braindump

When I was planning my road trip last year, a number of people suggested I should visit Big Sur; I didn’t make it last year, but that’s the plan for today. But the first stop is Monterey.

Historic Monterey

Airship

Monterey apparently has a great deal of history, but I didn’t have time to find out. I had a quick walk down the Cannery Row, checked out the price of admission to the famous aquarium (too much: US$30), and then shot some birds and seals (with my camera) before heading off again. I made one more stop, near the lighthouse, where there was a nice rocky outcrop covered in guano, some birds, crabs, and an airship passing overhead advertising the new movie “Up”. (It’s been flying around all week.)

Heading south from Monterey is Big Sur, a long stretch of stunning coastline. I could easily have stopped every two minutes to take photos, but I was running later than planned, so I restrained myself (somewhat). The road was built by convict labour in the 1930s, and has a number of historic bridges, including the Bixby Bridge, below.

Bixby Bridge on the Big Sur coast

Seals jousting on the beach

Other notable sights on the coast included some seals, as well as Hearst Castle, which is actually high on a hill (above the level of the fog), and inaccessible except by a guided tour.

Somewhere after San Luis Obispo (where the Pacific internet cables come ashore, in case you wanted to know), I hit traffic. What had been a freely flowing, scenic coast road turned into a stop-start inland freeway, and added a couple of hours to my trip. It did however give me a chance to look at the new model Prius in the next lane.

But I made it to Ventura eventually, and had a late dinner (double double with chocolate milkshake; my, that’s a tasty burger!) at my now favourite fast food outlet, In-n-Out Burger, just across the road from the hotel. They have no freezers, and you can watch as they cut the potatoes into fries as you wait for your burger. It’s probably still bad for you, but perhaps not as bad as some other places.

In-n-Out Burger