This is starting to sound repetitive (luckily!): another day
of great biking weather!
The little RV campground of last night was kind of noisy
after all, because it was located right next to the 101 freeway. It was not as bad as it could have been – it is
in a rural location, so its less busy of a freeway here than in LA, for example,
but there was a lot of traffic all night long.
The orange butter crunch cinnamon rolls from Gayle’s bakery
were just as wonderful as I had thought they’d be! The only thing missing was another of their
super mochas.
We biked along the coast from Salinas River State Beach to
Monterey, with a quick stop to walk across some sand dunes and get a good look
at the ocean. There were a lot of
fishermen angling in the surf along the beach, although it didn’t look like
anyone had caught anything yet.
The bike ride along the coast was mostly along a designated
bike path, which is always a pleasure since it’s away from the cars. Most drivers are fine, and I have felt safe
with only one or two exceptions so far, but its more relaxing to be on a bike
path where I don’t even have to think about watching out for cars.
In Monterey we visited the historic downtown area, with its
old adobe buildings, customs house, etc.
These are mostly upscale restaurants (and a Taco Bell), or boutiques or
gift shops. A few are museums, but we
didn’t go into any of those. We also
stopped to see the San Carlos Cathedral: founded by Father Serra with the
intent of it becoming a mission, the plans changed and the mission was later
founded in Carmel-by-the-Sea instead.
But the Cathedral had already been built, and has continued to be used
as a community church to this day. It is
unique among mission-era churches for being built of sandstone instead of adobe
bricks, and it is really beautiful.
We spent most of the afternoon at the Monterey Aquarium. I LOVE this place. I would live there if they’d let me. The pretty fishes, the amazing jellyfishes,
the adorable sea otters, the cute little shore birds and puffins, the big
squid, and the touch pools (I touched a sting ray! And a sea urchin! And a lot
of starfishes! And some crabs!)… we saw all the exhibits just in time for
closing, but I would have stayed to look at them all again. I was also impressed by the informational
signs and displays with the exhibits: they were written in a way that was
informative and interesting for all ages.
Dinner was at Sly McFly’s on Cannery Row, which was
just-okay. We did have a nice time
walking around Cannery Row looking at the old buildings and the kitschy
stores. We also picked up some freshly
made cinnamon rolls for breakfast from a small bakery on the Row.
The campground for tonight is surprisingly nice. It is in the Monterey Veterans Memorial Park,
is city operated, and is actually located (geographically) in the middle of the
city. It’s on a hill “overlooking” the
city and ocean, but there are too many trees to actually see anything outside
of the campground. But it is a very
comfortable setting, plenty of shade and flat spaces, with a fairly private
feel because of the trees and good sized sites.
It’s a Monday in the off season, so it’s not crowded, but it’s not empty
either. And, they have free showers!
Words of wisdom for the day (from a sign in a shop window):
A brownie a day keeps the frownies away!
Today's route:
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