Flashback Friday - Monterey Peninsula
The Monterey Peninsula, California
In July of 1990, Margaret and I took the 17-mile drive around the Monterey Peninsula along the coast of California. What a beautiful part of the country. The scenery was spectacular!
The fee was $6 per car and came with a map of the main attractions.
There are about 27 stops on the map.
*Shepherd’s Knoll Vista Point - view of historic Monterey Bay and the San Gabilan Mountains
*Huckleberry Hill which has an abundance of huckleberry bushes (what a surprise!) and is one of the highest points in the Del Mont
*Poppy Hills Golf Course where we saw a deer and two fawns
*Pebble Beach Resorts’ Spanish Bay, a gorgeous spot, and the Inn and Links at Spanish Bay
*Restless Sea which offers one of the world’s rarest views, colliding ocean currents, pretty cool
*The Dunes Course, opened in 1925
*Point Joe became the burial grounds of shipwrecked schooners and sailors who thought it was the entrance to Monterey Bay.
*The Shore Course opened in 1963 and has an abundant deer population
*Bird Rock features the Hunter Steeplechase Course
*Seal and Bird Rocks picnic area and the Seal and Bird Rocks which have countless shoreline birds. Offshore, there are herds of sea lions and smaller leopard and harbor seals, we saw some of them
Margaret and Seal and Bird Rock
*The Spyglass Hill Golf Course is one of the top 40 courses in the United States, has pro shop and the Spyglass Grill Restaurant
*Fanshell Beach features a white sand beach which curves to form a perfect crescent shape
*Cypress Point Club, which opened in 1928, is among the Top 10 in the United States
*Cypress Point Lookout, best view of the Pacific coastline anywhere along he drive, saw some harbor seals there
*Crocker Grove has 13 acres of native pines and cypress and is designated a wildlife reserve
*Lone Cypress, most famous attraction along the drive, symbol of the Pebble Beach Company, clinging to seemingly bare rock, it has inspired countless photographers, painters
Margaret in front of the famous Lone Cypress
*The Ghost Tree has a trunk that has been bleached white by the wind and sea spray, one of the more interesting examples of the Monterey Cypress
The Ghost Tree
Witch Tree - "This famous tree fell during a storm on Jan 21, 1964. It stood about 90 feet south of this sign."
*Pescadero Point is at the northern tip of Carmel Bay and Stillwater Cove, in 1840, a Spanish land grant established 4,000 acres as the Rancho Pescadero, now the Del Monte Forest.
*Next three highlights on our map had to do with Pebble Beach, tShops, the lodge, built in 1919, and the famous Links, also opened in 1919. The Peter Hay Golf Course is open to the public.
*Eques trian Center and Polo Field.
We finished up about 2:30, so if you're going, leave plenty of time to see everything.
17 Mile Drive - http://independenttravelcats.com/2013/11/14/17-mile-drive-scenic-drive-along-monterey-peninsula-pebble-beach-california/
17 Mile Ghost Tree story - http://www.beachcalifornia.com/ghost-tree-photo.html
Romantic Carmel Coast 17 Mile Drive - http://www.romantic-carmel-coast.com/17-mile-drive.html
Monterey - http://monterey.org/en-us/
Things to Do in Monterey, California - https://www.facebook.com/places/Things-to-do-in-Monterey-California/103784469660420
17 Mile Drive Scenic Tour - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8kjxhvjjMw
Carmel and the 17-mile drive - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALR7YPTodOY
Monterey Bike Trip - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZhdDnC-YdE
If you have done the 17 mile drive, let us know what you liked about it and what has changed since 1990!
