Each March I am obligated to travel to California for the Sierra Club's Spring Meeting -- a gathering of the trip leaders to discuss outings, safety, gear and bitch about participants. What might seem as an inconvenience is actually on opportunity to visit my son Matt who lives in the bay area.
This year my daughter Lauren volunteered to fly in from Seattle, join Mona and me on a short adventure, and hang with Mom while I attended the meeting. We met at SFO and drove down to Monterey. After a two hour drive, we arrived on the Pacific coast and bike rental called Adventures by the Sea. As we walked over the to rental kiosk, Lauren and I checked out the bikes. OMG, they were rusted out pieces of junk -- too many miles and too much sea air. A quick Google search offered a bike shop across town, Work Horse Bicycles (highly recommended). Wow, what a difference. The Work Horse rental was only $1 more per day for far superior bicycles. The service was quick and professional. They sized our bikes with just a look, gave tips on the route and we were on our way. The bike trail is only a couple blocks away and the bathrooms were nice (always important to the girls).
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| Pacific coast |
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| View from China Rock |
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| Who goes to Pebble Beach for a bike ride? |
The dedicated bike trail runs through town and then connects with the famous 17 Mile Drive. Famous for its ocean views and the Pebble Beach Gold Course. We rode the entire shore to Carmel Way. At Carmel Way, we faced a choice. We could continue down to Carmel by the Sea, but it was a pretty big descent and we didn't relish the climb back. Or we could continue on 17 Mile Drive as it cut back across the peninsula, but it seemed like a lot of traffic was using that route. Or we could retrace our ride along the coast. Yep, let's ride the shore again.
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| 17 Mile Drive |
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| Nap time |
That night we stayed at the Gosby House Inn (good deal in the off season).
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| Creek bottom on Fan Shell Beach |
On Friday, we drove 20 miles north to the Elkhorn Slough State Marine Conservation Area and rented kayaks from Monterey Bay Kayaks (recommended). The Elkhorn Slough is really an amazing place. Within the first half hour we saw dozens of sea otters -- mostly floating as "rafts." They hold hands while floating on their backs. Sea otters spend all their time eating, sleeping, grooming or taking care of their offspring.
The shores were covered with harbor seals and sea birds were everywhere. This is a naturalist's bonanza -- not to be missed. We paddled upstream almost to the end, but the best wildlife viewing was closest to the bay.
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| Elkhorn Slough |
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| 17 Mile Drive biking route |
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| Gathering intelligence on Matt's taste in art |
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