February 29, 2012
Drive the Monterey and Pacific Grove coastline on the Monterey Bay when you go to Carmel. This will be an adventure as you never know what type of weather you may encounter – sun, fog, rain. The views are fabulous.
Be sure to stop, get out of your car and explore – watch the sea otters play in the kelp beds and hear the sharp crack of an abalone being opened for lunch by one of these creatures.
When I turned around from watching the sea otters, I found this special image of Point Pinos Lighthouse. I remember a professional photo image from Monterey CVB website of this ~ I found the exact spot to add to my own collection.
 |
| Point Pinos Lighthouse, Monterey Bay, with smiles DWest |
Point Pinos Lighthouse (stands for point of the pines) is a perfect name for this rugged area of the Monterey coastline and was named by the Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaino in 1602. This cape-cod style lighthouse is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the west coast (Since Feb. 1, 1855) and is a National Historic Landmark.
The Lightkeepers
A not so common and different profession is that of a Lightkeeper. I found this website with fun stories of all of the Lightkeepers. The first lightkeeper was Charles Layton, appointed to the post at $1000 per year. The most famous lightkeeper was Mrs. Emily Fish, who served from 1893 to 1914. She was called the "Socialite Keeper" due to her love of entertaining guests at the lighthouse.
 |
| On the way to Point Pinos Dwest |
Hours of Operation:
Thursday-Monday
1 p.m.-4 p.m.
Saturday - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Suggested Donation:
$ 5 - Adults
$ 2 - Youth
Do you want to see the California coast? Come with me...
Celebrating this Leap Day going off the beaten path ~ The Fun Tour Guru
Many thank you's of travel sources for this article which I get detailed background information from some favorite travel writers below. I do wander through this region quite often. I prepared our Monterey E-Guide that you may download or print and take with you on your trip.
Writers
Northern California Off the Beaten Path, Mark R. Williams
Best Places Central California Coast , Judith Babcock Wylie
 |
| By DWest |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you with your interest!