Pinnacles, Pebble Beach, Carmel Mission Basilica, Big Sur, CA

Yesterday, we drove about an hour to visit Pinnacles National Park, coming into the park through Paicines (a beautiful drive). As it turns out, hiking is the primary activity in the park and, while we enjoy a hike from time to time, we were not prepared for it today. Our bad... should have done more research about the park.

Despite this, we enjoyed the drive and did a little bird-watching at the park. Among more common birds, we also spotted a Western Blue Bird and a Stellar's Jay. There are Condors in Pinnacles National Park and (according to a Ranger we talked with) they can often be seen in the late afternoon, circling high in the sky during their hunt. Sadly, we could not stay that long and had to leave the Condor-sighting to others. We had a picnic lunch with us, and ate our goodies under some trees while watching the antics of several ground squirrels. It was a very peaceful and pleasant way to spend the day.

Today we enjoyed the Pebble Beach 17-mile drive, visited the San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission, and took a scenic drive down to Big Sur. It was all good!

The Pebble Beach 17-mile drive is a scenic road through the (very exclusive) gated community of Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsular. It hugs the coastline and passes super-elite golf courses, multi-million dollar mansions, and natural attractions such as Bird Rock and the 5,300-acre Del Monte Forest of Monterey Cypress trees. To enjoy all this, you have to pay a toll of $10... I suppose this helps keep casual traffic to a minimum. We entered at California State Route 1 and exited at Carmel, which put us within a few minutes of the San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission.

The San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission was the second mission in California, and served as the headquarters of the Alta California (Spanish territory) missions headed by Father Junipero Serro. When he died in 1784, Father Serro was buried beneath the chapel floor. By the mid-19th century, the mission buildings had fallen into ruin but were restored/recreated beginning in 1884 under the careful supervision of Harry Downie as curator. As a result of Downie's meticulous oversight, the San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission is one of the most authentically restored of all mission churches in California and is the only one to have its original bell tower. The San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission is also the location of the Junipero Serra School, a private Catholic school for kindergartners through 8th grade.

We explored the buildings and found the inside of the chapel to be gorgeous. We also enjoyed walking around the serene garden areas, with plants ranging from cactus to rose bushes to bougainvillea, all overlooked by various statuary.

After our visit to the mission, we got back on California State Route 1 and headed south for a scenic drive from Carmel to Big Sur. The beauty of this stretch of California coastline is renowned, and for good reason. Below are a few photos: