Our revisiting places tour Highway 101

Our usual route traveling in this area was Highway 1 along the coast. This time since the winds were going to be kicking up we tried the 101 which turned out to be a real treat. The rolling farms and ranches were beautiful and no slow and go through the coastal towns.

 

I have never seen so much green in our time in California. It was usually brown or as they call it "gold".

Miles and miles of vineyards

 

Driving through the Salinas Valley reminds me of John Steinbeck's stories. The amount of food grown in this area is mind boggling. I wonder how the raise in minimum wage to $15/hr will affect the industry and workers.

 

This doodad was so the workers would have shade while harvesting their crops.

Mike found a treasure of an RV park in Marina, CA across the street from the dune and Monterey Bay. We had stayed on a beach in northern CA one time and found it to windy with the sand beating us up.  The dunes protect us from the afternoon winds without the tourist congestion of Monterey itself.  At night we can hear the waves crashing.

After spending time in the dry AZ climate, I am enjoying my morning walks in the cloudy morning marine layer.  

What a great birthday

Long-billed Curlew

sand dollar

We sat on the beach for 40 minutes waiting for the sun to set and saw whales spouting. At times they would show their heads and tails.

While riding the beautiful 17 mile drive by Pebble Beach to Carmel by the Sea, we met a young man on his touring bike riding from San Diego to San Francisco. Our ride ended up being 34 miles without a lot of wind on our return.

The Lone Cypress

Ghost tree

This morning while doing the laundry, I met a man who lived just down the street from us when we lived in Woodland Park. Small world.

There were quite a few paragliders just floating above the dunes in the afternoon breezes.

A surfing paddle boarder