Rosie and The Operator spent a lovely night in Cambria, another night with no air con and the sound of the sea from across the road booming into the open window…in the middle of the night I woke up to check if Kitty had jumped up on the bed, so much like home it seemed. It was a bit of a juggle to get a room in Cambria, it was Saturday night, the weather was beautiful and the town was full…we got the last room at Little Big Sur http://www.littlesurinn.com/gallery.php and had a lovely view of the ocean in this huge room.
We were on the road by 8.00am, it was Sunday and we wanted to drive the Pacific Coastal Highway to Santa Cruz, we knew the road was single laned, one up, one back, winding and busy, so we wanted to blow out some miles before the hotel check outs started clogging the roads at 11.00am. I was a cool start to the day with a blue sky promise, a few miles up the road we pulled into the Piedras Blancas rest stop as we had read we may be able to see some seals on the beach.
We drove past this spot yesterday at about 3.00 and there were hundreds of people peering over the railing and cars overflowed the car park and stretched up the roadside…this morning we were the only ones there…and two seals…this grouch was making a hell of a noise but he was only about 10 feet away, like the butterfly’s we were a little early in the season to see herds of seals, they start to come back to the beach to molt late October.
The coastal highway south of San Francisco was true to its northern counterpart in the way it hugged the coast and wound its way north, I assumed this part of the coast would be more built up and developed…it wasn’t at all. We breezed through the first 2 hours and then we hit the stretch of Highway known as Big Sur…el pais grande del sur…the big country to the south. Its craggy and rocky and more of a state of mind rather than a geographical place you could pinpoint on a map…technically there is no ‘place’ on the map. There was only one small part of the road that had a clump of resorts and cafes, other than that the road was purist au natral. It was getting busier and the laybys were filling up in all the prime photo stops.
By the time we reached pretty Carmel-By-The-Sea all the Sunday drivers were on the road in force we were nose to tale and it was crazy. Carmel is a pretty town oozing snobbery and wealth, the houses are perfect and close together, trees line all the streets and fire hydrants are plentiful in case of accidents one presumes. Everyone seems over 60 and well coiffured with huge sunnies and a pampered looking pooch is the must have accessory. Town bylaws apparently disallow signage of any type, street signs and even the garbage bins have little shingled roofs….try and find a toilet in this place! Mind you, I don’t think anyone wee’s….they are too posh. On the outskirts of town is the exclusive gated community of 17 mile drive which meanders through Pebble Beach.
We paid $9.50 and this allowed us to use the private road to get to Pacific Grove, we drove through lush tree lined roads, houses were left and right behind enormous gates with speaker and video security in front of the electronic gates…these houses were mansions and all overlooking the pacific. Interspersed between the houses were golf courses and Country Clubs (no entry, members only!) this was totally another planet. The Operator found Rosie a toilet on the road side bordering a golf course, there was a wee que and we watched the golfers pull up in their cart and tee off….having a cart,a caddie and wearing Armani matching shirt and pant combos certainly didn’t guarantee you a good golf swing…The Operators hoot as Mr Armani dumped his tee shot straight into a pond and left a huge divot in the ground earnt a disdainful look…back to the clubhouse dude, a few more pro lessons needed for you! So that is how the other half live….give me my postage stamp of ocean anyday!
We arrived in Santa Cruz about 1.30pm…the spookiest thing is the radio was playing ‘People are Strange’, title track to my favourite movie of all time…The Lost Boys, which was filmed on the boardwalk of Santa Cruz….cool start. The sun was blistering, according to the locals it was the hottest day they have had all summer, the mercury topped at 32c and Rosie was feeling it! The Operator hired a bike for a couple of
hours and went to check the lay of the land while Rosie languished in the cool waiting for the sun to dip. The Operator came back from his ride and needed to take a shower, he was wet through! From the balcony at the hotel the wharf and boardwalk were packed full of people on a beautiful Sunday, in the ocean were hopeful surfers sitting becalmed on their boards, there was a dozen dudes on stand up paddle boards doing the hard yards and cyclists and skateboarders were zooming around everywhere.
The shadows were lengthening and it was getting abit cooler, Rosie ventured out with the Operator and we headed for the boardwalk. Built in 1907 this is the oldest beach front amusement park on the West Coast, it was so old school feeling, it was great!
The place was packed, seagull squeals mingled with that of the kids, you could smell candy floss and popcorn mixed with the salt of the sea as the breeze wafted in. Rosie wanted to go on the overhead Gondola ride to get an overview of the board walk and just had to ride the 100 year old carousel…feature in The Lost Boys Movie…so we went to the ticket booth and bought old school tickets, the type where all the tickets are the same and you need X amount of tickets per ride…cool.
From the sky the whole park came to life, kids were shooting targets for prizes, knocking coconuts off stands or tossing coins into cups, there were so many rides as well, including a log flume and two roller coasters You could buy a ride all day pass if you were taking the kids but it only cost us $3.00 each to ride the gondola and $6 if you wanted to ride the roller coaster, which is a wooden one built in 1924.
Rosie and the Operator stood in line with the kiddies….to ride the Merry go Round. It was such an awesome carousel….75 handmade half sized horses, everyone of them different, mostly folk arty and tortured looking…the lights the mirrors, round and round we went and up and down, while the organ piped away….classic.
This time of the year the boardwalk is only open on the weekends and as the sunset and the lights came on another level of magic amped up. We had a great time!
Absolutely brilliant. Amazing photos. Would make anyone want to go there.