marine | Helen Glynn Jones

This week I’m wandering to sunny California, and to a stretch of road known as 17 Mile Drive. It runs along the coast of the Monterey Peninsula, a small outcrop of land first mapped by Spanish explorers in 1602.

The road was laid out by a consortium of railroad barons, who purchased the land in the late 1800s and built the Hotel Del Monte. The drive was intended for use by hotel guests, taking in the scenic coastline and clear waters of Monterey Bay. It passed by forest and beaches, past landmarks such as the Lone Cypress and Bird Rock, joining up with Highway 1 to head further south. That was the route we were taking, heading down to Cambria after spending a night in Monterey, on our way to a family wedding.

It was a glorious sunny day, and we stopped several times to look around, amused by the small creatures that looked like a cross between a gopher and a squirrel, perched on the rocks.

We passed some lovely houses, mostly built in variations of a grand Victorian style, all with large windows looking out to sea. Pebble Beach is an exclusive gated community and home to the world famous Pebble Beach golf course, so that affluence can be seen in the waterfront homes along the way. However, I didn’t take any photos of the houses, choosing to focus instead on the lovely views of Monterey Bay.

In the distance you could just see the tips of the kelp forests floating on the surface, home to sea otters and other marine wildlife. We kept stopping to get out, taking photos and foraging for beach finds in the clear blue rockpools. However, we had somewhere to be and couldn’t linger too long, so we left our shells where we found them and hit the road once more.

As 17 Mile Drive joined Highway 1 we picked up speed, heading south along the spectacular California Coast. But that’s another Wednesday Wander. Thanks for coming on this one with me, see you next time…