Monterey and the 17 Mile Drive

I hate traffic.  And I’ll admit that I’m one of those who yell at the other cars like they can honestly hear me – I know they can’t but I still do it anyway (although I am rather curtious when it comes to using my horn).  But the 17 mile drive through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach on the Monterey Peninsula in California is surely one to take your time on.  No yelling for me this time.

N and I decided to make a pit stop in Monterey before officially starting the 17 miles. I have mixed feelings about this decision: 1) we got to experience Monterey and N had a really good seafood lunch at one of the local restaurants overlooking the water, although 2) we hardly made it through the stops with enough sunlight to see them in daylight, BUT 3) we were greeted with the most beautiful sunset as we got to the last stops on our list.  Limited time and poor planning on our part. Oh well.

We hadn’t planned it out too well, and had no clue just how time consuming the drive would be.  Not the driving itself per say, but the number of places we pulled over to see the views (it took us forever to get through the whole drive because we I kept stopping to take pictures).  He will appreciate these one day, lets hope.


With 21 guided stops along the way, it is most definitely hard to pick and choose which ones to highlight.  The stops I remember being the most memorable are:
Huckleberry Hill
Poppy Hills Golf Course
The Restless Sea
Cypress Point Lookout
The Lone Cypress
The Ghost Tree
Pebble Beach

Some pictures commemorating our drive, in no particular order:

You have to pay $10 at the start of the drive (mostly because part of it serves as the main road through the gated community of Pebble Beach).  But let me tell you, it is well worth it.  Consider yourself 2 starbuck latte’s short one week.  Humungous crashing waves.  Peaceful forests.  Turquoise waters.  California really does have a spectacular coastline.

GO SEE FOR YOURSELF.  FOR 10 BUCKS, YOU CAN’T BEAT IT.