A Little Time at the Beach and with Clint Eastwood

Gilroy, CA
Elks Lodge

Our last day with Ryan and Diana was spent at the beach and walking along the hiking/biking path that line the shore.  All along here you will see blankets of green fields filled with artichokes. 

It is the region's most distinctive crop, particularly around the rural town of Castroville which is just outside of Monterey. The town is nicknamed  the “Artichoke Capital of the World”.

 

It's a beautiful day with plenty of sunshine and warmth.

 

We pick a spot with plenty of room for Hurley to run around.  Here at Carmel Beach huge expensive homes line the shore.  Pebble Beach is just down the shore.

The blues and greens of the water here in Monterey and Carmel are like the Caribbean and the sand is so soft and white.

That grassy area is part of the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course.

Steve tried to get me out in the water.

Unlike the Caribbean, the water here is freezing!  I'll stick to the warm blanket.

 

After playing at the beach we went back and cleaned up and headed back out for some exploring and then dinner.

Cannery Row was a novel by John Steinbeck set during the Great Depression in Monterey, on a street lined with sardine canneries called Cannery Row.  Now it's filled with shopping, restaurants and people watching.  You can rent scooters, family bikes and other touristy means of transportation to ride around here.

We walked around Lover's Point Park and soaked up the atmosphere.  There were sea lions, gulls, waves and more to listen to as we walked.

This is a favorite spot for people to launch kayaks and paddleboards.  We hope to kayak for our first time in the ocean here at some point.

The seaside path connect many parks together along the way.  We walked around the peninsula to Perkins Park.

That's one large aloe plant!

Some fun closeups.

 

This guy aint missin' no meals.  He's hungry.  Come to think of it, so are we.  So off to dinner where Steve wanted to take the kids to the Hogs Breath Inn which was once owned by Cline Eastwood.

If you've never heard of it, here's a little story. Eastwood is a native Californian who discovered the Carmel area while stationed at nearby Fort Ord. He eventually returned to Carmel where he still lives. In 1972, a friend was showing him around a building he owned.  He thought it would make a great saloon.  He later bought the building and made it into the now legendary Hog’s Breath. He was also Mayor many years back.

It's cozy and has lots of memorabilia.  We chose to eat outside under the huge oak tree.  It was a little chilly but we got a table in front of the fireplace.

We had a wonderful weekend with the kids.  Before we move on to San Jose, where we'll stay

 at the Elks Lodge there for the wedding, we'll spend some time with a high school friend I haven't seen for about 20 years!

 

 

A Weekend in Carmel Before the Wedding

Gilroy, CA
Elks Lodge

 (still catching up! This is Aug, 2019)

Monterey, CA

 

As we drove down the mountain near Lake Tahoe, Hwy 50, we stopped for a couple days in Placerville to visit with my folks and see some friends.  When we're here we always get together with Doug and Deanna and head to our favorite Mexican place, Casa Ramos!

After dinner we always finish up with some Tarantula in the bar at Casa.

 

Then it was off to the Elks Lodge in Walnut Creek for a couple of nights to see Shane & Lindsay, Brennan & Alex and Kaylee.

A bit snug as we had to park right up against the bushes as to not stick out so far.  $35, a couple spots have access to water and electric.  We were there only to sleep so we didn't put the slides out.  We spent the entire time with the kids.

We had dinner with Shane and Lindsay and it was nice to have more one on one time with her to get to know her better.  She is a real sweetheart!

 

Then Kaylee, Alex and I walked through the cute downtown of Walnut Creek for some girly time.  We went to a nice sushi place and ordered this crazy volcano drink that was served in a huge bowl and enough for 4 people to share.  It's lit up and you make a wish and then enjoy!  And that we did!

It was a quick visit and then we drove the 2 hours to Gilroy where we would spend a week and visit with Ryan and Diana before their wedding.  We got to see their townhouse and enjoy the coast, some hikes and nice meals.

The Elks Lodge in Gilroy is one of our favorite.  $20, W/E and on the golf course.  It was in a very quiet area with huge sites.  The RV sites are in the area at the bottom, below the red marker above.

That's us on the far right.

 

The pedestal and water were shared and behind the sites so we were just able to reach.  Keep that in mind if choosing a site here.  It's just under an hour drive to get over to the coast from here.  We chose to stay here as it was only an hour from where the wedding will be in San Jose.  They do have an Elks Lodge in San Jose, but since they don't take reservations, we'll stay here and take our chances on getting into the Elks in San Jose later.

It was a gorgeous day on the coast.  We spent the night at Ryan & Diana's new place and caught up on all the last minute details of the wedding which would take place in 2 weeks.

We parked along the scenic road and hiked along some of the trails which eventually led down to the ocean.

 

 

The flowers were just gorgeous.  The fog would waft in and out just off the shore.

 You can hear all the gulls and sea lions.

The Happy Couple.  Our oldest, Ryan, and his fiancé, Diana.

It's so green here.  Pebble Beach is just down the road.  We are in between Carmel and Monterey.

Hurley loves to play on the beach too.

Colorful shells.

Fun exploring around the tide pools.

 

Hurley, Ryan and Steve

Love the texture of the dried sea kelp.

I sure had a great time taking pictures.  We worked up an appetite so we headed out to a brewery in Monterey to get an appetizer and some drinks.  The  Concourse d' Elegance was being held this weekend in Pebble Beach and the area was packed with wealthy people and expensive cars.  If you don't know what that is, it is the top ranking collector car competition in the world.  You will see the most amazing cars driving around worth thousands!

From the Fieldwork Brewery we could watch some of the cars as they were off loaded.  We walked around the staging and parking areas and oowed and ahhed.  Since Ryan rebuilds and restores vintage BMWs, he always loves this time.  He hopes to finish his latest car and participate next year.

 

I love all the Italian cars strutting around.  They are parked everywhere!

We walked all over Carmel and then headed to the wharf for dinner.  On the wharf you can sample all the clam chowder each restaurant makes out front.

This was our view out of the window at the Old Fisherman's Grotto restaurant that Ryan and Diana took us to.  We had a great dinner and some fantastic drinks.  They are known for their steaks, seafood and the Grotto Pineapple, so I had one!  It's served in a fresh pineapple and contains Rum, Spiced Rum, Brandy, Orange Curacao, pineapple and orange juice and a splash of grenadine.  Yee Haw!