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Greetings from Monterey and Pacific Grove

For the first of our two visits to the Monterey/Pacific Grove area, we stayed about 20 minutes north of Monterey at Marina Dunes RV Park, which is right along the coast in Marina. The RV park is adjacent to an undeveloped stretch of beach owned by the county, which is accessed via a path through the coastal dunes, about 1/3 of a mile in length. It is not the easiest walk, as there are elevation changes and sections of rather deep, loose sand, but the reward for the effort is an almost empty beach with views across the bay to Monterey. Unfortunately, while we were staying in Marina, the fog obscured the view, so I don’t have photos for you.

I do, however, have photos from Monterey.

Late one morning we took a short hike in Jack’s Peak County Park just as the fog and mist were lifting. When the sun finally peeked out from behind the clouds, we were rewarded with a lovely if partially obstructed view of the city of Monterey.

The city of Monterey is visible from a clearing along the rim trail at Jack’s Peak. In the first photo, Monterey bay takes up the top of the frame, with the harbor and marina just below. In the second, the bay is once again visible in the center of the frame, with the clouds and sky above and another section of the city below.

There is a 18-mile-long paved walking and biking trail that follows the coastline from Castroville, north of Monterey, to Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove. Along the trail there are numerous parks, beaches, and tourist attractions such as Old Fisherman’s Wharf and Cannery Row. Several companies rent e-bikes at points along the trail as well, and I couldn’t resist the chance to finally ride one. We did a two hour rental and rode on the trail between Monterey and Pacific Grove. It was just beautiful. The next day I returned to the area on foot to take some pictures.

The entrance to Old Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey, a tacky but fun and very popular tourist attraction in Old Monterey. Shops and restaurants fill the old wharf. A second newer wharf, not far from the original, is now used to launch fishing boats and tourist sightseeing cruises.
One of many small parks along the waterfront in Monterey. The back side of several buildings on Old Fisherman’s Wharf are visible on the right and part of the marina in the center.
The marina in Monterey; each different species of bird seems to have claimed a designated rock in the harbor for their own.
This rock appears to have been claimed as home base by the pelicans, although they seem to tolerate interlopers, as evidenced by the visiting seagull.
Sea lions claim their own rock in the harbor. They are quite a popular attraction for tourists. Often they are rather noisy; you can hear them “barking” long before you can see them.
The photos above are from further down the trail in Pacific Grove. These beautiful old trees, I’m relatively certain, are Monterey Cypress; they are characterized by their dark green needles and textured bark. As they age, their shape changes from the fairly tight, upright form of the tree in the second photo, to the looser, more spread out and frankly, funkier and more interesting shape of the tree at the front of the first photo.
The Seven Gables Inn is a Pacific Grove landmark that stands out from its surroundings near Lover’s Point Park. The original building dates back to 1886; the property was used as a single family home until 1982, when it opened as a hotel.

We returned to the Monterey Peninsula after spending a few days further inland in Morgan Hill, just south of San Jose. The Morgan Hill area is part of the Santa Clara County AVA, which is a growing wine producing region. I’ve been there a few times and have some favorite wineries in the area, but I always try a few news ones too. From this visit, I can recommend J Winston and Calerrain. Both do most varietals quite well, but from J Winston I recommend especially the Syrah; from Calerrain, the Cab Franc.

I don’t have photos from our stop in Morgan Hill, so the next post will be from our return visit to Monterey. The weather was much better this time, so I have lots of photos.

6 thoughts on “Greetings from Monterey and Pacific Grove”

  2. Tracy Bullard
    Reply

    Beautiful pictures! Craig and I stayed at the Seven Gables Inn for our first wedding anniversary in 1987. It was lovely. Enjoy your trip!

  4. John Jamrogowicz
    Reply

    I am going to start applying the perspective you shared about the older versus the younger version of the Monterey Cypress to photos of myself LOL!

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