Monterey Bay

Watching humpback whales breach from the top of a sand dune until sunset is such a thrilling experience. Arriving at the secluded and quiet Sunset Beach State Park, just north of Moss Landing, Monterey, parking up and clambering up the dunes to that sight was genuinely awesome (it’s a shame that word is so overused these days, it’s lost its true meaning!) We’d spent a couple of days driving South away from the minus overnight temperatures to warmer climes and one of not many conscious revisits of an area we adore. Obvious why eh?! Whales from the shoreline and a load of new birds via the Merlin app! I’ve no clue how long The Tall One’s list is these days but it’s probably as long as him! That evening, Jigsaw was planning an attack on the resident racoon so she had to be confined with a dreamy!

We’ve been whale watching with ‘Fast Raft’ a few times before and it hasn’t ever disappointed so we treated ourselves to another trip out. They use a retired Navy Seals Rib with 6 seats, so getting intimate with the whales and anything else spotted is part of the gig. We had three free hours with them last time, searching the waters for a blue whale with a buoy tangled around its fluke. Once found it was freed by specialists else the whale could have drowned. That was a day to remember, so was this trip, calm waters and blue skies, the whale blows were easier to spot. We had a breach right by us and saw so many other Humpbacks really near. Also, we saw Bottlenose Dolphins and Rizzo Dolphins, plus nearer the shore, numerous Seals, Sea Otters, birds and Pelicans. Not great pics I’m afraid, I was too excited just watching!

After another morning of watching whales and the like from the shore (yeah I know you’re bored of it!) we moved campsite from Moss Landing area nearer to Monterey itself, pitching up at Laguna Seca. Inland, it used to be a moto GP track but now seems to entertain noisy, fast cars so one of us quite enjoyed watching a variety of vehicles whizz past. It’s an interesting term that’s used out here ‘toy hauler’… basically for you and I, its a trailer that’s lugged around behind ones ginormous RV on which you haul your fancy car, quad bike (ATV they call ’em), jet ski, blah blah. Clearly ‘boys and toys’ is correct, evident at Laguna Seca! We did see another method too, says it all, only in America (see pic) Our neighbours preferred the American Football on their RV outdoor tv!

We decided to ride into Monterey for an explore and for the exercise. It was fun on the trails into town but a tad scary as again, more dope driving aromas from the open car windows. Not ideal and, in our humble opinion, reflects the disregard some people have for others on the roads. Aside, we came across a high school sailing competition in full flow, says a lot about the area eh… closest my school got to a sailing club was a dingy on Southport’s Marine lake! The irony was that on the next beach section a long was a hippy music festival, that’s more like it for California! We continued skirting the coastline past the fishing boats and the marina towards the famous Cannery Row. These days taken over by fancy shops for the tourists but it has to be fair, retained a load of authenticity in the buildings, like the sardines of the heyday, it’s well preserved. Cycling out to Lovers Point to look at the water and birds, what else, we then headed back via the Old Fisherman’s Wharf and the tacky tourist pier.

Our third camp was more in the town but high up in the hills with the smart houses, can you imagine a campsite like that in the UK with the Nimby attitudes?! It was Veterans Memorial Park which had camping on the side. We had a “Reveille” Bugle alarm call at 7am and a night time lights out rendition of “Taps” at 10pm. It was actually really pleasant, the Naval Base is very close by (that’s the reason) All military academies do this. Our second repeat experience was to walk down the steep hills to Monterey Bay Aquarium. We just love this place, it’s so well done and vast. We spent over four hours wandering and marvelling. It’s beyond comprehension what nature is capable of, the colours, incredible. There’s a wide array of sealife from a hammerhead shark to schools of sardines in massive tanks, with sea turtles and colourful marine fish swimming past. We aren’t fans of zoo’s and captive animals but here, with the vastness of the facility and the ability to see behind the scenes, it just about feels ok. There’s a world class research program there too. Anyhow, the pictures will do the talking, who knew jellyfish could be so gorgeous?! Sorry there’s so many pictures! If only Dulux could replicate the colours of the corals in their paints! Exhausted after being on our feet all day we ate out and got an Uber back up the hill!

The other big tourist draw in the area is ’17 mile drive’ so bikes again. We cycled among the swanky houses on Skyline Drive down to the entrance gate, yes, its a massive gated community for the super wealthy. Being on push bikes it was free to us, cars have to pay $11.75 for the privilege of gawping at big houses! I think it’s free for residents! The route is a loop, past big houses in big tree shaded plots down to the coast avoiding the golf buggies at the numerous courses. The most famous being Pebble Beach with its electric gates onto the tee’s… don’t know why, we could step over them. To our left, a manicured golf course, with manicured people swinging their sticks at a ball, in front of manicured houses with no one at home. To the right, the glorious pacific ocean, crashing waves, craggy rocks, seabirds a plenty and white sandy coves. Which way would you look?

As the loop turns back inwards, it was more of the ugly oversized properties (seriously, we did look for ones we could take design tips from) and preened lawns behind high gates. A tourist spot was The Lone Cypress, a not so alone tree on a rock! A slight detour took us to Carmel which has an older feel to it, houses more normal in size but just as expensive, it was genteel though. If the US ever did a series of ‘Midsummer Murders’ it could easily be filmed in Carmel, twas that kind of place. It’s gentrified, in a retirement community style, upset when the grandchildren rock up at weekends to surf and be nuisances in the wine bars! It no doubt quite suits Harrison Ford! We didn’t think it was him on the horse though (Halloween gets ready early and they certainly go for it here!)

Anyhow, an enjoyable explore and some sights to behold, we rode back, up the hill to give Jigsaw a cuddle before heading East. A week by the ocean, we were heading back into the parks again and across the desert. Jigsaw was complaining about the lack of mouse action and she hadn’t liked the racoon much! Not sure she’ll find much for a while!