I have been to plenty of cities in California. San Diego, San Francisco, and LA have nothing on my newfound love Monterey. I never would have thought of going if it was not for my husband wanting to go to Big Sur. I did not know what beauty was in store. Get ready for a lot of gorgeous coastline :-) Here is a sneak peek... We decided to take a night flight into San Jose airport and drive down to Monterey. Which is only about and hour and a half drive. We wanted to get the ball running bright and early. Yea...for some reason that theory never works out. Mostly, because my husband is not a morning person. It did allow us to stay at this cute Arbor Inn. Who needs Santorini when you can have the blue and white splendor in Monterey? Me! I do! I can’t wait to get to Greece and see all its glory. Until then...welcome to my roadtrip!!! Quick story….So Brandon booked this place for the next day instead of that night. We arrived pretty late and everyone was sleep. We knocked and knocked and called until this lady came out in her pjs. She said since the reservation was made with Hotel.com they could not transfer. We would have to buy another night and the one we already booked was nonrefundable! What the!!!? We had no choice. Brandon quickly called Hotel.com and they had to speak with the lady, but we were able to get the money refunded. Phew! It didn’t take long for the ooo...and ahs to start. This little gem had no people on it! Score! Unfortunately, there was only time to gaze for a little while as we intended to get a good hike in at Big Sur. The theme of this trip should be are we in Hawaii?! There was just so much lush greenness. I felt like I was transported there without the long flight. Gorgeous right!? If you are not in love yet check this out! This drive is by far the best road trip I have done. I wish all road trips had a coastline attached. I would be more inclined to do them :-) Cows!!! Ok you see the white faced cow on the left? As soon as we pulled over and rolled the window down he stopped eating and just stared at us. It was so funny. It was like he was saying what the hell are you doing?! After a while he walked over and continued to stare, then he recruited a friend. All of this was hilarious! Alright! We arrive at Big Sur. Yay! Wait...what!?!? It’s closed due to a landslide. Noooooo….apparently there have been unseasonable amounts of rain which have caused the landslide. Yea...we never do our research. Man! Welp...I wanna come back everyday of my life so all is not lost. We will be back. In the meantime-FOOD! It was tough. There were two cute places across the street from each other. We decided to go with the Big Sur Roadhouse. It has a very modern feel instead. Very cozy. We asked the only bartender/waiter what was the best, and he recommended the tacos and the burger. We got both. The tacos were incredible and I highly recommend them. As we walked back to our car we couldn’t help but want to check the other place out. We thought we just stop in and have a coffee. Well you know...one thing lead to another and we decided to get chili too. Has this ever happened to anyone else? You cannot put two pretty locations right next to each other! But, now I can give you recommendations lol I much preferred the tacos over the chili.
So...since the park was closed and we still had the whole day pretty much, we decided to get on with the road trip. Our next adventure was to see the red woods at the Redwood National and State Park. We wanted to get a couple parks out the way. Even though we have to come back now. Redwoods is about an eight hour car ride. Ugh...stay tuned as the saga continues.
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Hey guys! I am on a road trip around Monterey and San Francisco California. Thus far it has been fantastic and I am really falling in love with Monterey, California. Have you been? If not you need to put it on your list. You will not be disappointed. If you have been following along on Instagram you can understand my love for this city. Since it is a road trip we are spending a ton of time in the car. I wanted to give you a little snip bit of the songs I am feeling at the moment. I will also add a few of some oldies but goodies that are on my phone now. Here ya go…
My May Monterey Playlist.
This is just a very small sample of what is in my playlist as of late. I am always looking for new music. I just like discovering period. So if you know any new songs that you can share let me know. Leave a comment below. Vegas!!! Who doesn’t love Vegas with all the nonstop partying? Vegas creates a magical grown up playground where most of your dreams can come true. It is definitely an experience everyone should have at least once. BUT...the strip is not all Vegas has to offer. There are people who actually live there. I am one of them. I want to be your resident guide to Vegas off the strip. I will try and highlight things you will definitely enjoy. Why not a hike? Have you ever seen those mountains giving an incredible backdrop to the strip? Well the grand majority can be hiked. You need to add a day hike to your Vegas extravaganza. You cannot beat the views from the tops of these mountains. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is probably the most popular hiking destination for tourist. It is only 25 mins from the strip. There are several hiking paths, but there is a fee to enter park. Who wants to do that? There are paths just outside of the gates that are fantastic. They are also FREE! Calico Basin I have hiked this path a few times. It will give you some great view of the red rocks and the strip. You can put Calico Basin into maps on your phone and it will take you to the road. Calico Basin is the exit right before the actual park. It is clearly marked by a street sign. Once you turn right on the street it curves a bit, and ahead you will usually see cars lined on the side of the streets. Parking is free as well and your car should be fine. The path to trail is straight ahead. You will see an open gate as you head down the path. The trail is unmarked, but from the start the path is very defined. You will follow the trail until it starts to veer into the actually rocks. Scrambling is needed for this hike. Now you can go as long or as short as you like. This hike goes from moderate to advance in the latter section. There are incredible views not that far up. You will see people rock climbing or even people doing tightrope walking. Crazy! In order to get this view you will scramble up a lot of rocks. Some upper body strength is definitely needed. You will go about an hour until you reach the saddle. Which is a curved section shaped like a horse's saddle. Once there you will see a crevice to your right. Time to use that upper body strength. Make your way up to the top. You cannot beat these views. The length of the hike depends mostly on you. I would plan for up to 2-3 hours. Not that it takes that long to do the hike. You are going to stop for breaks and pictures. Once you get to the top you will want to spend some time taking it all in, and perhaps have a snack. Tips for the hike:
1. Water! It is a desert after all. The sun is extremely strong. 2. Sunblock. Above reason. 3. Snacks. Might as well kick back and take in the view for awhile. You worked hard to get up there. 4. Arrive early. You want to beat the crowds and the heat. This is a great day hike. It will give you a taste of the beautiful red rocks. You get to see Vegas from a different perspective, and take in nature at it’s finest. There is a whole other world off the strip. If you have any questions just leave me a comment. I hope you enjoy it! Spring!!! I have been living in the desert for the last 4 years. So I kinda forgot about the spring, and pretty much all other seasons. I feel like I was given new eyes. The beauty that I encountered in Salt lake City was amazing! I’m in love!!! Seeing all the tulips and flowers makes me long to go to Holland now. I cannot wait to see the fields of tulips. In the meantime I am glad my senses were renewed in Salt Lake City. I did not expect all this beauty to be downtown. I have been to plenty of downtown's and I cannot recall such a display of flowers. The flowers decorating the square around the temple is impressive. I love going into churches because they are incredible works of art. Unfortunately, you cannot go into the temple. Sigh... Have you seen a capitol so beautiful? Besides you know Washington DC. It is an uphill journey to get there. But, the views once you get to the top are to die for. I just love the cherry blossoms against the snow capped mountains. Just beautiful! While you are downtown check out PulpLifestlyeKitchen. They had a happy hour from 4-6pm. It was half off their smoothies. I had the Tropic Thunder with whey. It was so delicious. They also have cold pressed juices and a full food menu. I had the cherry limeade and the mint ginger lemonade pressed juice. Soooo good! We were more in a mood for a burger so we did not get to eat there. I am sure it is all pretty tasty as everything is fresh. I highly recommend you check it out. We finally settled on So Co Handcrafted Southern Vittles. It said it did not open until 5pm. We decided to wait because the menu sounded tasty. We waited for about 30 mins. 5pm came and went and we were like what the hell is going on. Looked online and it was permanently closed! What!?!?! GRRR…
There was a bar right next door called the Whiskey Street Bar. We were starving so we gave it a shot. Man O Man! I had the Pork Belly Cuban. The flavors that marinated that meat...Yuuuuuuuum! I could have licked that plate. This was not the consolation prize. This was meant to be. Kiddos to you SLC! If you get the chance definitely make a weekend trip to their downtown. It is a nice day trip. I have been to other places near and around Salt Lake City. I never thought about going downtown. I am so glad I got to experience it at just the right time. |
AuthorTraveling makes my heart happy. My mission is to use words and pictures to inspire you to get out there and take in the beauty of our world. Archives
December 2019
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