Our plan for the day was to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, not only a place that brought us back to our childhoods, but also one of the best and most informational aquariums around. We were able to follow another designated bike path all the way into Monterey, and we stopped at a ritzy looking cafe located near the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa. The hotel was stunning, and offered up the feel of a mediterranean villa. It seemed like the kind of place that I could get a room for one night that would easily cost more than my entire trip.
After spending a couple hours at the cafe, it was now past 10am and we the aquarium was open. On our way there we stopped by a grocery store and got some food. At the store we talked with a cyclist that worked for the aquarium, and he said if he didn't have someplace to be he would have gotten us in for free. It was a nice thought, but more of a tease than anything else. Another good thing about traveling with somebody is that it's easy to eat well, for cheap by making your own food. We spent $4 each and were able to make yummy pesto/cream cheese/turkey wraps with spring greens, tomato and onion...and ate 2 each. Although we were short on ride time, our appetites still didn't subside.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is awesome, and I definitely find a lot of joy there. The sea otters are one of my favorite exhibits, but the million gallon tank is super impressive, and I can't help but love the sea horses, jellyfish, sharks, sea birds, and engaging in all the hands on exhibits where one can touch urchins, decorator crabs, sea cucumbers, starfish, kelp, and even sting rays. We ended up spending over 3.5 hours there (much more time than expected) and I walked away feeling a little more conscious about the fish I choose to eat. There is an app for smart phone users called 'Seafood Watch' that is put out by Monterey Bay Aquarium that I would recommend downloading if you're a seafood lover. I just the past 100 years we have depleted many of the the resources that the ocean provides, but by changing a few of our habits and making a few wiser decisions, the ocean will once again thrive.
James and I were both famished by the time we left the aquarium, so we stopped to eat again before hitting the road. It was getting late and we needed to continue south if we were going to make any miles. At the time I really didn't want to get back on my bike but knew that just a little pedaling would get me motivated. There was some beautiful scenery ahead of us. We followed the coast most of the way, rode down 17 Mile Drive among some incredible houses, hit pebble beach and then hit Scenic Road through Carmel. I guess that doesn't mean anything if you haven't ever been to the area, but it was gorgeous to say the least. At one pony I stopped to look at a flyer on a house that was for sale. The 6000sqft property a couple blocks off the beach was going for a steal at $8.2 million. I mean, it was nice, but I had a hard time contemplating first how much money that actually was, and second why anybody would pay that much for that property. There couldn't have been more than 1/3 acre of land, surrounded by neighbors, and the house itself didn't impress me much. The property taxes alone were probably more than what I'd pay for a place to live. Anyway, I guess for that price I can think of a lot of other things I'd rather do than live in Carmel. It really poses a big question about worth, wealth and values.
We stopped to watch a beautiful sunset at Carmel Beach, took some pictures and decided to keep going. I don't think either of us could live with only making it 20 miles for the day, plus Carmel didn't seem like a good place to try to find camp. On our way out of town we rode by a beautiful mission, and I kind of wished we would've been able to see it with more light. At the edge of town we stopped at another grocery store to get some more food before trekking toward Big Sur.
I'm glad James was there to help me keep motivated because when it really started to get dark I was looking for the nearest place to camp. The Cabrillo Highway was hilly in this section, but hills have become the norm and when it gets cold after dark they're actually somewhat welcomed. The road was windy, but traffic was light. I had a feeling that we were missing some awesome scenery, but the day had already been full of views so I wasn't too worried about it. At some point along the way a woman in a little pickup truck stopped to see if we wanted a ride. Her name was Haley, she was 6ft tall and blond and referred to herself as the Amazon from Apple Ridge. James' initial reaction was to deny the ride, but I figured that since this was the first ride I had been offered in over 1000 miles (oh yeah, I had passed the 1000 mile mark that day) I thought we should take her up on it.
Haley drove us into the town of Big Sur, where she had spent her whole life and was the third generation living on her family's land. Along te way we passed our tortoise like friend Austen, who was only a couple miles ahead of us. We were dropped off at a bar where they had just closed the kitchen, and we were directed down the road to the Fernwood Restaurant to eat. James and I split a massive order of nachos, which ended up being the cheapest way for us to eat there. We definitely weren't disappointed with our decision and not only enjoyed the meal, but walked away full. There was some local entertainment that we stuck around to watch and talked with a few people that were just hanging around the bar. The bartender directed us to a State Park with Hiker/Biker camping just down the road so we headed off down the way.
At camp we each decided to end our day with a warm shower, which made us realize all the more that laundry would need to be done soon. It was past midnight by the time we got our tents set up and fell asleep. I was happy to have found two trees to hang my hammock from, and once again we were sleeping among the redwoods.
Miles: 40
RRD: $8 million homes
-D
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