After we finished touring Hearst Castle, we continued on our way north along Route 1. Hearst Castle itself is nestled on a hilltop high above San Simeon. Its immediate surroundings are the steep, rocky slopes and deep ravines of the St Lucia Coastal Range which follows the California coastline for some time.
As we headed north, we passed through many a state forest, such as the San Padres. And as we headed north, we soon came upon winding, mountain roads where sometimes it was necessary to do 25mph turns. This went on for ages and ages. It reminded me of driving over the Clyde back home, except that this went on for much, much longer. Thankfully, the monotony of constant, winding roads was broken with the occasional stretch of straight road which, sooner or later, returned to being winding. The road followed the Pacific coast, but sometimes you went a little inland. Sometimes you would be at sea level. Then the road would climb very high, and the ocean would drop well away below. Soon, you would be at sea level again. A couple of times, we crossed some amazing looking bridges. For the benefit of travellers fed up with the winding road, the route offers regular restaurants, cafes and camping grounds to stop and take refreshment.
When the road travels inland, the driver is shaded by oak, cypress, redwood and other vegetation. At the coast, the northbound driver is dwarfed to the right by towering hills and mountains, and, to the left, by the vast, open ocean. Often, the mountains are bleak with patchy, golden-brown grasses or they contain vegetation no taller than a shrub.
Yesterday, on the approach to San Simeon, and again today, we noticed that along the coast, only metres out from the beach, rocks of all sizes jutt out of the water. This situation continues unabated as you move along the route. You could almost call them the thousand apostles. Seagulls, squirrels, elephant seals and pelicans can be seen along the way. And at Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula where we finally arrived at 4.45, there are also Pacific harbor seals, but we didn't see any.
After checking into the Monarch Resort, we drove down into Pacific Grove and along to nearby Monterey, which seems pleasant enough. Jean remembers being here before as a young girl with her parents. We ate dinner by the marina at Fisherman's Wharf. There's also a Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.
Rocks jutt out of the water all along the coast.
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