Saturday 9th May

We drove down to Monterey, driving through sand dunes along the way. We eventually arrived in Monterey which was a very beautiful town, with great beaches and a great couple of piers. We parked up on the sea front and had a walk along the commercial pier where the fishing boats docked and there were places to buy fresh fish from. Walking along we could hear the familiar noise of Sea lions in the harbour, They were under the pier and out in the marina. We found a great place for coffee and sticky buns on Fisherman's wharf pier which had lots of shops and restaurants. Free samples of clam chowder were on offer every where, so we sampled them all.

We sorted out a hotel for the next two nights then headed back down to the sea front, where we parked up and went for a long walk. We walked along the front reading the information panels and looking at the wildlife in the harbour as we went. There were not only sea lions but seals basking in the sunshine. There was a lot of kelp in the bay where there were sea otters playing.

We carried on along the sea front eventually getting to the famous cannery row where in the early 1900's sardines were fished and tinned. The sardine population was devastated by the methods used to collect the fish. Now the popular fish caught is squid. It was interesting seeing the remains of the buildings where the cannery buildings were along the coast line.

Sunday 10th May

We decided to have a drive along the coast and headed to Carmel by the sea where Clint Eastwood was once Mayor. This was a very picturesque town with lots of art shops and cafés and restaurants. The beach was down hill from the town so we made our way down for a look. The weather was good and the beach was packed with families, it was Mothers day over here. There were lots of dogs, which are allowed on the beaches here, the owners are very responsible and clean up!

Monday 11th May

Got up very early and made our way to the pier to get tickets for the Whale watching boat. There were a few companies running trips we chose one that was out at sea for two to three hours. Although the sea looked calm once we got outside the harbour walls it became very rough and one or two people were sick, 'deadliest catch' will have new meaning after this. We were all asked to look out for whales. It was quite exciting and the captain cut the engines so we could look at dolphins that were right by the side of the boat. We moved on and eventually whales were spotted the captain took the boat over to where the whales were, they are allowed to get about one hundred feet from the whales. He cut the engines again and we watched as two humped back whales surfaced not that far from us. They were there for a while as we watched and took photos, it was amazing. On the way back to shore two more whales were spotted this time they were grey whales, a mother and calf, with killer whales in the area they dived out of site shortly after. We returned to the harbour and as we made our way back to the pier we passed a sea otter lay on his back playing with something, he was very cute. We were out at sea for about three hours.

After lunch we headed off down the coast on our way towards Los Angeles. The coast line was very dramatic and beautiful, the coast road was along cliffs with drops into the sea which was a great colour. There was nothing for miles along the road, we passed the occasional hamlet but there were no petrol stations or shops for miles. Stopping at a view point to look over the ocean we realised there were lots of Prairie dogs in the plants by the car park, I had some salad in the boot of the car, I very soon had lots of little friends desperately begging for the leaves, they were very cute.

We drove for a few hours more and decided to stop in a small town called Santa Maria for the night. This was a predominantly Mexican town as we found out when we went to the supermarket, we were the only white faces in the building and the notices were in Spanish before English.