San Francisco, Pacific Grove, Big Sur---Fantastic trip thanks to you all!
Sep 29th, 2009, 07:34 AM
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San Francisco, Pacific Grove, Big Sur---Fantastic trip thanks to you all!
I don’t know if my trip report will do justice to all the help I got planning it, but I have to write to thank you all for all the time you put in to helping make this trip special! Your advice was so appreciated and guided us along on a fantastic trip! So many times on the trip my husband and I would comment that we’d never have known to be here or look there if it weren’t for Fodors and its wonderful contributors! Thank you!
So here goes. This was a 16th anniversary trip for me and my husband. The kids were back home with the grandparents, lamenting they got left behind this time! We’d been to San Francisco and the Monterey area twice already with them in the past 2 years, but were always rushing to the next place and never had the time to really explore these areas and relax.
Day 1, Friday: The 5 hour flight was fine and we arrived at SFO and were off to a fantastic start to the trip… the Thrifty agent upgraded our mid-sized car rental to a convertible at no extra cost! I could not believe it! We checked in early to our hotel in San Bruno, then went to Whole Foods for a quick pick up of groceries and a lunch snack. We drove past the new ball park and along the Embarcadero to get to downtown.
We decided to park at the Vallejo/Stockton garage next to the police station in Chinatown because of Stu’s recommendation of the view on top (and it was a central point from the 2 places we needed to be). It did not disappoint! We probably stayed up there too long (about 20 minutes) but we were taking it all in! Coit Tower, the city, the bay, the sailboats, the gorgeous church, the Chinatown residences with their clothes hanging out the windows, the couches and chairs on the rooftops, the man lying on the street holding his head (!). It was really windy up there and I felt blown to pieces already!
We walked northwest on Columbus Ave, checking out the Italian cafes along the way and the church in Washington Square, on our way to Beach and Hyde to catch the cable car. The wait was 45 minutes! We thought about trying to hop on a few blocks down but everyone we talked to said it’d be near impossible to do. People usually don’t get off right after they get on and each cable car was packed! We tried to enjoy the wait with the view of the bay, the Golden Gate bridge, freighters coming in, the homeless in the park . We were supposed to meet my sister’s friend on Market Street at 5:30, but halfway through our wait we realized we were going to be late! We felt so bad, but we were able to call him and tell him what was up.
Why in the world do they wait so long to send each cable car off? They’d fill it up with people, then it’d just sit there for 10 minutes! We passed some time trying to figure that out! Anyway, we finally got on, and got the spot we wanted… standing on the back. My dh was hanging off the step, which is the only way to do a cable car, right?! The brake man was quite a character and we really enjoyed every minute of the ride and the views and the smells (the wooden brakes!).
When we got off we were met by some interesting characters asking for money, but my dh bought me a rose instead and we booked it down to 333 Market St to meet our friend, 35 minutes late.
He took us on a fantastic walking tour! We did a quick tour of the Tadich Grill, saw earthquake damaged areas and heard his amazing story of what happened in 1991 when he was standing on the sidewalk. He pointed out certain architecture, interior design shops, described the buildings built on landfill, walked past cool restaurants… I just wish I could remember all the great stuff he told us! We walked around the Coit Tower (fog rolled in so we could only see the top of Alcatraz from the view) and then down the amazing Filbert Steps.
He described the lush gardens that were planted by one woman and took us down a little residential wooden walkway where we could hear people cooking dinner through their open windows. I could have stayed there much longer, but dinner was calling! Down, down, down more steps! Levi Plaza was pretty deserted and we headed in to Il Fornaio for dinner. We had a delicious meal and terrific company. What a treat to end our (very) long day with him! We all took a cab back to our car at the garage and then dropped him off at a BART station.
So here goes. This was a 16th anniversary trip for me and my husband. The kids were back home with the grandparents, lamenting they got left behind this time! We’d been to San Francisco and the Monterey area twice already with them in the past 2 years, but were always rushing to the next place and never had the time to really explore these areas and relax.
Day 1, Friday: The 5 hour flight was fine and we arrived at SFO and were off to a fantastic start to the trip… the Thrifty agent upgraded our mid-sized car rental to a convertible at no extra cost! I could not believe it! We checked in early to our hotel in San Bruno, then went to Whole Foods for a quick pick up of groceries and a lunch snack. We drove past the new ball park and along the Embarcadero to get to downtown.
We decided to park at the Vallejo/Stockton garage next to the police station in Chinatown because of Stu’s recommendation of the view on top (and it was a central point from the 2 places we needed to be). It did not disappoint! We probably stayed up there too long (about 20 minutes) but we were taking it all in! Coit Tower, the city, the bay, the sailboats, the gorgeous church, the Chinatown residences with their clothes hanging out the windows, the couches and chairs on the rooftops, the man lying on the street holding his head (!). It was really windy up there and I felt blown to pieces already!
We walked northwest on Columbus Ave, checking out the Italian cafes along the way and the church in Washington Square, on our way to Beach and Hyde to catch the cable car. The wait was 45 minutes! We thought about trying to hop on a few blocks down but everyone we talked to said it’d be near impossible to do. People usually don’t get off right after they get on and each cable car was packed! We tried to enjoy the wait with the view of the bay, the Golden Gate bridge, freighters coming in, the homeless in the park . We were supposed to meet my sister’s friend on Market Street at 5:30, but halfway through our wait we realized we were going to be late! We felt so bad, but we were able to call him and tell him what was up.
Why in the world do they wait so long to send each cable car off? They’d fill it up with people, then it’d just sit there for 10 minutes! We passed some time trying to figure that out! Anyway, we finally got on, and got the spot we wanted… standing on the back. My dh was hanging off the step, which is the only way to do a cable car, right?! The brake man was quite a character and we really enjoyed every minute of the ride and the views and the smells (the wooden brakes!).
When we got off we were met by some interesting characters asking for money, but my dh bought me a rose instead and we booked it down to 333 Market St to meet our friend, 35 minutes late.
He took us on a fantastic walking tour! We did a quick tour of the Tadich Grill, saw earthquake damaged areas and heard his amazing story of what happened in 1991 when he was standing on the sidewalk. He pointed out certain architecture, interior design shops, described the buildings built on landfill, walked past cool restaurants… I just wish I could remember all the great stuff he told us! We walked around the Coit Tower (fog rolled in so we could only see the top of Alcatraz from the view) and then down the amazing Filbert Steps.
He described the lush gardens that were planted by one woman and took us down a little residential wooden walkway where we could hear people cooking dinner through their open windows. I could have stayed there much longer, but dinner was calling! Down, down, down more steps! Levi Plaza was pretty deserted and we headed in to Il Fornaio for dinner. We had a delicious meal and terrific company. What a treat to end our (very) long day with him! We all took a cab back to our car at the garage and then dropped him off at a BART station.
Sep 29th, 2009, 08:49 AM
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DAY 2, Saturday: Woke up in the middle of the night to thunder! DH didn’t believe me that it had stormed when I told him in the morning (and all of you said it NEVER rains this time of year!). Turned on the news and found out Hurricane Linda was giving us some cloud cover and light rain. What timing!! 
First stop was to the Ferry building and the Farmer’s Market. Got a great parking spot and saw/heard some parrots in the park. We went in the building first since it was misting out. What a neat place! Picked up pesto potato sandwiches for lunch later and dh got some coffee. Back outside the rain had stopped and we loved walking around. We bought some strawberries and a peach and took lots of pictures of the colorful produce. We stayed about an hour, and then headed over to Chinatown.
Parked in the Vallejo garage again! We walked around for 1 1/2 hours and I smelled the place in my mind for the rest of the trip! Chinatown left quite an impression! Per advice here (Stu’s recommendations again!) we walked down Stockton, not Grant. It was absolutely fascinating (and a little sickening) to watch the Chinese people shop for the weirdest things. One woman picked up a big, live fish by the eyes and it flopped out of her hand. She bought that one.
We went inside one of the shops and it turned out to be an alley of sorts with many tiny shops. HUGE pigs butchered on tables. Caged birds (of all sorts) and their eggs for sale. Weird, weird stuff. Dirty, dirty places.
Back on Stockton we went in a grocery store of sorts and there were raw meat pieces all over the walls. Chickens were hanging in windows, raw ones against cooked ones.
I think I only saw one other white couple on Stockton. We finally crossed over to Grant and I could hardly stand it! Just a bunch of tacky, tourist shops and all filled with tourists. No Chinese! The architecture was neat and the street decorations were festive, but the true Chinatown was one block over! We did a quick stop in St Mary’s Cathedral which was neat to see the pictures and read its history. 2 hours for all this.
Next stop was a drive down Broadway ‘til it dead-ends to see the rich and famous houses. We parked and walked around and talked to a jogger who pointed out the houses of the Vanderbilts, the Hearst grandson, and someone else who I promptly forgot! Fascinating places and what views some of those houses have! As I was crossing one driveway a young girl (13ish) was calling for her little dog. I smiled at her and she smiled back as she scooped him up and got in their fancy car and pulled out. I can’t imagine the life of a child in these places. Again, would have had no idea to go here if it weren’t for Stu. By the way, the sun was coming out and the bay looked beautiful!
Did a drive down Union Street, then on to the Palace of Fine Arts for some quick pictures, then on to Crissy Field. Enjoyed seeing all the sailboats and the views of Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge (which was still just a little foggy). Then we went to Fort Point and really enjoyed that… the waves crashing up onto the parking lot, the Fort, being under the bridge… neat, neat, neat.
Next stop was supposed to be Baker Beach but it was too foggy. We pulled over and could see the rocks below, but it was too foggy to get any good pictures of the bridge so we went on. Very disappointed, I might add!
We parked near Robin William’s house and walked around it and his big, poodle dogs barked at us. The dinosaur topiary head was missing its foliage. Neat house, all protected by walls and gates, of course! It was sunny here!
Headed south along the coast… too foggy to see much. Entered Golden Gate Park and enjoyed the windmill and flowers. Gorgeous! Saw the bison, and lots and lots and lots of people. Hippies! What was going on? Finally saw a festival of sorts with Peace signs and rainbow flags. Found out from my mom later that many cities were having their own Woodstock anniversary celebrations. Must have been it. And the roads were closed at Crossover! Just what I had hoped wouldn’t happen on that Saturday! It was after 5:00 anyway and the gardens were closed, so we left the park with plans to try to come back on our last day.
We drove down Haight and then down Castro just to take in the sights and the people. Very interesting areas! We had planned on driving up Twin Peaks, but had to miss it this time. Our bellies were calling for dinner! We made our way back over to North Beach and parked in the Vallejo garage AGAIN (third time!)! We checked out the menus of the Italian cafes and settled on Trattoria Pinocchio. Sat outside under a heater and had a fantastic dinner, then walked up to the Victoria Pastry Shop for dessert.
First stop was to the Ferry building and the Farmer’s Market. Got a great parking spot and saw/heard some parrots in the park. We went in the building first since it was misting out. What a neat place! Picked up pesto potato sandwiches for lunch later and dh got some coffee. Back outside the rain had stopped and we loved walking around. We bought some strawberries and a peach and took lots of pictures of the colorful produce. We stayed about an hour, and then headed over to Chinatown.
Parked in the Vallejo garage again! We walked around for 1 1/2 hours and I smelled the place in my mind for the rest of the trip! Chinatown left quite an impression! Per advice here (Stu’s recommendations again!) we walked down Stockton, not Grant. It was absolutely fascinating (and a little sickening) to watch the Chinese people shop for the weirdest things. One woman picked up a big, live fish by the eyes and it flopped out of her hand. She bought that one.
We went inside one of the shops and it turned out to be an alley of sorts with many tiny shops. HUGE pigs butchered on tables. Caged birds (of all sorts) and their eggs for sale. Weird, weird stuff. Dirty, dirty places.
Back on Stockton we went in a grocery store of sorts and there were raw meat pieces all over the walls. Chickens were hanging in windows, raw ones against cooked ones.
I think I only saw one other white couple on Stockton. We finally crossed over to Grant and I could hardly stand it! Just a bunch of tacky, tourist shops and all filled with tourists. No Chinese! The architecture was neat and the street decorations were festive, but the true Chinatown was one block over! We did a quick stop in St Mary’s Cathedral which was neat to see the pictures and read its history. 2 hours for all this.
Next stop was a drive down Broadway ‘til it dead-ends to see the rich and famous houses. We parked and walked around and talked to a jogger who pointed out the houses of the Vanderbilts, the Hearst grandson, and someone else who I promptly forgot! Fascinating places and what views some of those houses have! As I was crossing one driveway a young girl (13ish) was calling for her little dog. I smiled at her and she smiled back as she scooped him up and got in their fancy car and pulled out. I can’t imagine the life of a child in these places. Again, would have had no idea to go here if it weren’t for Stu. By the way, the sun was coming out and the bay looked beautiful!
Did a drive down Union Street, then on to the Palace of Fine Arts for some quick pictures, then on to Crissy Field. Enjoyed seeing all the sailboats and the views of Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge (which was still just a little foggy). Then we went to Fort Point and really enjoyed that… the waves crashing up onto the parking lot, the Fort, being under the bridge… neat, neat, neat.
Next stop was supposed to be Baker Beach but it was too foggy. We pulled over and could see the rocks below, but it was too foggy to get any good pictures of the bridge so we went on. Very disappointed, I might add!
We parked near Robin William’s house and walked around it and his big, poodle dogs barked at us. The dinosaur topiary head was missing its foliage. Neat house, all protected by walls and gates, of course! It was sunny here!
Headed south along the coast… too foggy to see much. Entered Golden Gate Park and enjoyed the windmill and flowers. Gorgeous! Saw the bison, and lots and lots and lots of people. Hippies! What was going on? Finally saw a festival of sorts with Peace signs and rainbow flags. Found out from my mom later that many cities were having their own Woodstock anniversary celebrations. Must have been it. And the roads were closed at Crossover! Just what I had hoped wouldn’t happen on that Saturday! It was after 5:00 anyway and the gardens were closed, so we left the park with plans to try to come back on our last day.
We drove down Haight and then down Castro just to take in the sights and the people. Very interesting areas! We had planned on driving up Twin Peaks, but had to miss it this time. Our bellies were calling for dinner! We made our way back over to North Beach and parked in the Vallejo garage AGAIN (third time!)! We checked out the menus of the Italian cafes and settled on Trattoria Pinocchio. Sat outside under a heater and had a fantastic dinner, then walked up to the Victoria Pastry Shop for dessert.
Sep 29th, 2009, 10:10 AM
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"DAY 2, Saturday: Woke up in the middle of the night to thunder!" - I didn't hear it, but our out-of-town visitor said it was 4 am. And now I know why we had it - it was a salute in honor of your anniversary 
Sep 29th, 2009, 02:24 PM
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I could have done without the honor! LOL
DAY 3, Sunday: We also weren’t able to fit Alamo Square in the day before, so we headed back to San Francisco to see Postcard Row before we headed south to Monterey Bay. The sky was still gray for the famous photo of Postcard Row, but I’ll just make it blue in Photoshop, right?
With Stu’s wife’s Victorian Walk guide in hand, we walked around the square and noticed all the great features on the houses. Great, quick tour, and I was so relieved to get to see it before we left San Francisco!
We hit the road and headed south on HWY 1. We pulled over just south of Half Moon Bay to eat our picnic lunch and we spotted a whale! We watched it swim for quite a while. I zoomed in with my camera and it looked like an Orca. Very exciting!
Enjoyed a stop at the lighthouse, but the weather was really foggy here. I can see why they needed lighthouses!
Stopped at Gayle’s Bakery in Capitola and it was packed! Neat place!
Arrived in Pacific Grove around 5:00 and got checked in to Deer Haven Inn in one of their remodeled King Jacuzzi Suites. It was very nice, spacious and had a full kitchen. Had a pizza at Pizza My Way for dinner and it was delicious! Low-fat veggie!
DAY 3, Sunday: We also weren’t able to fit Alamo Square in the day before, so we headed back to San Francisco to see Postcard Row before we headed south to Monterey Bay. The sky was still gray for the famous photo of Postcard Row, but I’ll just make it blue in Photoshop, right?
With Stu’s wife’s Victorian Walk guide in hand, we walked around the square and noticed all the great features on the houses. Great, quick tour, and I was so relieved to get to see it before we left San Francisco!We hit the road and headed south on HWY 1. We pulled over just south of Half Moon Bay to eat our picnic lunch and we spotted a whale! We watched it swim for quite a while. I zoomed in with my camera and it looked like an Orca. Very exciting!
Enjoyed a stop at the lighthouse, but the weather was really foggy here. I can see why they needed lighthouses!
Stopped at Gayle’s Bakery in Capitola and it was packed! Neat place!
Arrived in Pacific Grove around 5:00 and got checked in to Deer Haven Inn in one of their remodeled King Jacuzzi Suites. It was very nice, spacious and had a full kitchen. Had a pizza at Pizza My Way for dinner and it was delicious! Low-fat veggie!
Sep 29th, 2009, 07:00 PM
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DAY 4, Monday: We happened to wake up really early, so we walked down to Asilomar Beach for an early morning stroll. Beautiful! Came back to the room for breakfast, then drove along the beautiful coast of Pacific Grove. It was a gorgeous, blue-sky day and very California Dreamin’ like! Perfect for the top down on the car! We enjoyed Lover’s Point for a while, just sitting on the rocks overlooking the ocean.
We headed on to Monterey and walked out on the Municipal Wharf. Talked to some fishermen who were struggling to tie their big fishing boat up.
Freshened up back at the room and then entered 17 mile drive and within minutes the fog started rolling in! Couldn’t see much of bird rock but the mighty ocean was still beautiful. The blue skies teased us as we drove. The magnificent houses on our left had blue sky behind them, while the fog on our right hugged the coast. The forests were beautiful, but much cooler up there! Had to close the top! Beautiful drive, beautiful cypress trees, beautiful ocean.
When we ate at Il Fornaio in San Francisco Friday night, our receipt had a survey on it with a coupon for a free dessert, so we decided to eat at the Il Fornaio in Carmel! Wasn’t quite as good as in SF, but still good. The ambience and the dessert were fantastic. And guess what? This receipt also had a survey on it with a free dessert for the reward! Will we come back again???
We walked around town a little after dinner, then drove to the Monastery Beach parking area (just north of the entrance to Point Lobos) and star gazed. Crystal clear sky. The Milky Way, the Big Dipper… all so beautiful.
We headed on to Monterey and walked out on the Municipal Wharf. Talked to some fishermen who were struggling to tie their big fishing boat up.
Freshened up back at the room and then entered 17 mile drive and within minutes the fog started rolling in! Couldn’t see much of bird rock but the mighty ocean was still beautiful. The blue skies teased us as we drove. The magnificent houses on our left had blue sky behind them, while the fog on our right hugged the coast. The forests were beautiful, but much cooler up there! Had to close the top! Beautiful drive, beautiful cypress trees, beautiful ocean.
When we ate at Il Fornaio in San Francisco Friday night, our receipt had a survey on it with a coupon for a free dessert, so we decided to eat at the Il Fornaio in Carmel! Wasn’t quite as good as in SF, but still good. The ambience and the dessert were fantastic. And guess what? This receipt also had a survey on it with a free dessert for the reward! Will we come back again???
We walked around town a little after dinner, then drove to the Monastery Beach parking area (just north of the entrance to Point Lobos) and star gazed. Crystal clear sky. The Milky Way, the Big Dipper… all so beautiful.
Sep 30th, 2009, 09:46 AM
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DAY 5, Tuesday: Beautiful morning! Blue skies and perfect. DH jogged along Asilomar Beach before breakfast, then we headed to Point Lobos. Went to the south side of the park first. Gorgeous!!! Walked down the steps to China beach, walked around the Bird Island Trail, took it all in.
Parked at a view spot for our picnic lunch and we watched with dismay as the wall of fog that was waaaay out in the ocean got bigger and bigger. Within 15-20 minutes Point Lobos was fogged in! We were upset we didn’t get out the door quicker in the morning. We could have had another hour here, but we had no idea the fog would roll in, but were starting to see a pattern! We walked around Sea Lion Point Trail in the fog and vowed to get out earlier the next day, and pay admission for another day to come back to see the rest of the park.
We left Point Lobos and decided to drive around Carmel-By-the-Sea, where it was blue and sunny. We walked around Mission San Carlos and from there walked over to Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch. Beautiful place with HUGE trees. Drove through residential areas, stopping to get the flyers of houses that were for sale! Wow, what a price tag on these places! Walked through the downtown area shops, and enjoyed some coffee and hot chocolate at the Carmel Coffee House.
Drove down to Carmel Beach. Still a little foggy here, but what a beautiful beach! Pulled off to the side at one place along Scenic and climbed over rocks and enjoyed hundreds of birds on the rocks and seaweed strung all over the place. The houses along here were so unique! Very charming. Continued down to Carmel River State Beach and enjoyed a walk.
Went back to the room to change, grabbed a pizza at Pizza My Way again and headed to Monastery beach with our firewood for a sweet, little bonfire. Sweet, sweet, sweet time star-gazing, listening to the ocean waves, and cuddling by the warm fire. We did have a cop check out our car just as we were getting ready to leave, which was a little unnerving, but he didn’t leave a ticket. We weren’t doing anything wrong!
Parked at a view spot for our picnic lunch and we watched with dismay as the wall of fog that was waaaay out in the ocean got bigger and bigger. Within 15-20 minutes Point Lobos was fogged in! We were upset we didn’t get out the door quicker in the morning. We could have had another hour here, but we had no idea the fog would roll in, but were starting to see a pattern! We walked around Sea Lion Point Trail in the fog and vowed to get out earlier the next day, and pay admission for another day to come back to see the rest of the park.
We left Point Lobos and decided to drive around Carmel-By-the-Sea, where it was blue and sunny. We walked around Mission San Carlos and from there walked over to Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch. Beautiful place with HUGE trees. Drove through residential areas, stopping to get the flyers of houses that were for sale! Wow, what a price tag on these places! Walked through the downtown area shops, and enjoyed some coffee and hot chocolate at the Carmel Coffee House.
Drove down to Carmel Beach. Still a little foggy here, but what a beautiful beach! Pulled off to the side at one place along Scenic and climbed over rocks and enjoyed hundreds of birds on the rocks and seaweed strung all over the place. The houses along here were so unique! Very charming. Continued down to Carmel River State Beach and enjoyed a walk.
Went back to the room to change, grabbed a pizza at Pizza My Way again and headed to Monastery beach with our firewood for a sweet, little bonfire. Sweet, sweet, sweet time star-gazing, listening to the ocean waves, and cuddling by the warm fire. We did have a cop check out our car just as we were getting ready to leave, which was a little unnerving, but he didn’t leave a ticket. We weren’t doing anything wrong!
Sep 30th, 2009, 04:39 PM
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DAY 6, Wednesday: Got out earlier and headed right to Point Lobos to Sea Lion Point Trail. Beautiful, and we felt complete to get to see it in the beautiful blue daylight! Then walked the Cypress Grove Trail and it was even more beautiful! We saw fog rolling in already so we walked fast. This north side of the park was breezy and freezing! Then we did a quick trail to the Old “something?” cypress tree that is hanging on the side of the cliff. By this time the fog had covered Sea Lion Rocks!
Back in the car we headed down HWY 1 to Big Sur. We’ve driven this stretch twice before, so nothing was jaw-dropping this time around. Stopped at Big Sur Bakery for some coffeecake and coffee. What a sweet treat. Ate out on the deck under a huge tree.
Then we back-tracked just a bit (half mile?) to the Pfeiffer Beach turn-off road. Thought it was going to be a dirt road but it was paved the whole 2 miles. $5 to get in (which our State Park day receipt didn’t cover since it’s not a state beach, darn). Grabbed our picnic lunch and walked to the beach but it was sooo windy! We tried to find a place next to the rocks that would give us a bit of a break from the wind, but no luck. We walked back to the car and ate there, then headed back to the beach.
The sand really is purple! It was fascinating! Of course, most of it is brown sand, but it definitely had purple highlights that were more prominent where the wind had blown the sand up on the banks. There were also purple “crusts” along the wet edge of sand. We walked into the rock cave and were mesmerized by the ocean waves crashing and rushing in. Walked on down the beach some, but it was so windy it was hard to enjoy it much. The sand was blowing on the back of my legs and it actually hurt a little!
Back on HWY 1 we drove further south and stopped at Nepenthe and grabbed a cookie and coffee at Café Kevah and enjoyed the view. Had fun watching a crow on the table eat out of someone’s bowl they had left. He actually moved the silverware out of his way first! Headed up the steps to Nepenthe and sat on the colorful cushions on the concrete sitting area and enjoyed the view. Walked through the restaurant to use the restroom. What a neat place! So glad everyone encouraged us to stop there! We’ve driven through Big Sur two other times, but this was our first stop here.
The weather was around 80 and just perfect and beautiful! The skies were clear the whole time, and of course our top was down!
Next stop was Mc Way Falls. We didn’t go to the park overlook trail (we did that last year), but we stopped at the unmarked overlook just before the park entrance. Had the place to ourselves and enjoyed the view for a long time. Saw some people hiking across the way, above the falls, so we checked that out, hoping to see Mc Way Falls from behind it, but it was some sort of campground area, and never could see the beach and falls from there. Ocean views were pretty, though.
Turned around here and headed back North. Stopped along the way and hiked a little trail and enjoyed the views.
Sun was going down, so we thought we’d try to catch the sunset back at Point Lobos. Got there just in time to see the sun go down behind Sea Lion Rocks. It was beautiful! Sat on the park bench for a while and enjoyed the serenity and each other.
So guess where dinner was tonight? Yep, back at Il Fornaio in Carmel! We had another free dessert coupon and since we’re pasta-loving vegetarians, it was the best place to go. After dinner we walked through the attached Pine Inn and sat on a loveseat in one of the rooms in the lobby. It was a small, beautiful room, and the fireplace was going. So sweet to sit and reminisce about our day and the trip overall. Just one day left!
Back in the car we headed down HWY 1 to Big Sur. We’ve driven this stretch twice before, so nothing was jaw-dropping this time around.
Stopped at Big Sur Bakery for some coffeecake and coffee. What a sweet treat. Ate out on the deck under a huge tree. Then we back-tracked just a bit (half mile?) to the Pfeiffer Beach turn-off road. Thought it was going to be a dirt road but it was paved the whole 2 miles. $5 to get in (which our State Park day receipt didn’t cover since it’s not a state beach, darn). Grabbed our picnic lunch and walked to the beach but it was sooo windy! We tried to find a place next to the rocks that would give us a bit of a break from the wind, but no luck. We walked back to the car and ate there, then headed back to the beach.
The sand really is purple! It was fascinating! Of course, most of it is brown sand, but it definitely had purple highlights that were more prominent where the wind had blown the sand up on the banks. There were also purple “crusts” along the wet edge of sand. We walked into the rock cave and were mesmerized by the ocean waves crashing and rushing in. Walked on down the beach some, but it was so windy it was hard to enjoy it much. The sand was blowing on the back of my legs and it actually hurt a little!
Back on HWY 1 we drove further south and stopped at Nepenthe and grabbed a cookie and coffee at Café Kevah and enjoyed the view. Had fun watching a crow on the table eat out of someone’s bowl they had left. He actually moved the silverware out of his way first! Headed up the steps to Nepenthe and sat on the colorful cushions on the concrete sitting area and enjoyed the view. Walked through the restaurant to use the restroom. What a neat place! So glad everyone encouraged us to stop there! We’ve driven through Big Sur two other times, but this was our first stop here.
The weather was around 80 and just perfect and beautiful! The skies were clear the whole time, and of course our top was down!
Next stop was Mc Way Falls. We didn’t go to the park overlook trail (we did that last year), but we stopped at the unmarked overlook just before the park entrance. Had the place to ourselves and enjoyed the view for a long time. Saw some people hiking across the way, above the falls, so we checked that out, hoping to see Mc Way Falls from behind it, but it was some sort of campground area, and never could see the beach and falls from there. Ocean views were pretty, though.
Turned around here and headed back North. Stopped along the way and hiked a little trail and enjoyed the views.
Sun was going down, so we thought we’d try to catch the sunset back at Point Lobos. Got there just in time to see the sun go down behind Sea Lion Rocks. It was beautiful! Sat on the park bench for a while and enjoyed the serenity and each other.
So guess where dinner was tonight? Yep, back at Il Fornaio in Carmel! We had another free dessert coupon and since we’re pasta-loving vegetarians, it was the best place to go. After dinner we walked through the attached Pine Inn and sat on a loveseat in one of the rooms in the lobby. It was a small, beautiful room, and the fireplace was going. So sweet to sit and reminisce about our day and the trip overall. Just one day left!
Oct 1st, 2009, 09:42 AM
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Day 7, Thursday: Checked out of the Deer Haven Inn and headed north (this time on the faster highway) to San Francisco. Had to pick up some sites that we couldn’t see because of the fog the week before. Arrived in Golden Gate park at noon and parked near the Conservatory and enjoyed a quick walk around it. The sky was deep blue and it was so nice out, unlike when we were in the park the Saturday before. We drove to the Japanese Tea Garden, but after parking far away and walking there, found out they only take cash. We were running low on cash AND time, so we decided to skip it. I was so eager to get over to Baker Beach for my photos of the Golden Gate!
We drove through the rest of the park and headed north, following Stu’s directions, past the Legion of Honor. We stopped just before we left the golf course area on El Camino Del Mar and pulled over for our picnic lunch, but noticed the fog was rolling in! I took some quick photos of the bridge from the golf course, then we sat there in our car eating and watching the fog move in. AGAIN. I really tried to appreciate the wonder of the fog rather than hate it for stealing my photos. I think this was the one area I was most looking forward to getting a photo of and both times we tried it was fogged in. Oh well. We had no time to sit to see if the fog would move out since we had tickets for Alcatraz for 2:50.
We rushed over there (later than I had wanted to) and were panicked about finding parking that we had to pull into the Pier 39 parking garage for fear of missing our boat. We passed a couple of other lots thinking they were too expensive, but they actually would have been cheaper! This one was $7 an hour! But we were out of time to drive around looking for another. We walked to Pier 33 with about 10 minutes to spare.
We thoroughly enjoyed Alcatraz and the audio tour. Fascinating place… the history, the sights, the sounds, the stories. I was expecting beautiful gardens and those were a little disappointing, but in no way detracted from the experience. Great boat ride back and forth.
By the time we were done we decided to just stay in the ridiculously priced garage and write it off as a mistake. One more hour and we’d be maxed out at $35 anyway. We wanted to walk down to North Beach to the Trattoria Pinocchio café to eat there again, but my back and hip hurt too bad to make the trek to the south side of North Beach, and the sunset was promising to be gorgeous so I wanted to stay on the bay. I was kind of bummed, since I had wanted to avoid Fisherman’s Wharf and its touristy stuff, but we felt stuck by circumstances. And after all, we did need to get some cheap presents for the kids.
DH got some coffee and we walked down to the sea lions on Pier 39 and enjoyed them, then decided to eat at Louis’s Seafood and Italian. It was an upstairs restaurant and our window seats overlooked the sea lions, the boats, with a view of the Golden Gate in the distance. The sunset was indeed gorgeous. The food was not so great, especially compared to “our” North Beach café we really wanted that night, but we did get a 2 hour validation for our parking, which saved us $14, so the parking fee was $21 instead of $35. That helped ease our minds a little, just in principle.
Last but not least, we got some dark chocolate (from Chocolate Heaven?) and found a quiet spot to sit on the wharf and enjoy the boats and view of the Bay Bridge and our last bit of quiet before coming home to the kids the next day.
It was a beautiful, romantic trip and we had a fabulous time with each other, seeing new sites and revisiting some old ones, and it was good to come home to the kids, renewed and ready to hunker down for the winter in Kentucky.
Thanks again for all the help! We experienced so many new things because of all of YOU!
We drove through the rest of the park and headed north, following Stu’s directions, past the Legion of Honor. We stopped just before we left the golf course area on El Camino Del Mar and pulled over for our picnic lunch, but noticed the fog was rolling in! I took some quick photos of the bridge from the golf course, then we sat there in our car eating and watching the fog move in. AGAIN. I really tried to appreciate the wonder of the fog rather than hate it for stealing my photos. I think this was the one area I was most looking forward to getting a photo of and both times we tried it was fogged in. Oh well. We had no time to sit to see if the fog would move out since we had tickets for Alcatraz for 2:50.
We rushed over there (later than I had wanted to) and were panicked about finding parking that we had to pull into the Pier 39 parking garage for fear of missing our boat. We passed a couple of other lots thinking they were too expensive, but they actually would have been cheaper! This one was $7 an hour! But we were out of time to drive around looking for another. We walked to Pier 33 with about 10 minutes to spare.
We thoroughly enjoyed Alcatraz and the audio tour. Fascinating place… the history, the sights, the sounds, the stories. I was expecting beautiful gardens and those were a little disappointing, but in no way detracted from the experience. Great boat ride back and forth.
By the time we were done we decided to just stay in the ridiculously priced garage and write it off as a mistake. One more hour and we’d be maxed out at $35 anyway. We wanted to walk down to North Beach to the Trattoria Pinocchio café to eat there again, but my back and hip hurt too bad to make the trek to the south side of North Beach, and the sunset was promising to be gorgeous so I wanted to stay on the bay. I was kind of bummed, since I had wanted to avoid Fisherman’s Wharf and its touristy stuff, but we felt stuck by circumstances. And after all, we did need to get some cheap presents for the kids.
DH got some coffee and we walked down to the sea lions on Pier 39 and enjoyed them, then decided to eat at Louis’s Seafood and Italian. It was an upstairs restaurant and our window seats overlooked the sea lions, the boats, with a view of the Golden Gate in the distance. The sunset was indeed gorgeous. The food was not so great, especially compared to “our” North Beach café we really wanted that night, but we did get a 2 hour validation for our parking, which saved us $14, so the parking fee was $21 instead of $35. That helped ease our minds a little, just in principle.
Last but not least, we got some dark chocolate (from Chocolate Heaven?) and found a quiet spot to sit on the wharf and enjoy the boats and view of the Bay Bridge and our last bit of quiet before coming home to the kids the next day.
It was a beautiful, romantic trip and we had a fabulous time with each other, seeing new sites and revisiting some old ones, and it was good to come home to the kids, renewed and ready to hunker down for the winter in Kentucky.
Thanks again for all the help! We experienced so many new things because of all of YOU!
Oct 1st, 2009, 03:25 PM
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Great trip report.
Fog story:
We are almost always vacationing in Europe during Sept. This year, because of the economy we cancelled our plans. We decided to stick around home & do some day trips instead. Our major day-trip was going to be to Carmel & Big Sur - with the highlight being dinner and lunch the next day at Nepenthe. We've been enjoying Nepenthe for around 40 years, but haven't visited it in the last 7-8 years. We wanted to go to Carmel/Big Sur during one of the warmer days that always seem to occur in Sept. The weather was not up to par for most of early September. Nepenthe has a web camera and the views south along the coast were not that great and also the temps were cool. Finally about Sept 18, the Chronicle reported a major heatwave heading our way. We immediatly booked a hotel in Carmal & another in Big Sur starting Sept 20 - a week after you were there. When we left the Bay Area the weather was perfect. When we got of 101 heading to Monterey, directly in front of us was a HUGE bank of fog. Carmel was socked in with fog. We walked around Carmel for a couple of hours, then headed to Big Sur & Nepenthe. All the way down Hwy 1 to Big Sur we could barely see the ocean because of the fog. Big Sur itself is a little inland, so there was no fog there. We checked into our hotel (where it was sunny), changed clothes, and then headed south past Nepenthe for a drive down the coast. The fog was so thick, that we could not see more than about 10 yards past the edge of the road. It was actually dangerous because of the fog. You couldn't tell if there was an ocean there or not. We returned to Nepenthe, spent about 45 mins at the 60s/70s retro shop below Nepenthe & then headed up for an early dinner at 6:00 with the idea that it would be a 2 1/2 hr leisurely affair where we could remember the dozens & dozens of evenings we've spent there - starting in 1970. Well - there was no view at all because of the fog. Couldn't see more than 20 yards past the Nepenthe window. We had a lovely time, however.
When we got back home, I read in the Chronicle the next day that the heatwave was a 'surprise" to the weather forecasters because it existed inland - but not along the coast as they had predicted. Rats!!!!!
Stu Dudley
Fog story:
We are almost always vacationing in Europe during Sept. This year, because of the economy we cancelled our plans. We decided to stick around home & do some day trips instead. Our major day-trip was going to be to Carmel & Big Sur - with the highlight being dinner and lunch the next day at Nepenthe. We've been enjoying Nepenthe for around 40 years, but haven't visited it in the last 7-8 years. We wanted to go to Carmel/Big Sur during one of the warmer days that always seem to occur in Sept. The weather was not up to par for most of early September. Nepenthe has a web camera and the views south along the coast were not that great and also the temps were cool. Finally about Sept 18, the Chronicle reported a major heatwave heading our way. We immediatly booked a hotel in Carmal & another in Big Sur starting Sept 20 - a week after you were there. When we left the Bay Area the weather was perfect. When we got of 101 heading to Monterey, directly in front of us was a HUGE bank of fog. Carmel was socked in with fog. We walked around Carmel for a couple of hours, then headed to Big Sur & Nepenthe. All the way down Hwy 1 to Big Sur we could barely see the ocean because of the fog. Big Sur itself is a little inland, so there was no fog there. We checked into our hotel (where it was sunny), changed clothes, and then headed south past Nepenthe for a drive down the coast. The fog was so thick, that we could not see more than about 10 yards past the edge of the road. It was actually dangerous because of the fog. You couldn't tell if there was an ocean there or not. We returned to Nepenthe, spent about 45 mins at the 60s/70s retro shop below Nepenthe & then headed up for an early dinner at 6:00 with the idea that it would be a 2 1/2 hr leisurely affair where we could remember the dozens & dozens of evenings we've spent there - starting in 1970. Well - there was no view at all because of the fog. Couldn't see more than 20 yards past the Nepenthe window. We had a lovely time, however.
When we got back home, I read in the Chronicle the next day that the heatwave was a 'surprise" to the weather forecasters because it existed inland - but not along the coast as they had predicted. Rats!!!!!
Stu Dudley
Oct 2nd, 2009, 08:26 AM
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Oh nooooooooooooooo, Stu! One of the things I learned in all my research is to never trust the weathermen and their reports! Can't believe you couldn't even tell there was an ocean.
Very interesting for us to hear though, as we sort of expected it. As we were leaving, we heard there was a big heatwave coming for inland and we figured that'd pull the fog in, big time.
40 years enjoying Nepenthe, though... I can't feel TOO sorry for you!
Very interesting for us to hear though, as we sort of expected it. As we were leaving, we heard there was a big heatwave coming for inland and we figured that'd pull the fog in, big time.
40 years enjoying Nepenthe, though... I can't feel TOO sorry for you!
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