#MontereyCA

With two days left on this leg of the road trip, we made our way inland and north. After a delicious breakfast of crepes just a block from our hotel, we wandered around Monterey for a bit. The Sea Lions were out in force, serenading us with their plea for food, and overpowering the smell of the ocean with their stink.

We filled up in Monterey and headed towards San Francisco. Sun was out until we hit the Bay Area, then cleared again as we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge; we had blue skies for the rest of the trip north.

Driving past Mount Shasta, and through the Siskiyou’s is always a thrill for me; Russ did a lot of driving so I could shoot pictures from the passenger seat.

We spent the night in Grants Pass, OR, and visited family in Rogue River in the morning, before hitting the road again for our last day.

I cannot honestly count how many trips I’ve made between Rogue River and wherever I’ve lived in Washington over the past 40-plus years. It’s such a familiar stretch of road, I still remember where the speed traps are, what hotels and restaurants will be ‘around the next bend’, and of course, where all the fun places to eat are. One of our all-time favorites is a little drive-in place in Rice Hill, Oregon called K & R Drive-In.

My first experience was in high school when our youth pastor took a bunch of us there on our way to an outdoor concert. I’ve rarely made a trip in either direction without stopping by for a shake, cone, or bag of fries; and of course, I’ve introduced everyone who’s driven with me to the wonder of this little hole-in-the-wall place that serves the very best ice cream ever (sorry Tillamook, I’ll have to go with Umpqua for this one).

Russ drove through Portland, knowing how much I LOATHE tall bridges; unfortunately for him, we hit traffic and road construction, which continued for most of the trip north and brought us into Redmond late. I have to say California was pretty rude, with no signs to welcome us nor say goodbye; however, Oregon and Washington politely greeted us as we entered and left the state.

After checking into the hotel, we grabbed dinner at one of our favorite restaurants and settled in for a restful night.

Safe Travels and God’s blessings!
You can continue following our adventures on Facebook at Normads (Norman Adventures), or here on the blog.

After spending the night in Marina Del Ray, I called the bank to get the details on our credit card fraud, then made our way to the Santa Monica Pier, one of the two recognized ending points for Route 66 on the West Coast. On a beautiful sunny day with many visitors, even in September, we walked the pier, and listened to the gulls and performers, before heading north up the coast: our destination, Monterey.

Along the way, we stopped at Morro Bay, visiting the Maritime Museum and the stacks of a former power plant.

Our plan was to take California Highway 1 all the way up the coast, but no matter how much we fought the GPS, PCH 1 was closed for some of the route, so about 30 minutes north of San Simeon, we were forced to backtrack and make our way inland to US101 to get to Monterey! Although we loved the ocean views, we learned our lesson – no more arguing with the GPS! It made for a long day and we arrived in Monterey well after dark.

We stayed at the beautiful Monterey Hotel, built in 1904. Our room was lovely and it’s just 1.5 miles from Cannery Row. There is no onsite parking, but you can park overnight for free or low cost in a parking lot managed by the city of Monterey, located on Calle Principal (behind the hotel building).