My California Road Trip - Day 2 of 6: Santa Cruz to Monterey Bay

in #travel7 years ago (edited)

We made another late start today, but that was ok, because we had spent the morning walking along Santa Cruz Pier , which was very pleasant. I put "Monterey Bay" into the Sat-Nav and away we went.



THE DRIVE

I felt a little more comfortable in the car today. Firstly it was daylight, and secondly the roads were a bit quieter so I didn't feel as rushed and stressed. However, we were not driving along the coast, so after about 10 miles I saw a sign for Seacliff State Beach and decided to ignore the GPS and head off on our own. Lol...we didn't make it far as the road led into the entrance of a beachside parking lot, so we payed the $10 fee and went in and parked. What a happy little accident this turned out to be. Within moments as we stood on top of the bluff we saw a whale closeby offshore, and then another.

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There seemed to be a mother with a calf, what a treat. A friendly local company lent us their binoculars so we could get a better view and we began chatting. They explained to us about the concrete ship which was beginning to break apart at the end of the pier in front of us. A concrete ship? Yes! Commisioned during the war, due to a steel shortage 3 concrete ships were built. This one, the Palo Alto never made it to service and was eventually sent here, where a dance floor and cafe were built on her in 1930...Unfortunately she has now seen better days and is starting to break apart.

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The couple also recommended that if we liked seafood we should check out "Phil's Fish Market" a little way up the road at a place called Moss Landing. Although, we should be prepared for a queue but it was worth it.

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After about another 45 minutes of uneventful driving we found ourselves at the fishing harbour of Moss Landing. It was busy out, and we heard sea lions barking as we walked yet didn't see them. We came upon a fairly large non-descript building which looked more like a factory than a restaurant, butthis had to be the place. The line stretched out the front door and at least another 30 metres into the carpark. We decided that we had made it this far so we would wait.

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An hour and a bit later we were seated outside by the sea. A cold local craft beer helped me forget the wait, and when the food came.....Well....It was worth the wait! We had a combination of fresh and cooked seafood and we couldn't fault it. I'll go into more detail about this meal in a seperate steemit post...it was that good!

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THE CAR

So, I'm getting used to the Camaro but it has its quirks. To get the retro-chopped look it needed to do 2 things. First it has a really high door-line, and second it has a really low roof-line. The result is a car where my head touches the roof (I'm only 5"10) and the side windows are no more than 8 inches high....It looks great, but vision is poor, its literally impossible to stick your head out the window. But I just need to learn the dimensions of the car and get used to using the rear-view camera when I want to reverse. I'm just starting to play with the paddle shifts on the 7-speed box.

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MONTEREY BAY

We pulled into Monterey Bay late in the afternoon and found somewhere to stay. We would have loved to stay on the coast, but due to the popularity of this place the prices were too high, so we went in a few blocks and found something suitable. Not much left to do except have some clam chowder on the Fisherman's Wharf and then take a stroll of the Cannery Row made famous by Steinbeck...

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THE DRIVING

Not much driving to speak of again today, but have been told that we are in for something special tomorrow. As soon as we leave town we will shortly be at the legendary "17 Mile Drive" .... I'm excited!

Be Sure to follow more of my California Road Trip:
Santa Cruz Boardwalk at Night
My California Road Trip - Day 1 of 6: San Francisco to Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Pier

For more Travel, Food, Drinks & Adventure..Be Sure to Follow

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Awesome car :) i want to try this car

Nice views, nice car and tasty seafood on the way what more can you ask for enjoying reading your adventure. Have fun mate !

cheers mate, you can read more about "Phil's Seafood" in my latest post here:

https://steemit.com/food/@bkkshadow/phil-s-fish-market-moss-landing-california-amazing-fresh-seafood

Good pics and a stunning looking car!
Looks like you enjoyed it a lot.

All the BEST adventures happen when we turn off the gps eh man! :)

Glad you guys are enjoying the roadtrip, me and the missus have been up and down PCH a few times car camping and beach bumming all the way. Loved it!

Are you thinking of going inland at all? The sequioa's are only a few hours in but perhaps a little too much of a detour now you're already heading down.

Will keep my eyes peeled for the next episodes! :)

So much to see man, I could spend 6 months cruising this coast. Not sure will have time to go inland this trip

True and we did, it's a beautiful state to be in and with a little free time so much to see. What we enjoyed most was being able to be camp up in the snowy mountains, wake up and be down on the sandy beach by lunch and then back in the city by night fall. So much to do, enjoy your trip brother! :)

Awesome post, really nice pictures, love to see you also reviewing and giving thoughts on the camaro :) thanks for sharing, can't wait to see more #keepsteemin

Wish you a nice trip @bkkshadow
I upvote and reesteem your all posts if you do same for me!
And you also FOLLOW ME if you wants or lijes my content
love all,
@kings-empire

l would be happy if you could comment on my travel post too
tanks.
https://steemit.com/travel/@beautypics/travel-to-hungary-201786t05627636z

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