Nov 13 2012

What I did on my long weekend

Here was my last, long, planned ride of 2012. A bit chilly (I must invest in winter gloves for 2013) but otherwise a fantastic trip with no coastal fog and crisp days.

Nov 13 2012

What a beautiful ride

The day began at 9 am and off I went south on CA-1. A quick stop in Big Sur for a picture of Dash who performed flawlessly!

Just down the road a breathtaking coastline

Before Lucia a long line of cars were queued up as we waited for the single lane road over a bridge under construction to open up. Since everyone was lounging outside their cars I took the time to take some more images. I told a fellow motorist the moment I took off my helmet the line would move. And right on cue, immediately after taking off my helmet the line moved. I was thanked by his passenger for speeding up the process and off we all went.

My final picture moment came at San Simeon where I stopped to look at the elephant seals. I had been there over a decade ago and remember being awed by these sweet rotund animals.
First a picture of a crow watching us watch him.

Because so many of you are worried, beyond all measure, about my self inflicted wound here is a picture

Between this and my forearm burn I am beginning to look a bit raggedy

Nov 12 2012

A day of whale watching in Monterey

At 10 am we went whale watching. Here we are in front of the boat

While on the boat we saw sea lions against the sea wall and then a pod of dolphins (okay that one just looks like splashing water)

Then we saw a whale!

Monterey. What a day!!

Off to Castroville to see the worlds biggest artichoke. Carolina wasn’t as impressed as i was.

The town is about two blocks long…

No trip is complete without my “I survived …” pin and of course a smooshed penny is always a bonus

Nov 11 2012

A crisp day really means crazy cold

Left just after 8 am and it was very crisp!

Once in Cambria my fingers were completely frozen so I pulled off to take a picture. I love Cambria because one side of the road is residential and the other is the business section. How organized can you get? Drove to the end of the residential portion and took this picture

Putting away my tripod I gashed my middle finger and blood was everywhere. I wrapped my finger in toilet paper and stuffed it into my glove until I got to a gas station. For the rest of the ride that finger was quite warm. Guess its not a ride until I self inflict a wound of some sorts.

Damn you Mercury!

Off to Big Sur and it was over the top windy. Those cross winds are brutal and to make matters worse They had just replaced the road and there was loose gravel all over. So for the majority of the ride it was twisties and crosswinds and loose gravel. I was not very happy but powered through it and then the road gravel disappeared and all was well. I can deal with the wind and the cold but the gravel was just mean. Then I noticed that my SPOT device batteries had died so I replaced those but really? That Mercury is a trickster.

Once in Big Sur I was greeted by a friend.

Arrived in Monterey right on time and no worse for wear. Once there I was greeted by a friend.

Off to the pier for a bite to eat and signing up for a whale watching adventure

Forgot to add this picture taken before I reached Big Sur. I almost got blown over taking this while a bus full of tourists looked at the sea. So it deserves to be posted just for the dangerous aspect I must state that the coastline was spectacular. Far more so than this picture indicates ( it was the only place I felt safe pulling over to take a picture). At times the scenery didn’t even look real it was breathtaking. If the wind had not been happening it would have been one of the perfect rides. On Monday I will stop at vista points and the wind is supposed to be negligible so looking forward to that ride home. Lastly, I was lucky enough to get behind a pickup truck that drove perfectly for me to follow and feel safe through the turns. He guided me all the way to Big Sur until I pulled over for some food. Thank you kind stranger!