There was a big day of driving ahead of us, so we got up early and headed down to a cafe for bacon and eggs. I have to admit, San Franciscans know how to cook. Perfectly done eggs with yummy, crispy bacon.
We hit the road, with Monterey in our sights. All in all, it was a rather uneventful drive, except we didn’t bet on the traffic jams. It took as an hour longer to get out of SF than we’d expected. Monterey was nice - I don’t really have much to report here. It’s a little like Byron Bay with a beach and some laid back cafes. It was pretty quiet and we went for a walk down Cannery Row. The remnants of cannery factories were plenty, and where we thought they would have all been turned into restaurants, instead, they were ramshackled and wasting away. We found a little bakery to have some lunch and while the staff were lovely, it took them 20 minutes to make a grilled cheese (and yes, we were the only customers). The grilled cheese however, was like no other grilled cheese. It was a triple decker with cheese oozing everywhere. There were obviously different types of cheeses on it too as there were different colours, including that famous very orange American cheese. We shared that and then finished it off with our first key lime pie. It was a little like a cheesecake, but not. It had a base that was like an ANZAC biscuit, but not. It was very yummy and just tangy enough.
Back into the car and a short drive down to Carmel. Another sleepy little beach town where again, I have to admit, I don’t have much to report. We had a look at the beach and then a drive around some of the very nice houses. The coastline is very different to ours, lots of rocks and seaweed, but very pretty nonetheless.
We were on our way to San Simeon, and had planned on that lovely coastal dive down through Big Sur and the like (I originally had visions of a convertible and a Grace Kelly scarf, but that was too expensive) however there was a landslide a few months ago which wiped out a bridge and a big chunk of the road. We saw it on the news before we left, and had our fingers crossed that it would be repaired in time, but nope - those poor people are stuck out there, needing to go the long way around to get anywhere. It’s a big long way around as well, let me tell you. It added an extra 2 hours to our trip. We had to head down towards LA and then come back under and around to go back up to San Simeon. We had a nice taste of some landscape though, and got to see a lot more freeway (yay) (sarcasm). After the freeway though, were rolling hills covered in little vineyards. I think this is an area that we need to come back and explore some more. We could then do the Big Sur drive and spend another week at Disneyland!!
San Simeon is a pretty little coastal town, not too far down from Carmel if the road is intact. Again, a rocky shoreline and some nice waves. Our motel was pretty modest, and unfortunately, the smokers section was at the entrance doorway, so you had to hold your breath to get in. A large load of Chinese tourists arrived on a bus trip, and so the smoking entrance filled up pretty quickly. There was also a big termite tent out the front, so we figured there was a ‘Breaking Bad’ moment happening. There was a little restaurant a few motels down, so we went there for dinner and were surprised by a fabulous meal served by an old Italian guy. Mark had scampi and I had a sirloin (I’m over seafood for a bit now). His scampi were yummy, done in a creamy sauce, and my steak was perfectly cooked, down with mushrooms and a hint of curry (would you believe it!). We rolled out of there after a big meal and I drove as Mark had one of the biggest glasses of beer I’ve ever seen. Back through smokers delight and we crashed out for another early start and big drive.
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