Not a Derelict to be Found

We cut back across the state and headed back out to the coast.  We were aimed for Watsonville, because I had found a campground that seemed nice.  We arrived in the dark and it was raining. When we arrived I looked at Diego and said, "I'm not gonna stay here."  We have driven into several campgrounds this past year that have not been the best, but this particular evening I either wasn't in the mood or it was that bad, I'm not sure which.  We found another place and headed that way.

 We ended up staying at Santa Cruz Redwoods RV Resort.  It was fine and definitely better than our first option.  Paid the most for a week at a campsite that we have the whole trip.  We were just outside of a town called Felton and it was a quaint place.

This week we visited San Francisco and spent some time on both sides of the Golden Gate Bridge that we learned is called that because it is built over the Golden Strait.

Golden Gate from the north end.

Golden Gate from the south end.

Alcatraz

Enjoyed the town of Sausalito on the north side of the bridge.

Sausalito port

Walked around a bit and saw a license plate not only from Florida, but Escambia county parked on the side of the road.  Small world.



Drove down Lombard Street

Lombard Street

Lombard Street

Visited Mrs. Doubtfire's house

Mrs. Doubtfire's house

San Francisco street cars

And had a great meal with one of Diego's co-workers.

The captiol buidling at night.

Our campground was just north of Santa Cruz and so we spent a day down there.  We really enjoyed that city.  They have a university there,  fun downtown area and a great boardwalk down on the beach.  Pretty cool town.

Santa Cruz Boardwalk

Santa Cruz beach

Over the weekend we took a drive down to Monterrrey.  Very nice drive and found fruit stands along the way selling 7 artichokes for $1.  They were delicious.



Had lunch at a restaurant we saw on that Food Network show where the guy travels all over featuring different restaurants.  The restaurant was called Cannery Row Brewing Company.  The food was pretty good and in a very cute area of town.

Food Network recommendation

Monterrey, CA

We walked and checked things out a bit.  Drove down to the Lover's Point Park and saw some lovers getting married :)

Lover's Point Park

Lover's Point Park

Lover's Point Park

Lots of surfers and beautiful scenery.  Very nice place, Monterrey.

Even though it was getting close to sunset I really wanted to see Carmel by the Sea and it was just down the hwy.  I had no idea what to expect, but it was super fancy.  We drove straight through the town towards the coast to see the sunset.

Carmel by the Sea

Then, took Scenic Road all the way down till it loops back into Carmelo Street.  Some of the most interesting and beautiful homes I have ever seen.  Not beautiful in an extravagant way, which i don't usually like, but beautiful because they were all so different and interesting.  It didn't hurt that they faced the beautiful coastline.  I wished we had had more daylight because I could have walked through these neighborhoods for hours.

From there we parked near the downtown strip and strolled a bit.  Found several stores to get lost in and had chai latte.  Very nice town.  Almost too nice.  I told Diego they need like one cobblestone out of place :)
It was the only place we had been in California without a derelict to be seen.

Very pretty part of California.