As if our eyes weren’t already buggin, we were about to get to what our ranger friend called “the good part.” According to him everything up until now was just a “warm up.” Lolita struggled as we climbed further up the windy oceanside mountains and I felt slight anxiety at the height we were quickly gaining. At this point we’d blown any chance of getting to our first-come-first-served campsite by 3. We couldn’t help it though. Every Vista Point was an opportunity to be mesmerized. We couldn’t believe how much the terrain had changed along the way, from beaches and marinas, to farmland, to mountains and valleys, to staggering bluffs. Something unique would pop out in front of us with every turn we took. Simply passing through was not an option. Getting out and experiencing the magnitude of these places was exactly that, an experience, and an unforgettable one at that.

We finally reached the campground only to confirm that it was of course, fully booked. There was a paper directing us to another campground that usually has vacancies up the road, so we set off for it. Little did we know that the little bit up the road meant an almost vertical and winding climb up a narrow and unsafe seeming path up a mountain. After about half a mile, I was having doubts. I think the Versa was too. Every once in a while a car would come out of nowhere edging us closer to the mountains edge and my heart closer to arrest. We were so high up that we went beyond the fog to where it was hot and sunny. With only 6 miles covered in about an hour and 5 more to go, the gas tank was nearing 1/4. At this point I was trying to pray while slipping in and out of consiousness from what I presumed was altitude sickness. Ryan was starting to get nervous too, probably from a combination of me and the ride. We agreed to turn around and pay for a room.

With hotels being few and far between, Turtle suggested we stay at the first place with vacancies, a scary roadside cabin lot called Gorda which means Fat in Spanish. The clerk said this would be the only vacancy in town and let us see the room. It was scary; animal skin, undrinkable water, don’t want to open the closet scary. Except with Four Season pricing. We drove a bit further down to a nice resto/hotel (which DID have vacancy!) for dinner and met a nice couple, seasoned Highway 1’ers, who gave us some tips. We drove back up Highway 1 to Gorda in the dark and realized it’s no fun because you can’t see ANYTHING. After inspecting the sheets, we crashed in the surprisingly comfortable bed in the scary cabin.

Our next stop was Monterey, Steinbeck country. The town, at the top of the Monterey Bay, would be a beautiful place to stay. There were beautiful homes, B&Bs, and classic restaurants and stores. Turtle and I snapped some pics on the cliffs and this awesome rock called Lover’s Point.
17 Mile Drive starts right at the end of Monterey and we headed in excited to see the famous Pebble Beach. Upon entrance, we got a map with a number of different sites. The courses were immaculate, with holes right on the cliffs hanging over the water. Novice golfers save yourself the embarassment and stick to sightseeing because you need some serious skill to avoid hitting balls right into the Pacific. We visited white sand beaches with more seals and otters. I didn’t get a chance to visit the giftstore but assume they sell items like Pebble Beach pennyloafers and stuffed animal seals wearing plaid britches smoking cigars. We also saw the Lone Cypress, icon of PB, growing proudly out of a rock over the water. One thing I learned is that PB is also a neighborhood. Clint Eastwood, George Lopez and other crazy rich people own homes (estates?) here. Upon exiting, I dropped off my adoption forms in a few mailboxes. Signed papers should be waiting for me when I return.

We woke up early Saturday am and took a walk on the beach before breaking down camp and heading out on the drive.
First stop was Moss Landing for breakfast burritos and seal and otter watching. Moss Landing is the quintessential sleepy fishing town. It’s also a farm town, growing strawberries, avocados,artichokes and more which were sold at prices that made me contemplate packing a suitcase of them to start my own fruit stand back on the east coast.
We got close up views of the seals and otters in their natural habitat So cute! Props to or ranger friend for letting us in on this well kept secret.

After Muir Woods we headed down towards our first campsite at Manresa State Bech, just south of Santa Cruz. The drive was alredy getting hilly and beautiful not far out of San Fran. We found a little beach (the name escapes me) with little pebbles as sand. Turtle made a pebble angel and I made some rock art. We could tell that this was going to be the first of many fun discoveries.

Once we got to Santa Cruz, we made a quick pit stop for fish tacos, again the first of many, at a roadside resto and then headed to the beach. With a boardwalk carnival, I dubbed Santa Cruz the Wildwood of the West. Although A Flock of Seagulls was scheduled to play a free show that night, we had to head out and set up camp before it got dark.

The campground sat on a hill overlooking the beach. The park ranger stopped by and was generous with his advice, like everyone else we’d met, and told us a bunch places to see wildlife along our drive and also reassured us (Ryan) that there were no bears around. We set up or tent and sleeping arrangement with ease and were feeling pretty good about our resourcefulness…until we had to start a fire.