California Roadtrip - Day 3

July 23, 2012

Today we got up and headed down to Cannery Row for some breakfast before our big bike ride.  We went to a delicious bakery where we ate some delicious Cinnamon Rolls…I know, a very healthy breakfast before a big bike ride, right?  Well, it was worth it.  They were yummy.  Then, we headed to Bay Bikes to pick up our 2 Hybrid Bikes!  We headed right out the door and onto the bike trail.  We stopped at Lover’s Point, fed the little animals there (Mark had a BLAST with that) and then headed on the road again toward 17 mile drive. 

This drive is famous for its natural beauty and notorious other landmarks along the drive.  It is also home to Pebble Beach and several other beautiful golf courses.  As we biked along the street we stopped too many times to count and took more pictures than I can remember.  The scenery was just breathtaking.  It was incredibly beautiful!  

The weather was perfect for us.  The sun wasn’t out (we both forgot to take our sunglasses on the bike ride, so this was a very good thing) and it was just the right temperature with a little breeze.  Perfect.  The views were spectacular.  And when we weren't right on the coast, we were under a ton of trees.  Such a fun ride.

Bird rock is a giant rock out in the middle of the Pacific that was home to a ton of seals, sea lions, otters, and birds.  When we got to Bird Rock and sat down for a bit, I took it all in and it really hit me that we were actually here!  I couldn’t believe the things we were seeing and how amazing it was.  When we weren’t on the bike trail or road, we were riding under gorgeous trees.  It was simply beauty all around.  And everywhere we looked, there were golf courses!  Seeing all of the golf courses made me want to get out there and play with them.  I was really missing my family when we were riding past the gold courses, especially Pebble Beach. 

The next stop was The Lone Cyprus.  The Lone Cyprus is a Cyprus tree, imagine that, that sits out on a cliff all by its lonesome.

When we finally got to Pebble Beach, I took lots of pictures because I have heard all about it my entire life, and didn’t realize how truly spectacular it would be to play golf on that course.  Simply amazing.  I wish we could have gone on the course, just to see it.  It was still neat to see from the outside.  The little community of Pebble Beach is like a tiny world within the gates.  It had a bank, a market, lots of shops, and giant beautiful homes.  The waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing along the cliffs backed up to the greenest, most beautiful golf course I have ever seen, it make for a breathtaking view.  

Once we got to the other end of 17 mile drive, we headed out the gates and rode into the little town of Carmel.   We went down to Carmel Beach to see the gorgeous views from there. 

 We headed up the hill to the town.  Carmel is one of the cutest places I have ever been.  It is so dainty and flowery.  There are cute little shops in Victorian style homes and lots of restaurants lining Ocean Ave.  Want to know what my favorite part about this cute town was?  High heels are banned by city ordinance!!!  That is my kind of town!!!  After seeing the town for a bit, we then headed back to Monterey.  We did it!  We actually did it!  It was harder than I thought it was going to be, but at the same time it wasn’t TOO hard.  We are definitely pooped and excited to go to bed tonight, and I have a feeling we will be pretty sore tomorrow morning, but it was worth it.  When we got back to Monterey, we went to Ghirardelli’s to eat some yummy Sundae’s.  I thought that we deserved it after that bike ride.  We went back to our hotel to rest and clean up a bit before headed back into town.  Then, we went to a farmer’s market they were having here in Monterey. 

The avocados here are SO cheap!  5 for $1.  I wish that’s how much they were everywhere.  And the strawberries were DELICIOUS!  We got ourselves a bunch of strawberries. They were so juicy and amazing.  We also got some peaches and nectarines. They were SO yummy!  I loved every bite.  Then, we headed to Spanish Bay to watch the sunset.  But there wasn’t much sun to watch set…so we sat there wrapped up in towels and jackets and ate our food that we got at the farmers market.  We even got Ghirardelli’s chocolate chips to eat at the same time as the strawberries.  Tasted just like chocolate dipped strawberries. 

We also drove through 17 mile drive again, to see what we didn’t see while we were on our bikes.  It was beautiful, but not the same as on a bike.  If you want to see the most beautiful views from Monterey to Carmel, a bike ride is the way to do it.  It was a fun day filled with some gorgeous views, and I am so grateful that we are able to spend these fun times together and make some wonderful memories.  We will see what tomorrow brings us!