The Vacation - Continued

Sorry for another longer Blogging absence. Things are still a bit crazy with Rach and I, as we have entered our 3rd week together in captivity - The Residence Inn (I'm now in my 8th week of living out of a suitcase).



Since I needed to organize the pictures from our vacation, I decided to use that opportunity to blog about the rest of our trip in California. After getting drilled in the Cal game, Rachel and I said "Farewell" to Caleb and Mike Johnson and headed off down the California Coast.


The drive was beautiful, and the weather was perfect. It was sunny and 70 for our entire trip. On the first day, we drove from San Fransisco to Monterey, where we spent the night. Remarkably, the picture to the left, is someone's back yard. I would hate to think how much the land is worth, and I certainly don't think I could afford the taxes on it.

Later in the afternoon, we drove 17 Mile Drive and went to Pebble Beach Golf Course. Lots of great pictures, which I have posted at the end of this blog. We bought some souveniers for the dads at the Pro Shop.

We had dinner at the wharf in Monterey that evening. It is a neat little town, but lots of tourists. The next morning, we got up and went to the Monterey Aquarium. The jellyfish to the right is a shot I took at one of their tanks. The otters were our favorite. They are so playful and energetic.


We left the Aquarium a little before lunchtime and went to Carmel by the Sea. This was Rachel's favorite part of the trip. It is a quaint little town with lots of shops. We bought a couple of trinkets for ourselves and then had lunch at Clint Eastwood's restaurant. It was a pretty darn good cheeseburger.


After lunch, we left Carmel and drove through Big Sur National Forest. Rachel was actually successful in getting me to take 2 hikes while we were there. This is an excellent shot of a huge redwood tree. They are really spectacular. Ironically, this trail led to the most pitiful little water fall I have ever seen. The trees were beautiful though.

Luckily, the second hike that we went on had a much better waterfall, pictured here. We then left Big Sur and spent the night in San Simeon.

I am including some additional pictures below, including one of the gas pump at the station entering Big Sur (if I didn't include it, noone would believe that I actually paid that much for gas).