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| The Lone Cypress, part of Carmel scenic route to Monterey |
Our next RV site was in Watsonville. It was a strategic location off route 101.....30 minutes South of Santa Cruz and 30 minutes North of Carmel by the Sea and Monterey. We spent a day in each location.
First, let's start with Watsonville. This is a major agriculture area with growers of Artichokes, Strawberries, and Avocadoes. As we drove along route 101 the fields were full of workers picking the produce. I didn't pick this campsite in particular except for it's location but Watsonville holds the radio station KPIG that Keith (Kami's dad) has listened to daily since 1975. We went to the station looking for paraphernalia we could get Keith but all they had were stickers (we mailed them back). We did get a picture of Kami with the DJ and asked her to do a shout out to Keith on behalf of his daughter and son and law. Keith called us shortly afterwards to tell us he heard the DJ do a shout out. 😀
Carmel by the Sea is another picturesque town in California with Pebble Beach just minutes away. We had lunch and took a nice walk along the scenic walkway. We actually needed light jackets as the air was cool from the ocean breeze. If you could afford it, Carmel would be a nice place to retire. We did notice a lot of older women walking around without husbands (they probably died from working all the time to afford this). Just like Aspen, most have had some work done. We also took the 17 mile scenic route from Carmel to Monterey (you pay $11 to take the route). Probably the most beautiful views of California coast. The famed Pebble Beach Golf Course is located just outside Carmel on 17 mile scenic route. Kami and I strolled thru the main area of the hotel and pro shop just to get a flavor of what the rich and famous do here. We acted like we belonged but I think the staff saw thru it. The rooms start at $900 a night and go up into the thousands from there.
Monterey is a fishing town and known for their pier and seal population hanging around the marina. The seals are so loud, you can hear them from a good distance and they are constantly barking. The pier was full of shops and restaurants and daily cruises for whales and dolphins. We would considered the sunset cruise but it left at 6 pm and didn't get back till 9 pm. A little long for us as it has been a long day already.
Santa Cruz was a pleasant surprise as this oceanside town has nice amusement park and cliff side biking/walking area that spans several miles (had a great bike ride there). Didn't know this until we got there but Jack O'Neill is the founder of O'Neill Surfboards and clothing and headquartered in Santa Cruz O'Neill developed the first wet suit and his son Pat developed the first board leash. We did venture over to a small town, Capitola, on our way back to Watsonville. Nice little beachside town with slower feel.
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