Chipboard to Marble!

We managed to get through our third and final night at the Heritage Marina SF. We were only woken three times during the night. Reception was as rude on the way out as they were on the way in. So we said goodbye to San Francisco after driving down Lombard street and headed for Highway 1 and the south coast. We did enjoy SF and will definitely come back again.

Santa Cruz was our lunchtime stop. There is a huge wharf that you drive onto and park. It has shops and restaurants along its length. We enjoyed our fish and chip lunch with a view of the beach volleyball nets and the fun park over the sea with a few dolphins for additional entertainment. The resident sea lions that live under the wharf were calling in the background as a seagull waited patiently to see if there was any lunch left for him - the body of the gulls here are as big as a large chickens'!

We popped in to Monterey on the way to Carmel and our accommodation for the next two nights. Champagne on arrival. Large rooms with private courtyard overlooking the heated pool and spa. Down mattress and comforter. In the evening they come to turn down your bed, top up your bottled water (their own label) and give you the weather and activities update for the next day. It is so quiet here! David and Claire arrived early in the evening and we enjoyed dinner at Café Stravaganza.

After a leisurely walk to the clubhouse for breakfast we drove to Carmel and spent a few hours wandering around the shops and beach. We can understand why people escape the cities and

flock to these gorgeous seaside towns.

After lunch we headed to the Carmel Mission which is slowly being resorted after falling into disrepair many years ago - just beautiful!

Dinner tonight was at the Baja Cantina which is in a group of shops not far from our rooms. We arrived just as they were starting their luck ticket draw. Detlef won a bottle of wine and Claire won a T-shirt! Huge meals - Mexican style - great stuff.

Two photos at Carmel-by-the-sea and one at Carmel Mission.