Scenic Highway 1

Ahh it's Wednesday. The sky is slightly overcast and we are a little sad but really can not complain since nearly every day of the past 3 weeks has been gorgeous. We set out from San Luis Obispo to drive the scenic highway 1 stretch from Morro Bay to Monterey on our way into San Francisco. Even though the sky is overcast and a little smoggy the birds are out enjoying the wind. There are a small family of squirrels running around one of the view points we pull into. I also snap a few pictures of the happy cows that come from California, compared to the ones we saw in the desert I would have to agree that these look happier. We then stop at a seal protection and viewing area. There are hundreds of seals napping in the sand. I film them for a few minutes and randomly gawk and oohhh and ahhh. I just love animals… but I guess you wouldn't have guessed that. Heh

After hours of beautiful scenic driving we arrived in Monterey. We decide to grab a late lunch/early dinner and head over to the coast and find an excellent little seafood place. I have an AMAZING Dungeness Crab Alfredo pasta and Bill has Stuffed Shrimp over pasta with Portobello, tomato and a garlicy olive oil sauce. We sit out on the al fresco dining area and watch the kids play in the sand. Then we shop for a bit. I get a new hoody jacket and Bill gets a few goodies. We jump back in the car and head to Frisco. We arrive later then we had planned but the time was well spent in Monterey (I really like Monterey… it reminds me of coastal pictures I have seen of Italy.) We grab a few pictures of the Frisco skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge. One of the top priorities on our journey home was to stop and tour the Jelly Belly Factory. We decided to head up to Fairfield, CA tonight to see the factory first thing tomorrow, at which point we can decide if there is anything in San Francisco that is calling to us or if we want to bypass it in favor of more time along the coast and at the Redwoods. This would allow for a more leasurely last 2 days as we would not be trying to drive the full 550 (or so) miles from Redwoods to Maple Valley.