2nd Post for the Day!

We so enjoyed our visit to the Monterey, California area! Even though our vacation was cut short by my Grandfather's death, we were still able to enjoy a couple days of our vacation! If you have never been to the Monterey/Carmel area. . .it is definitely a STUNNING place to visit! I have never seen anything like it before! We flew into San Jose. . .then drove up to San Francisco. . .and back down the coast. There isn't much between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, but beautiful views of the coast and farmland. . .OH and some happy cows!!!! It was stunning! Then we did the 17 mile drive between Carmel and Monterey and along the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course. . . they were gearing up for their big golf tournament, so we kept hoping for a glimpse of a famous golfer or even our own local celebrity golfer!!!!! We also took a drive down to Big Sur and the vistas along Highway 1 there are truly amazing. . . .tall mountains meet Pacific coast with evergreens and crashing waves . . .it was sort of like Colorado meets the Ocean. . . .

We stayed in a beautiful Hotel right on the water and Canary Row in Monterey. . .The Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa. . .absolutely beautiful. . .we had sea otters swimming and playing right outside our window each morning. We hoped for a glimpse of a whale, but we did not get to see one! We also did some shopping and visited the Monterey Aquarium. . . .which is something that shouldn't be missed if you are in the area! It is an awesome experience and much larger than I anticipated!

We were able to take a drive through the Salinas and San Joaquin Valley's before we jumped on a flight home. . . this is what most interested Collie (besides the farm show that we missed) and it truly was amazing!!!! So very flat. . . with fields and fields of grapes, artichokes, nuts, citrus, strawberries. . . and other items. . . we traveled on to the Sequoia National Forest. . .right at the foot of the mountains there were fields of citrus trees. . .and we were able to travel part way into the mountains, before we were told the roads were closed ahead and we wouldn't be able to see any of the famous trees! What a bummer . . .hopefully we will be able to return in a different season to see these trees!!!!!!

So. . . that was our vacation.. . . a truly beautiful place and I highly recommend visiting Monterey if you ever get the chance! The food was good, the people were friendly, and there was so much to do!