access to this area through a guarded gate. He also had lots of answers to the questions we had been pondering about life in California.

Actually, we didn't exactly have the entire beach to ourselves. There was a flock of tiny shore birds that were there as well. We guess they flew right by the gate at the end of the road.

While we were walking the beach, we kept finding perfect sand dollars. These fragile sea creatures are some of our favorites, and it was crazy that we found so many. There are only twelve houses that have permanent residents, so there are few shell-shoppers on this beach. A few of the sand dollars had barnacles attaches to the top, something we had never seen before. Because we don't have room in the motor home for sea shell collections, Denisa's favorite thing is to take a picture of our special finds. These were certainly special, as she spelled out a special place we've discovered--"MC" stands for Monterey, California.

We had a delicious meal that Dale and Carelyn had prepared especially for us. We got the seats of honor at their dining room table looking out their plate glass windows at the ocean. It was a feast with an ocean view! And don't forget the strawberry shortcake for dessert!

It was a delightful evening as we heard all about their favorite RV mishaps. We were laughing and crying at the same time as we heard their stories about going under a too-low overpass, and the GPS taking them down a long dirt road. They've already lived some of our worst nightmares on their maiden voyage in their motor home! They obviously made us feel very welcome to their home town and their home. We're feeling very welcomed in Monterey Bay, California!