20th July - San Francisco - Highway One, Monterey, San Luis Obispo.
Steven woke me up at 6am. I was in such a heavy sleep it took me ages to work out where I was. He cooked us porridge for breakfast so we wouldn't get hungry and stop off everywhere, drew us a map to get to highway one from his place, packed up the car and we took off. The map was easy to follow - Stevens house in San Bruno is not far from highway one.
We first stopped at Pigeon Point at a lighthouse. We took photographs but the lighting wasn't that good. A bit foggy and overcast. Drove through Santa Cruz - didn't stop as we didn't think there was much to stop for, even though it is famous for it surfing. Looked cold. Second stop was in Monterey. WAlking to the wharf we came across a drunk asleep on park bench - I took a photo, but then felt guilty as next minute 2 fire paramedics, 4 cops and 2 ambulance drivers were there with him. I wondered if he was dead - but we saw him move - thank goodness. All up he had about 8 people attending to him.
It was FREEZING in monterey. I bought a fully lined jacket to keep me warm for $20. So cheap - made in China, but it did the job of keeping me warm and I'll be able to use it in NZ again. We wandered down the wharf keeping a look out for wildlife. Monterey is famous for whale watching, sea otters, harbour seals (spotted). I managed to get a few good photos of spotted harbour seal. I eventually wandered over to another part of the wharf and spotted a sea otter - was so excited about getting one in the wild I didn't check my camera settings - so not sure if it will turn out.
I lost Mike while at this wharf - so headed back to the car to find him waiting for me. He had bought a great coffee - mexican latte. Because I had taken so long I had to forfeit my chance of a coffee, however his coffee was fantastic - and fortunately for me he was driving and forgot he had it - so I drank most of it anyway!!!
Back on the road we stopped a few more times. The views were incredible. Just before the Hearst Castle we stopped in a viewing area to stretch our legs, and saw what we thought were chipmunks. We fed them - they were gorgeous. We were later told they were ground squirrels. However we still found them fascinating and I took some good closeups. They were taking
food out of our hands and they would let us stroke their paws.
Up to Hearst Castle. The castle is absolutely stunning with some very rare pieces of art from Europe/china. Incredible tour by a very knowledgeable guide. Bought a few knick knacks in the shops then carried on to San Luis Obispo to David and Diana's place. We found the Men's Colony (prison) okay, but still managed to get lost after that but eventually found our way.
David and Diana's house is really beautiful, and it was great catching up with them again after the reunion and we had a very enjoyable evening. We loved the pukeko's and kiwi's in the garden. I also saw a couple of hummingbirds but couldn't get close enough to photograph them However glad I just saw them.
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