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Like the swallows of San Juan Capistrano, I return to a certain point each year. My trek starts on the North 101 Highway, up through San Luis Obispo. Once I hop onto California Highway 1, I feel the stirrings of adventure.
There are many wonderful places to stop along the way — Pismo Beach, Avila Beach, Cambria, San Simeon, Santa Maria, Big Sur — but my ultimate destination is always the same: the Monterey Peninsula.
The peninsula encompasses Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel and most recently Salinas, which is transforming from farmland to an upscale tourist destination (John Steinbeck would be shocked!).
Carmel has art galleries galore, antique stores, fine dining, wine tasting, spa getaways, shopping and of course, Clint Eastwood. Two miles north of downtown Carmel is Point Lobos State Reserve, a photographer’s paradise, where visitors can experience the rugged coastline amid sea otters, elephant seals and migrating whales.
Pacific Grove, with its rows and rows of historic Victorian and Queen Ann style homes, has the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, where hundreds of Monarch butterflies congregate after making their journey from Mexico. It is also one of the gateways into the “17-mile Drive” through the famed Pebble Beach Golf Resort where the likes of Tiger Woods and others have competed. But you don’t have to be a golfer to appreciate the 17-mile Drive, which will take you through some spectacular seascapes and the famed “Lone Cypress Tree.”
Monterey is home to the world famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, which can easily take an entire day to go through. Nearby is historic Cannery Row and Fisherman’s Wharf, which Steinbeck memorialized in the book, “Grapes of Wrath,” and today have been converted into shopping malls.
Steinbeck’s legacy is remembered at the Steinbeck Museum, 20 miles away in Salinas. The new University of California at Monterey campus is on this route to Salinas, on Highway 68.
The Monterey Peninsula has so much to offer and to explore. And this is why I return again and again.
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