Day 4: Carmel to Cambria
Another cloudless day! We check out early (after relaxing by the fireplace a bit) and head down to Katy's Place for breakfast. It has great reviews and we have a coupon (which incidentally we didn't bring. Doh)
Sandy is super happy because they have potato pancakes, while I get scrambled eggs with cheddar, sausage patties and delicious fresh fruit. We love it!
We drive back to Little Napoli where we ate last night to take a picture by daylight, then decide to visit the Carmel Mission. It's nice and old, but that's about it so we get back on Rt 1 only to find out that we're only a few blocks from our next stop; Carmel River State Park. Oh well.
The waves at Carmel River SP are huge! Nice swells like on a surfing poster, almost teal when they break, with large spray shooting up in the air.
We walk to where the river meets the ocean, but the current looks strange and we can't tell how deep the water is so we walk along the river until we find an easy place to cross. Carmel River is a bird refuge and we spot quite a few interesting birds, as well as numerous washed up golf balls. I collect them in my shoes, but there are so many that Sandy makes me choose which ones to keep.
We walk back to the ocean to watch the waves some more. Then we get back to the car and drive all of 2 miles to Point Lobos State Nature Reserve.
We get there at 11:18, but I see a sign that says free guided walk of Cypress Grove and luckily we're able to catch up with the tour. There's only 4 other people. Our guide is very knowledgeable and tells us what to smell and look for.
We're very lucky that the sky's clear today; we can see for miles and wind up seeing two whales during the tour!
The algea is orange instead of green; an interesting thing to see and apparently quite rare.
After the tour we walk to Sea lion Cave to watch the stinkies on the rocks. On the way we see some smaller silver ones again; it turns out they're harbor seals. They don't get along with the sea lions so they like to keep to themselves.
We walk back to Cypress Grove to look for sea otters, but this time even the one I thought I saw is gone. We decide to leave the park, but we make several stops along the way, one at China Grove where we see a couple of cute birds with yellow heads.
We decide to skip lunch and instead watch the waves as we snack on granola bars and chocolate.
Route 1 becomes considerably more curve as we drive towards Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, but we make it. We check out the waterfall, McWay Falls and walk back along the river through a redwood grove. It's awesome to see there large beautiful trees up close.
We head out again and pull into a vista point to watch the sun set over the water. It takes on very strange shapes so it's fun to watch.
Unfortunately it is now also dark(er) and Rte 1 is getting SCARY curvy. We drive very slowly to make sure we get there in one piece, because there are no guardrails or lights, just caution signs with lots of squiggly lines.
A little after 6:30 we reach Cambria and check into the Burton Inn. The room is very nice and actually larger than our appartment with not one, but two TVs.
Hungry we drive a short distance to the Black Cat Bistro, the fanciest place we've ever eaten. A piece of meat (pork with pancetta ham for me, scallops for Sandy) with lettuce and sauce for decoration.
We make a quick stop at the Squitt House's Amish furniture and antiques store then head back to the Inn.
Pedometer didn't work. Fixed after guided walk: 8,209 steps.
Sandy is super happy because they have potato pancakes, while I get scrambled eggs with cheddar, sausage patties and delicious fresh fruit. We love it!
We drive back to Little Napoli where we ate last night to take a picture by daylight, then decide to visit the Carmel Mission. It's nice and old, but that's about it so we get back on Rt 1 only to find out that we're only a few blocks from our next stop; Carmel River State Park. Oh well.
The waves at Carmel River SP are huge! Nice swells like on a surfing poster, almost teal when they break, with large spray shooting up in the air.
We walk to where the river meets the ocean, but the current looks strange and we can't tell how deep the water is so we walk along the river until we find an easy place to cross. Carmel River is a bird refuge and we spot quite a few interesting birds, as well as numerous washed up golf balls. I collect them in my shoes, but there are so many that Sandy makes me choose which ones to keep.
We walk back to the ocean to watch the waves some more. Then we get back to the car and drive all of 2 miles to Point Lobos State Nature Reserve.
We get there at 11:18, but I see a sign that says free guided walk of Cypress Grove and luckily we're able to catch up with the tour. There's only 4 other people. Our guide is very knowledgeable and tells us what to smell and look for.
We're very lucky that the sky's clear today; we can see for miles and wind up seeing two whales during the tour!
The algea is orange instead of green; an interesting thing to see and apparently quite rare.
After the tour we walk to Sea lion Cave to watch the stinkies on the rocks. On the way we see some smaller silver ones again; it turns out they're harbor seals. They don't get along with the sea lions so they like to keep to themselves.
We walk back to Cypress Grove to look for sea otters, but this time even the one I thought I saw is gone. We decide to leave the park, but we make several stops along the way, one at China Grove where we see a couple of cute birds with yellow heads.
We decide to skip lunch and instead watch the waves as we snack on granola bars and chocolate.
Route 1 becomes considerably more curve as we drive towards Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, but we make it. We check out the waterfall, McWay Falls and walk back along the river through a redwood grove. It's awesome to see there large beautiful trees up close.
We head out again and pull into a vista point to watch the sun set over the water. It takes on very strange shapes so it's fun to watch.
Unfortunately it is now also dark(er) and Rte 1 is getting SCARY curvy. We drive very slowly to make sure we get there in one piece, because there are no guardrails or lights, just caution signs with lots of squiggly lines.
A little after 6:30 we reach Cambria and check into the Burton Inn. The room is very nice and actually larger than our appartment with not one, but two TVs.
Hungry we drive a short distance to the Black Cat Bistro, the fanciest place we've ever eaten. A piece of meat (pork with pancetta ham for me, scallops for Sandy) with lettuce and sauce for decoration.
We make a quick stop at the Squitt House's Amish furniture and antiques store then head back to the Inn.
Pedometer didn't work. Fixed after guided walk: 8,209 steps.
posted by Cat at 7:16 PM
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