Monterey, Carmel & the 17-mile Drive

Well, another good day touring around this area. It was a long day. Left San Francisco at 7am and only got back just before 6pm. Too tired to update on Monday, because after I got back, went to sit the cable car in the city. A just had to do thing in SF.

Anyway, the drive south to Monterey was by the Pacific Ocean coast. Absolutely amazing views. We stopped along the way at a town, and I had deep fried artichoke for the first time in my life. The name escaped me at the moment, but it was the place where Norma Jean / Marilyn Monroe was crowned the first Artichoke Queen. It is a very agicultural area and other than artichoke, they grow lots of pumpkin, cauliflower, brussel sprouts etc.. Also tried dried chilli mango for the first time. Absolutely tasty. I think it would go very nice with a nice piece of steak.

We stopped by the Fisherman's Wharf at Monterey for about half an hour. There were lots of sea lions around. Apparently, they hang around a lot because the fishermen would throw some leftovers from their catch to them. You could hear them barking very loudly. Soon after that, we drove through the 17-mile drive. It's a playground for the rich and famous. There are quite a few of mansions in this area too. All of them came with a price tag of a few million dollars. We also drove by the home of Clint Eastwood's ex-wife. One of the owners here is so rich that he installed a heating system into a stretch of sandy beach so that his guest would not feel so cold when they are walking around! Stopped by the famous Pebble Beach Golf Club, where Bing Crosby used to play.

The drive ends with Carmel. We spend a couple of hours here for our lunch and also a walk around the place. This as you know is the place where Clint Eastwood was the former mayor. He still lives in the area. Unfortunatey, we did not see him! I was quite surprised to discover that things are not expensive at all here. My lunch only cost me about $12. I supposed if I compare everything with "rip-off" Britain, everything is cheap here.

All in all,a very enjoyable day, and one highly to be recommended.