After leaving Malibu, we stopped to see Jesse in Goleta (north of Santa Barbara). She was a good friend of my niece Deborah. Jesse grows lots of vegetables and keeps chickens (no roosters) in the high hedge enclosed yard of her house in town, and she fixed some delicious meals with her freshly gathered provisions!
Here she is with one of her laying hens.
Up the Coast of California we went on scenic route #1 – the Pacific Coast Highway. We could only go part way because of the mudslides from the recent rains that closed the road near Big Sur. We did get to see Morro Rock at Morro Bay.
But we did make our way up past San Simeon and the Hearst Castle (didn’t tour it, no reservations, tours full), but enjoyed the gift store and the art work reproductions.
By sheer luck, we stopped at a “pull out”, where you could see the elephant seals sunning themselves on the beach below
To detour from the Pacific coast highway, we drove another of those wild California mountain routes over to Highway 101, and continued up the Salinas valley, where most of the produce for the entire country is grown.
Fields and fields of strawberries, romaine lettuce, kale, artichokes, mustard greens and butter lettuce. Some of the farms had giant standup cutouts of the farmers and workers.
After getting chased out of the Walmart parking in Salinas (against city ordinance), we opted for another night at Motel 6, and then drove on to Monterey where Vera toured the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Wonderful! Here are some photos of some of the special things she saw.
The next Blog will be ready tomorrow. See 'ya.
I traveled the Pacific Coastal Highway with my parents and cousin when I was 15. Still remember how different it was from the east coast. We saw the Hearst Castle, too, but didn't tour either. The elephant seals are lovely! Were they noisy?
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