Monterey, California

Day 14 - 19:  Thursday - Wednesday, January 31 – February 6, Laguna Seca County Park, Monterey, CA

We perched on top of a hill in these rolling hills around the Weather Tech Raceway.  In previous years here, we always saw lots of car or motorcycle action on the raceway, but nothing is scheduled for the next few days.  The water here is not recommended for drinking (arsenic, 21 parts per million, well above the recommended high of 10 ppm), so we will use the water in our tank, then rely on bottled water for drinking and cooking.  I went for a walk around the park before dinner, through some of the campgrounds here that are not open this time of year.  We are having our happy hours inside, swapping between the rigs, because it is too cold to sit outside and enjoy the view!  Jim and I are continuing to watch the Bosch series, really enjoying it.

The view southwest from our campsite

Our campsite (on the left) from the top of the hill in the campground

Friday, we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a wondrous place.  Its mission is to inspire conservation of the ocean.  We saw the otters being fed and the diver in the main huge tank called the Kelp Forest.  We saw a movie on three mammals that migrate along the Pacific Coast between Alaska and Baja California, gray whales, elephant seals, and brown pelicans.  Great photography!  Had a delicious lunch at the café.

Octopus and a small girl

Sea anemones

Who is in the aquarium?

Sardines swimming in a current.  Notice open mouths!

The jellyfish exhibit is wonderful.

All moving gently with the current

Francis Bacon lived 1561 - 1626, an English philosopher and statesman.

Saturday morning, I walked from the campground, up the hill across the way and into an area called Ford Ord National Monument, rolling hills that are full of trails.  I saw a shooting star, also some runners participating in a 30- mile event.  Saturday afternoon, we drove up to the Eklhorn Slough Visitor Center.  It was February 2, World Wetlands Day!  This was a farm which now is a property that protects the estuary and riparian areas here from development.  We saw White-Crowned and Golden-Crowned Sparrows, Yellow-Rumped Warblers, and many water birds.  We walked across a bridge out and around an island.  We could not have kayaked at Elkhorn Slough even if the weather was better, because the road to the launch spot is closed!  On the way back we went to Safeway and stocked up on groceries, fending off certain starvation.

More rainy weather on the way

Shooting stars.  I remember my Mom showing me those on the hill behind our house in about 1950.

Fort Ord National Monument, full of hilly trails!

Elkhorn Slough, looking toward the ocean.

Pretty pool on the island at Elkhorn Slough

Handsome California Gull

Long-Billed Curlew

Great Egret and Little Egret

Bird yet to be identified

Viewing with binoculars along the path

Rainbow to brighten the day.

Sunday the rain and wind intensified.  The last few nights we have been awakened by downpours on the RV roofs, and have worn waterproof jackets on any outdoor excursion, including walking up to take a shower!  Experiencing showers on the way to showers!  Sunday was Super Bowl day.  We watched the first part at Jan and Dwayne’s rig, having our snacks, and the second half in our rig, with chicken enchiladas and salad.  We were rooting for the Rams, unfortunately!

Monday the rain and wind hit us even harder, with even some hail!  Mainly an indoor day.  Jim and Dwayne have been spending a lot of time working on an airplane project, while Sarah stays alert for any possible food drops.  I walked down the hill from the campground and back up the 16% slope to the campground, which warmed me up.  We had a great dinner at Louie Linguini’s down in Monterey.  It has been too cold and wet to take the bikes down to the Monterey Bay Trail.

Project time!

Tuesday was a rainy, plane project morning for Jim and Dwayne, with Sarah watching carefully. I think she associates people sitting at tables with falling food. There is snow at home, and snow visible on the hills around here!  A nip to the air!  We drove out to Point Lobos in the afternoon, hiked around the beautiful shore.  There were lots of sea otters in Whaler’s Cove, even mamas with babies on their chests!  The geology here is very interesting, with bold headlands, irregular covers, and offshore rocks.  The igneous rock is 80 million years old, the more easily eroded sedimentary rock 55 million years old.  Back at camp, we watched Trump’s State of the Nation address while eating Jan’s crockpot chicken.  We enjoyed the chicken a lot, Trump not so much.

Point Lobos

Jan and Dwayne.  We saw a sea otter near this spot.

Crashing waves on the rocks.  A beautiful day!

Are those dark bumps critters?

Enjoying the ocean view!

Sea otter!

Mamas and babies in Whaler Cove!

We have had some system challenges here.  Our hot water heater got overheated, spitting water out an escape valve and causing systemic water loss.  We do not have full hookups here, so have been commuting to the camp background for showers, etc.  We did make it through the week with the water in our tank, not wanting to use campground water because of the arsenic content.

Fellow tried to pull forward through the grass to get into a back-in space!

Had to be pulled out by a tow truck!