AboutJoanneMiller.com

San Francisco to Monterey, Mother’s Day 2009
by Joanne Miller

Addresses and phone numbers are at the end of this article

See great Pix of this trip in my image gallery: www.aboutjoannemiller.com/imagegal

Travel isn’t just about seeing new places—it’s about seeing yourself more clearly. This trip started with a bad week–misinformation, bad communication and everything in between. I decided the best thing to do was arrange for a change of scene. I hadn’t been to the Monterey Aquarium in years, and it was time to see the latest version of the Pacific coastline.

It’s possible to follow the Great Highway from Ocean Beach all the way down to Pacifica, past the parti-colored houses of Daly City, but my preference is to rocket down I-280 and cross over on Rte. 82. From here, Hwy. 1 twists and turns like licorice. The cliffs edging the Pacific are dotted with villages fast on their way to becoming towns. Indulging my fondness for local dives, my first stop was at the Taqueria: El Gran Amigo in Moss Beach. They advertise “authentic Mexican food,” and they mean it—it’s like stopping off south of Tijuana, right down to the soaped-up windows and plank tables. The food was plain, cheap and filling (green chicken enchiladas with rice and beans, $7.50, burritos $5). In Moss Beach, many opt for the Moss Beach Distillery, once a funky place to stop for a beer and watch the sunset. You can still do those things, but funk has moved aside for signature handbags and upscale prices thanks to TV exposure.

Further down the road in Princeton-by-the-Sea (part of greater Half Moon Bay), check out Twice as Nice Consignments, mecca for the world’s dented goods. This place carries mark-downs of every stripe, and marks them down again. On any given day, you’ll find clothing, food, refrigerators, lawn furniture, glassware, gift sets, cosmetics etc. You may pass Barbara’s Fish Trap on the way there—a popular stop for lunch.

Hwy. 1 passes a number of scenic stops including Pescadero State Beach; turn east on Pescadero Rd. to Harley Goat Dairy in the village of Pescadero. Spring is a great time to visit; all the new kids are prancing around, and the shop sells the freshest goat cheeses you’ll ever taste. Duarte’s Tavern—another victim of too much exposure is also in town. The American menu is hearty, locally sourced, and more expensive than it used to be.

I spent the night at Pigeon Point Hostel, set in a state park and one of the most beautiful locations in the Hosteling International system. Pigeon Point is the site of a towering lighthouse, steps away from neat little dormitories that sleep six. My roommates were a mother/daughter team, two young women traveling together, and a globetrotting microbiologist (“I’m in proteins”). One of the hostel’s highlights is a hot tub that faces the setting sun, and at night the stars put on a light show to the sound of the ocean washing the rocks below.

Elephant seals lounge around the beaches at Ano Nuevo State Reserve. A one-mile trail leads out to the main beach through wind-shaped gorse and wildflowers; visitor numbers and times are restricted, so get there early in the day. During pup season (Dec.-March), ranger-led walks are by reservation only.

The entry into Santa Cruz Country is marked by the Earthworks—massive, crumbling ochre-colored cliffs on the east side of Hwy. 1 (also known locally as the Cabrillo Highway)—and dozens of colorful parasails and windsurfers off the beach. The kites rise and fall on the wind like the pelicans that buzz the beach, riding the thermals. If they had cash in those big bills they could stop by the Whale City Bakery Bar & Grill (aka Davenport Bakery Bar) is a local favorite place for breakfast lunch and dinner. The baked goods are fantastic, and they serve up a tasty burger (no fries) for $7. Down the street, the Davenport Roadhouse also serves up an equally good burger, with fries, in date-worthy surroundings ($17). The inn also offers rooms.

Entering the town of Santa Cruz, I had to stop at the place I almost drowned as a teen: I got caught in a rip-tide off Natural Bridges State Park. Nowadays, it features a much safer swim pond and lots of wildlife: it’s a pelican hang-out. If you’re in the mood to walk, there’s a lovely path that stretches from this park two miles to Lighthouse Field State Beach. A few blocks more through a residential/commercial district, and you’re at the famous Santa Cruz Boardwalk, with its rides, sugary beach, games, and food stands.

Monterey and Pacific Grove run together like Los Angeles suburbs. The big draw on the border between the two is the Monterey Bay Aquarium. As on every visit, what characterized it most were the crowds–though I was there on a holiday. The current exhibit, “Seahorses”, was fascinating, but I had to spend a considerable amount of time trying not to step on pint-sized visitors competing with me for window space. The kelp forest continued to glow as if lit from within, and the jellies shone with ghostly beauty. Is it a crime to entrap sentient beings such as otters and penguins in spaces the size of the average house? In spite of the comment of one visitor (“Oh, how cute! He’s playing with his toy.”), it was obvious that an otter with a plastic dish and a tag-team of penguins were trying to bust through the walls of their enclosures. The fish seemed more content, but I don’t speak grouper. Don’t pay for parking: drive a few blocks beyond the aquarium on Ocean View Blvd., park on the street (no meters), and walk back on the multi-use path, less than 10 minutes, maximum.

The most reasonable place to eat in the vicinity is right across from the aquarium: Archie’s American Diner. It’s fast food at its finest, but the quality is very good and the price reasonable (fish wraps $9). The only place in town that advertised itself as “vegetarian”, Tillie Gort’s Café, is a worthwhile stop. I enjoyed an eggplant pasta dish there in the evening (pasta Leah, $12.50).

I spent the night in the Sea Breeze Inn & Cottages near the west end of Lighthouse Ave. in Pacific Grove. The inn frequently offers specials on their website. It’s a pleasant, recently redone motel-like accommodation with a pool and hot tub across the street—don’t expect great views (unless you hanker for a sight of the back fence), but it’s wonderfully quiet (yes, that IS a cemetery down the street). A night’s stay comes with a quite good continental breakfast in the morning—an advantage, since it’s nearly a mile from downtown Pacific Grove. It’s only a few blocks from the road that winds around the peninsula, and walkers will delight in the nearby tidepools and beaches. The Pt. Pinos Lighthouse, the oldest in California, is a few minutes walk from the Inn.

Downtown Pacific Grove—once the ugly stepsister of Monterey—has come into its own. The revamped town center features boutique shops and eateries, all with a hometown feel. Holly’s Lighthouse Café is a local favorite for breakfast and lunch, and the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop around the corner is a good place to pick up original artwork.

On the way home, I cruised Castroville off Hwy. 1 near Moss Landing State Beach, popular with kayakers and fishermen. This dusty village comes alive for the artichoke fest in mid-May, then dies back like an unwatered field the rest of the year. I turned north on Hwy. 9 at Santa Cruz; the tiny villages tucked amongst the redwoods have morphed into mile after mile of luxury homes interspersed with shacks. In Boulder Creek, the charming Rainbow’s End Café serves up coffee treats and features a large playroom for the kids and a bathroom lined with LPs and album covers from the 60s. From there, continuing on Hwy. 9 and connecting with Rte. 35 north to I-280, the road becomes as scenic as anyone could wish.

The cares of the previous week had vanished thanks to a healthy infusion of new sights, sounds and people. Isn’t that what travel is about?

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-Taqueria: El Gran Amigo, 12448 Hwy. 1, Moss Beach,  650/728-3815.
-Moss Beach Distillery, 140 Beach Way, Moss Beach, 650/728-5595, www.mossbeachdistillery.com
-Twice as Nice Consignments, 202 California Ave., Princeton-by-the-Sea (right after the airport on Hwy. 1), 650/728-1708
-Barbara’s Fish Trap, 281 Capistrano Rd., Princeton-by-the-Sea, 650/728-7049
-Pescadero State Beach, 14.5 miles south of Half Moon Bay on Hwy. 1, www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=522
-Harley Goat Dairy, 205 North St., Pescadero, 650/879-0480, www.harleyfarms.com
-Duarte’s Tavern, 202 Stage Rd., Pescadero, 650/879-0464, www.duartestavern.com
- Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park, 20 miles south of Half Moon Bay on Hwy. 1, www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=533
-Pigeon Point Hostel, 210 Pigeon Point Rd., Pescadero,  650/879-8632 (hot tub must be reserved after 6PM), www.norcalhostels.org/pigeon/
-Ano Nuevo State Reserve, 55 miles south of San Francisco on Hwy. 1, www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=523
-Whale City Bakery Bar & Grill, Hwy. 1, Davenport, 831/423-9803
- Davenpor Roadhouse andt Inn, 1 Davenport Ave., Davenport, 831/426-8801 x101, www.davenportroadhouse.com
-Natural Bridges State Beach, Delaware Ave., Santa Cruz, 831/423-4609, www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=541
-Lighthouse Field State Beach, 701 West Cliff Dr., Santa Cruz, 831/420-5270, www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=550
-Santa Cruz Boardwalk, 400 Beach Street, Santa Cruz, 831/423-5590, www.beachboardwalk.com
-Monterey Bay Aquarium, 886 Cannery Row, Monterey, 831-648-4800, www.montereybayaquarium.org
-Archie’s American Diner, 125 Ocean View Blvd., 103, Pacific Grove, 831/375-6939
-Tillie Gort’s Café, 111 Central Ave., Pacific Grove, 831/373-0335, www.tilliegortscafe.com
-Sea Breeze Inn & Cottages, 1100 Lighthouse Ave., Pacific Grove, 800/575-1805, www.montereyinns.com
-Pt. Pinos Lighthouse, Lighthouse Ave., Pacific Grove, 831/648-5716, www.pgmuseum.org
-Holly’s Lighthouse Café, 602 Lighthouse Ave., Pacific Grove, 831/372-7006
-St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop, Forest Ave. between Lighthouse and Laurel, Pacific Grove
-Moss Landing State Beach, 16 miles north of Monterey on Hwy. 1. www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=574
-Rainbow’s End Café, 13266 Hwy. 9, Boulder Creek, 650/338-1899