Highway 101 Rest Stop, 145 mile jump
Between the wind rocking the Ship, the employees coming to work/getting off shift and my crazy paranoia, I didn’t get much sleep. We were eating breakfast nearby at 5AM and having a discussion about going back to the coast and through Big Sur. The wind had died, the skies were clearing. So, why not?
Using the Gas Buddy app we found diesel about 10 miles away for $.35/gal cheaper than the those in Salinas. And, it was over by the Hwy 1! The stretch of road there is brand new 4 lane limited access and it was bumper to bumper heading south to Monterey. We went downtown to the Fishermen’s Wharf, paid for 2 hours of parking and had a lovely time strolling the pier. The smell of the fish being processed there, the barking seals out on the jetty, the screeching of seagulls flying about provided a very maritime scene.The sun was streaming through broken clouds, a little brisk breeze, but warm sunshine as well.
By 10AM, we were searching for the post office in Monterey to get my projects on their way in time for Christmas. It is an old tourist town with lots of shops, narrow streets, and limited parking. Lo and behold, as we located the PO we found two parking spaces on the street that I was able to pull into and later pull out. They were right in front of an art gallery; Penny got to peruse the shop while I mailed packages.
From there my excitement swelled knowing that next was the “17 Mile Drive”. It is a tour through the Del Monte Forest and the spectacular Pacific coast surrounding the iconic Pebble Beach golf course. I have taken this drive twice before, but wanted to show Penny the incredible beauty.
After about 90 minutes of gawking, we decided to skip the town of Carmel so that we could have more choices available when we arrived at Kirk Creek campground south of Big Sur in the National Forest. There was also Plaskett Creek a bit further south; both first come, first serve, no reservations. Both are primitive, but at $11/night would slow the cash flow.
Shortly after departing Carmel while my navigator was checking time and distance to Big Sur, I spied a reader board that said, “Road closed 4 miles south of Big Sur”. Luckily I saw it; it would have meant 30 miles to the roadblock with no option but to turn back. The Santa Lucia mountains east of the Big Sur coast are so formidable there are no roads to the Hwy 101.
As it was, we still had to backtrack to north and east to Salinas, about 45 miles. It was somewhat disconcerting that we reached our starting point about 2PM. We humored each other by calling the morning a “day trip”. What a nice trip it was! So, we set out for points south on the 101, not really having a plan. Knowing I was short on sleep an hour or two was going to do. About 3PM, we found a rest stop where we decided to eat a good lunch and take a nap. The driver was pretty much toast after that and decided to just stay there. we busied ourselves with reading and writing, looking at pictures, etc, just to stay awake long enough to stay on rhythm so as to get night’s sleep. It was clear and cold; the stars were brilliant. We were out walking the grounds studying the information boards on the history, wildlife, vegetation, etc., with a flashlight just to keep ourselves awake till 10ish. That worked pretty well; we slept much better than the previous night.