Monterey, Carmel and Marina California / New Friends

When we were in Yosemite National Park and Groveland CA we had planned to drive from there to the Grand Canyon via Bakersfield CA and I-40 after that. But I checked the weather and found that the highs would be above 100 F for most of the time in those areas. I asked a neighbor camper from San Jose CA to recommend something on the California coast. He told us about the Monterey Peninsula and Marina Dunes RV Park. The predicted high temps there were in the upper 70's. There was a beach. There was Monterey, Cannery Row, Carmel. So we changed our plans and what a great move that was. The RV park, the whole area was fantastic and we met a wonderful couple there and developed a quick friendship to boot.

The route from Yosemite  to Monterey goes through miles od farmland.

The hills near the central coast of California

There is a bike trail from Marina where our campground was to Monterey and beyond. The entire trail is off road, with occasional road crossings. It is quite hilly in parts and gets close to the ocean in spots.

On the trail to Monterey

Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey. Tourist trap? Who cares, because we're tourists!

These pelicans, and a few sea lions not seen in this photo, were waiting for something.....

....and this man was giving them what they were waiting for, fish carcasses.

We ate at Isabella's on the Wharf. This was the view from our table on the deck.

The bike trail

This sunset was just a few hundred yards from our campsite.

A memorial to one of the 9/11 victims.

Lover's Point in Monterey.

Pacific Grove is full of cute houses like these.

We had a problem with our truck slide. It was locked up. We took it to Gold Coast Motoring. The owner, Chuck Page, was incredible. He was so helpful. Even his mother, who reminded me of my own mother, was there and she was also so nice to us. We dropped the truck off and bicycled to Pacific Grove. Chuck called us and then DROVE the truck to us, about 10 miles, to show us the problem. He could fix it but it would take and long time and involve lots of labor. The bolts that fixed the slide to the truck bed were more like huge rivets that could not be unscrewed and would have to be sawed out.  Only then would he know exactly what the problem was and whether he could fix it. We decided to wait until we returned home since the Bedslide was still be under warranty.  Chuck refused to charge us even tough he spent hours on it. I left him a fifty. Which was much less than he deserved.

Gold Coast Motoring in Seaside California

Chuck specializes in redoing old cars. This one is for sale as is but he will fix it to like new on request.

Carmel

I'm pretty sure we ate at this restaurant 25 years ago. Debbie is not so sure.

After seeing so many "No Dogs Allowed" signs it was nice to see this poster.

Rosie got a new ensemble at Dippity Dog Boutique in Carmel

Our campsite at Marina Dunes.

We met this delightful couple, fellow Airstreamers, in the campground. Paula Poundstone and Sid Vicious (not their  actual last names but a mnemonic devise we use when meeting new people). They are from Preston Idaho in the southeast corner of the state. Sid has a farm implement business with 3 stores in the area. They have been married for 38 years and still seem madly in love. They are strong family people and feed 17 people, children, grand children and parents,  every Sunday We went to dinner with them and to see "Barefoot in the Park".  We are hoping to go skiing with them in Idaho in the near future.

Paula and Sid

The four of us, and of course, Rosie, in front of Diva.

We left the Monterey Peninsula on Sunday, October 8, 2012 with some sadness. We loved our time there and enjoyed our short time with Sid and Paula. On a good note, the temperatures in Bakersfield, Barstow, and Arizona have dropped 20 degrees since last week and our adventure to the Grand Canyon will not have to be a sweltering experience.

After the Grand Canyon we are heading home to the Carolinas 3-4 weeks ahead of schedule, as if we have a schedule!  Family issues have to come first.

Yosemite

The drive from Santa Rosa to Yosemite National Park goes through miles and miles of farms and farm towns until you start to climb the Sierra Mountains.

The road to Yosemite NP is steep, curvy,  and treacherous. Yet it is the easiest way into the park from the west.

Our first view of Yosemite valley.

Unfortunately, I didn't keep track of the names of all these peaks.

Yosemite Facelift is not a new plastic surgery service. It is an annual volunteer program to clean up the Park. The volunteers gather here to get assignments. They go to various parts of the park and pick up trash. Every year they remove tons, literally tons, of beer cans, bottles, paper, old car parts, camping gear, and the like.
Almost no food is found since the bears find that first.

Here are some items picked up in the past. These are also used to help train the
volunteers on the dangers involved, including the Hanta virus.

Yosemite Valley Visitors Center

This mock up of the valley shows the approximate angle of view of the photo above.

This view of Half Dome is the the view of Ansel Adams' iconic photograph.

One of our friends, and Debbie's personal physician, is Dr. Degnan.

This photo and the next several were taken from the floor of Yosemite Valley.

At our campsite, Yosemite Pines RV Resort & Family Lodging, near
Groveland, CA, about 17 miles from the west entrance to the Park. We enjoyed our stay here. The is no grass and lots of dust, but that is the same everywhere around here. They had no snow last winter and almost no rain this summer.

Hi, Uncle Hal & Aunt Sandy!

There are at least 3 major groves of old huge redwood trees in the park. The most renowned is the Mariposa Grove. But this was 80 miles further from us than Merced Grove. We did not want to do the 160 mile round trip.

The trail to the Merced Grove is 1.5 miles and drops 600 feet in altitude.
Similar to the trail to Crater Lake but without the fabulous views at every turn

The exposed roots of this redwood were right on the trail.  I could have, and should have,
placed my backpack into one of those holes in the roots to show the scale.

Three thick trunks.

this made us think of a Star Trek episode.

Groveland, CA, is an entrance town for the Yosemite National Park. Our campsite was about 3 miles from the town. It was the only place we could get cell phone service. There was a quite nice grocery store and several good shops and restaurants.

Yosemite National Park is spectacular. Fantastic vistas. Unfortunately, there was a severe drought this year and everything was dry and brown. We were constantly worried about fires. It looked like one cigarette thrown out the window and the whole area would go up in smoke. I hope they get lots od snow this winter and tons of rain next spring and summer. They certainly need it.

We had been planning to leave Yosemite and head to the Grand Canyon via Bakersfield, Ca. But the forecast was 104 F for the whole of south central California and we saw that cooler weather was forecast for the central coastal area of California.  At our campground there was a couple from San Jose, Ca. They told us about the towns near Monterey and Carmel. We had been there 25 years ago and loved it. They told us about Marina Dunes RV Park about 10 miles from Monterey and about 50 miles from silicon valley and Apple. How could we resist.  We made reservations there for 6 days. Next post: Marina California and the Central Coast.

Frank

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