Uncle Jim

After leaving Monterey, we headed north to San Jose, to stay with my Uncle - Jim.

At 82, he's still more than able to put you down, make you laugh and beat you to a seat.

We got there about midday so we were ready to eat. After the Hello's were said, and the slight disappointment of finding out that none of my cousins were in town, we set down for the first 'proper' handmade meal of the trip.

(Chicken, salad and some bread if you were wondering)

After that came the strawberries. I don't like them, so Lindsey and Jim had a go at the 4lb box on their own.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing by the pool and figuring out what we would do for the next couple of days.

"What is there around here?" we asked.

"Nothing really. How would you like to go to Tahoe?" came the reply.

After some umming and ahhing (from me), it was decided that we'd go early the next day and come back the day after. The 500-or-so miles that it would add to the trip would at the time seem a lot, but ultimately they were very much worth it.

We drove up to Jim's 'little cabin' at South Lake Tahoe in just under four hours. It hadn't had visitors for a few months, so the essentials - water, electricity and so on... - needed switching on before we could settle down. It was my first time there in 20+ years, and the memories came flooding back.


That evening, we went for a pizza and a look round town. The oddest thing about Tahoe is that the lake straddles two states, you can see where Nevada starts by the massive casino that appears just over the State Line.

The only real problem with Tahoe - it's altitude. Once again, the Altitude Sickness Monster bit me quite hard. Good job we were only there for a night really! The next morning Lindsey and I went out to the lake - before the crowds got there - had a bit of a paddle and took some great photographs.

We drove back to Jim's via Pixar. Pictures were taken of a very excited me outside the main gates. I met a fellow photographer who wanted his photo taking with the gates in the background, and who am I to refuse? After a quick photo or two and a handshake goodbye, it was my turn to get a couple of pics.

We headed back to Jim's, went out for a meal and got packed for our early start the next day.


San Francisco was calling, and we'd be driving there in morning rush-hour... wish us luck!

PCH & Monterey/ Carmel

Finally... after 15 years of wanting to drive it, I got to drive on the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH or Highway 1 to it's friends) 


 Finally... after 15 years of dreaming about the views, the tight and undulating roads, I got to drive the PCH. 

Finally... after 15 years... it would happen in thick fog. Hang on. That's not right. It's meant to be sunny and beautiful, dramatic and inspiring. Not blanketed in fog. But it was, so on went the fleeces and off we went. 


Regardless of the weather, the PCH is still a great road, the undulations and views are still there (not obviously the views aren't as impressive as they would be if you could see the sea), and the feel is still there. 


The fog did make for an interesting sight though. As it moved in from the sea, it would billow over the road and onto the rocks to the side. This left a small triangular tunnel that you were actually driving through... it was a weird, yet oddly beautiful effect - one I've never seen before. There were the occasional breaks in the fog (even though you could see it hanging about out at sea). 

When it cleared though, it was simply stunning...

Monterey

Even the cacti ROCK!

We pulled up at the hotel, tried (not all that successfully) to ignore the fact that we were on the flightpath for Monterey airport, and got ready to go out. Noticing that we had a small fridge in the room, Lindsey offered to go out and get some beers. It would seem that, along with your usual medicines, you can also buy wine and beer at CVS pharmacy's. Weird.


Monterey is a lovely old place - like a miniature San Francisco (minus the bridges). It's very relaxed and does a LOT of good seafood. 


After getting some food, and Doug being told that we was being fined for charity for 'smiling in the street' - yeah.. that really happened we headed back to the hotel to plan our next day...


...


... Which was to be spent at the world-class, and very famous Monterey Bay Aquarium


We had a great day there. Doug found out just how hard it is to photograph fish, Lindsey discovered that Seahorses aren't really ridable. We both discovered that enormous panes of glass with millions of gallons of water behind them are incredibly impressive. 

  

Our final day there was spent in Carmel. Once governed by Clint Eastwood, it's a charming, quaint little town that plays off Eastwood's legend quite a lot more than I expected it would. Once again, it was overcast and cold. Needless to say, Lindsey had a paddle...


Fun fact: The wearing of high heels is outlawed in Carmel.