 |
| Rumblings Recent Rides Other Riders' Stories Coming Attractions Favorite Links Send me E-MAIL |
| home l rumblings l recent rides l other riders' stories l coming attractions l links |
|
It was during the era of Spanish occupation that
Point Lobos was first named, when the barking of sea lions inspired
the name Punta de los Lobos Marinos, Point of the Sea Wolves.
About 200+ years ago, the Spaniards were wandering about the central California coast (About five miles south of present day Carmel), looking for a place to buy a double latte and a Thomas Kincaid painting to send home to the misses in Madrid. They stopped to rest for the night on a beautiful, fog covered point of land, covered with birds, sea otters, seals, and assorted other creatures, but not one latte shop in sight. During the night, they heard the “barking” of wolf’s -sea wolves to be exact- except there are no such things as sea wolves. The barking was coming from the goodly number of sea lions that frequent these shores. For anyone who has actually heard a sea lion “bark,” the fact that these intrepid explorers would confuse their sound with that of “wolves” is a testament to the fact that these boys had been out and about, way too long. Even a constipated wolf doesn’t sound like a sea lion but the next morning our weary, latte-starved adventurers, named this spot Point Lobos de Marina, and in doing so, discovered one of the most spectacular areas on the central California coast. By the way, does anyone know how sea lions came to be called sea “lions?” Actually this is a story about how plans gone wrong can still turn out right. Linda and I had planned to ride all the way down California Hwy 1 to San Simeon to see Hearst’s Castle, a trip of about 200 miles. Unfortunately because I had to go get a hair cut from my old Navy buddy, Lou Bodiford, Saturday got away from me and so I shortened the trip to Big Sur and the Point Sur Lighthouse. The trouble is when your enjoying yourself where you’re at, you shouldn’t jump up and ride down the highway if you don’t really have to. Enjoy the moment. We were enjoying stopping at Santa Cruz, Carmel, the Carmel Mission, so that Point Lobos was as far as we got. It was such a great day we needed to go no further. We left Santa Clara about 8:30 in the morning and the temperature was already in the low 70’s. We headed straight for Saratoga and Hwy 9 towards the mountains and the coastline that waited on the other side. Saratoga sits right at the bottom of the Coastal Range and is a nice town in its own right, but today we had other places to visit (photo 1). We headed up the tree covered mountain at a leisurely pace with no cars visible ahead or behind, when out of nowhere, a crotch rocket comes flying around a corner behind me, zips past me over a double yellow, and is gone with a thank you wave of his hand. No need to thank me since I had no time to move over anyway, which I always do when I see my little speed starved buddies coming up from behind. I will admit - he managed to scare the shit right out of me with that high, whining, engine passing me so fast. I never saw my impatient young friend again. Actually, he was gone so fast I have no idea if he was young or old. If he was old, I’m impressed. I no longer have the nerves to drive like that.
Hwy 9 takes you up over the mountain and down through the quaint little towns of Scott’s Valley, Ben Lomand and Felton before ending in Santa Cruz. It is sometimes hard to believe that these little towns can exist so close to the Santa Clara (read Silicon) Valley where 2,000,000 people reside. If you want to add in the whole Bay Area, you’re closer to 8,000,000. I believe it’s an example of people’s desire to live really close to where they work and the general dislike of the American commuter, for curvy roads. That’s exactly the reason these hills are alive with the sound of motorcycles on weekends. We continue along on this, “Oh so pleasant trip” through the redwoods, down the valley, and over the bridge to Santa Cruz, where we stop at a Baker’s Square on Ocean St. for a late breakfast. Santa Cruz is a young person’s town because of its proximity to the beach, the fact that it hosts a University campus, the Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk amusement park, and the unfortunate bad luck to be only 45 minutes over the hill from those 2,000,000 people I was talking about. Because of this and the University campus, Santa Cruz has a small “liberal” bent to its politics. The mascot for the University of California, Santa Cruz, is the Banana Slug. Can you ever see Harvard voting to be called the Banana Slugs? Not in this lifetime. We finish our breakfast and head down to the marina, one of our favorite places to watch the boats come and go. The Harbor Master’s office is in a building designed to look like a lighthouse (photo 2) as he watches over the comings and goings on this busy weekend. Even on this busy three-day weekend, most of the boats (yachts?) stay safely tied to their slips in the harbor. I’ve noticed that the vast majority of people who own boats big enough to require a slip seldom take their boats out. We’re talking millions of dollars in fiberglass and stainless steel just sitting here (photo 3), weekend after weekend. Yet try to get a slip in this harbor, and there is a six year waiting list. Go figure. One fellow who did not stay safely tied to the dock is Andrew Urbanski, an eccentric sailor who once sailed around the world in a stock 30’ Erickson sailboat with a leak. Andrew had this “raft” built out of redwood, a wood found only in California. Unfortunately, Andrew had some sort of problem because they called the Coasties to tow him in. His very nice raft now sits quietly in the Santa Cruz Harbor, the subject of curiosity seekers (photo 4).
After a few pictures we’re cruising down Hwy 1 on the world’s best touring bike. (Oops, editorial comment there.) The weather has cooled down a bit, which is a relief, but the number of cars headed down the coast is heating up. We pass Moss Landing (photo 5), which is the site of a large PG & E power plant. This plant has been here for many years and can easily be seen by the two large stacks that act as signposts for miles around. It also happens to be where Elk Horn Slough empties into the sea (photo 6). This estuary is a favorite for canoeist and kayakers near and far and I have paddled here with my youngest son, Steve, several years ago. Elk Horn Slough is about six miles long, and provides a saltwater “marsh” with a variety of bird and sea life to hold the kayaker’s interest. It’s not long that we speed on past Monterey and arrive in Carmel, a pretentious little town set in a lovely central California setting. This is the town that Clint Eastwood exercised his political influence by being elected mayor. He ran for the job because of some idiotic city ordinance that Clint felt interfered with his right to conduct business. It may have helped for a while, but once Clint left, the “beautiful” people returned to their insular ways. Carmel is a popular town with the tourist (photo 7), and with good reason. The white sand beaches, the spectacular views, and the tree covered boulevards, make it the place to be. If you want to buy a Thomas Kincaid painting, this is the place to be. If you want to eat at a “quaint” little restaurant or bistro, you can’t go wrong. Looking for unique, upper scale home furnishings, there here for the picking. But if you’re looking for a Seven-Eleven or a “Biker” bar, you’re SOL. Having said all of that, if I win the Super Lotto, I’m building a home right here on the water. I’m not sure who I’ll talk to when I sit on my patio, but I will have a view worth selling your soul for. Carmel actually had humble beginnings as a place where Father Junipero Serra founded one of the original twenty-one California missions. Located near the Carmel River, this mission is one of the best examples of California mission architecture (photos 9 & 10). The grounds have a statue of the father himself (photo 11) with the good father looking like he’s lurking in the bushes. Beautiful flowers cover the grounds (photo 12) but so much vegetation has grown up around the old cemetery that one of the more modest graves, with a simple cross for a head stone, is almost lost in the ground cover (photo 13). Linda and I pose in front of some of the many flowers that surround the mission grounds (photos 14 & 15). We pay our respects to Father Serra, who now rests inside one of the mission rooms (photo 16) and head south for Pt. Lobos. If you can find a more scenic place on the central California coast, please send me the location. This place is hard to beat. Linda and I stopped here 37 years ago on our way south to Disney Land to take a picture. I liked the picture but had no idea where exactly we had stopped. It wasn’t until several years later, when I was taking a biology class that the instructor was showing the class slides of different ecosystems in California. There was China Cove in Pt. Lobos. I stayed after class to find out where the slide was taken and we have been going back there ever since. I think the photos speak for themselves (photos 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, & 22), so enjoy them. I have more, but there is just so much bandwidth available.
You can see the offshore fog trying to sneak up on the coastline and then being pushed back by the offshore winds. You can also see the building and development that is taking place right on the border of the park. You know, full well, that if the state didn’t own this beautiful stretch of coastline, it would be owned and developed by the 'well to do', and you and I would be locked out. I could kiss the responsible party who had enough foresight to buy and save this park for future generations. It was time to be realistic and admit that we weren’t going to get anywhere near San Simeon today. Time to either go home or get a room for the night. We decide to head back to Monterey and get a room on Cannery Row at the Monterey Bay Inn (photos 23 & 24). We like the Monterey Bay Inn and our room provided us with some great views (photos 25 & 26). We took an evening walk down Cannery Row, past a dolphin fountain with a rather large seabird bathing in it (photos 27 & 28), to the Paradiso Italian restaurant (photo 29), where I ordered calamari steak over pasta. I enjoyed a great meal and better company. Monterey is a wonderful city. It is all of the things Carmel isn’t. It is comfortable and open and practical. It must be the legacy of the Italian fisherman who helped this place to grow. The sardine canneries were filled with working class people trying to make a living. True, now the smell of sardines has given way to the smell of chocolate, clam chowder, popcorn, and candy, but that just adds to the fun of the place. Carmel isn’t a fun place for the working class, it’s uptight, it’s money. Monterey is a fun place to visit. Read Steinbeck’s Cannery Row for a flavor of what Monterey used to be and of the legacy that remains. After dinner, I couldn’t help but get stuck as Linda did just a little shopping. She saw this “sock” shop (photo 30) and she wanted to buy our granddaughter, Jordan, some “cute” socks (photo 31). I am so glad I was born a male. Back at the hotel, Linda took a photo of me in total darkness, sitting on our patio (photo 32). That flash works pretty well, wouldn’t you say? The next morning, there are divers, scuba diving right off the beach, 100 yards down from our room (photo 33). This is something I used to do myself for almost twenty-five years. As much fun as I had swimming with sea otters, spearing Ling Cod, etc., I don’t miss the cold water. Monday, the end of the Labor Day weekend is quickly approaching and I want to head home to avoid some of the traffic. We decide to take a quick trip over to Salinas to see the John Steinbeck Museum. I take SR 68 over to the River Road, to US 101 N, to Salinas. This takes us into lettuce country and I stop to take a picture of a giant mural cutout, of a lettuce trucker (photo 34), which greets travelers heading north on Hwy 101. Even though the temperature will reach record levels in Salinas today (102 degrees), and even though this is “labor” day, you can see the farm workers out in the fields picking lettuce (photo 35). I bet they’re being paid time and a half for working a holiday, don’t you think?
We finally reach the Main St. of Salinas (photo 36), and the John Steinbeck Museum. Almost everyone has heard of Steinbeck, but not everyone has read his writings. For those who like reading travel stories, and I assume you do since your at this site, you will want to pick up a copy of “Travels with Charlie,” a travelogue of sorts, written by Steinbeck in 1962. In it, Steinbeck travels with his dog, Charlie, and tries to rediscover Middle American after living in New York City for so many years. It’s one of my favorites but makes me realize how pitiful my journals are compared to someone who actually knows how to write. The rest of the photos are from the museum (photos 37, 38, 39, & 40). After leaving Salinas, it was time to fly, so we picked up 101 north and suffered through the heat for about an hour until we finally pulled into our driveway. This was a great trip and I recommend it to anyone who lives or visits the area. Next time, we will make it to San Simeon; so keep checking back to see what we see. |
| back to top |