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Tracy's Tumbleweed Travels--October 7 - 10, 2005 the Central California Coast

October 7 - 10, 2005 marks an extremely special time for me. I took a trip to visit my two (nearly grown) children in California. They have lived with their father for the last 4 years and this was my first time back to California in nearly 10 years. I normally only get to see Nicholas and Natalie once (or less) per year so this trip was a blessing beyond words. It was just the 3 of us together again. I flew in to Oakland, picked them up in Vallejo and off we went to the Monterey Bay, Carmel and Big Sur for the time of our lives.

My wonderful husband, Jeff, was my hero. He was absolutely the single most enabling force for me to do all this. In addition to his encouragement and support, he stayed home and held down the fort with the business and our little boys (Jared & Jacob) while I was away for the long weekend. I am *sew* thankful and truly blessed.

I hope you enjoy the pictures I've selected to share. There really were so many good ones, but I tried to pick only the best to give you a good summary of the trip.

Friday and Saturday: Carmel, Monterey, Ft. Ord, Big Sur click thumbnails below to view larger images in a new window -- close window to return to this page
Nick & Nat on Carmel River Beach Friday evening.	Natalie and me on Carmel River Beach Friday evening.	Nick's car (NOT!). Nick fell in love with this Porsche parked in front of a Carmel Art Gallery.
Nick & Nat pose in front of the Hog's Breath Inn (the famous Carmel restaurant formerly owned by Clint Eastwood).	Saturday morning sunrise on the Monterey Bay. This picture taken from the fishing pier near Fisherman's wharf.	A pelican flying around by the wharf on Saturday morning.
Isn't my Natalie beautiful?!	Nick & Nat on the pier.	Two sea lions play under & around the pier...notice the kelp -- the Monterey Bay has a very rich kelp forest.
Turkeys in front of Nick's old school on Ft. Ord. Nick went to 1st Grade at this school, Marshall Elementary on Ft. Ord. Ft. Ord is closed and the school looks like it is being converted to something else now.	Why did the turkeys cross the road?!	Big Sur Coastline...this shot was taken from a turnout along Highway 1. Isn't the view spectacular?
Pristine, raw energy beckons my soul...still I dream of this place.	Look at how clear this water is? No, I have not altered the pictures. It was even more spectacular in person.	Highway 1 suspension bridge and coastline. Notice the house at the very top of the hill behind the bridge.
Nick & Nat make friends with the horses while we wait to ride. We arrived early so we had plenty of time to acclimate.	What a treat! While we were waiting to ride, this hummingbird zoomed in and gave us a show.	Nat's on...and we're almost ready to take off for our 2 1/2 hour trail ride through Big Sur (at Andrew Molera State Park).
Here we go...	We saw the redwoods, lots of deer in the meadows and crossed the river 3 times. Now we've made it to the beach!	I was able to snap a quick pic of this surfer from atop my horse while riding on the beach!
Our trail guide was kind enough to snap these two pics of Nick & Nat & me.		We're heading back now! WHAT an awesome ride with breathtaking views and so much more.

Sunday and Monday: Pacific Grove, Monterey Whale Watching and Sausalito/SF Bay Area click thumbnails below to view larger images in a new window -- close window to return to this page
We stopped for pastries at my very most favorite pastry shop in the entire world before we left for our Whale Watching cruise! Patisserie Bechler is located at 1225 Forest Avenue Pacific Grove, CA 93950 Phone: (831) 375-0846 Everything is made fresh every day from only the freshest REAL ingredients...it is authentic French pastry at its best. Patisserie opened at 7AM on Sunday morning and we were there! YUMMMMY!	Our boat just left the pier...it's a 70 foot boat and we're taking off on a 4 - 5 hour whale watching cruise on the Monterey Bay. We will go out approximately 15 miles into the bay and see a LOT of marine mammal life.	Seals and sea lions sun themselves on the rocks of the sea wall in front of Fishermans Wharf (see picture of the other side of this wall in the center of the row below).
These guys are playful and follow us out.	We've rounded the sea wall and we're heading out into the bay.	In just a few short minutes, we've hit pretty dense fog.
Nat watches diligently for signs of whales.	Nick caught me...I hate having my picture taken!	The very first sighting of a humpback whale.
We have a marine mammal expert on board (part of the crew) who gives us a quick class on humpback whales.	We spotted this pair of whales that appears to be feeding and swimming together.
The fog has burned off and we have found another humpback whale (blowing in this picture) with a dolphin playing nearby.	We came upon a RARE sighting of hundreds of dolphins playing and splashing together.	Dolphins play between our boat and another "sister" vessel also on a whale watching cruise.
So MANY dolphins...the pictures can not capture just how many HUNDREDS of them there are. They are everywhere.	An albino dolphin swims along side our boat. How cool is that!	These dolphins swim just under my feet a-- I'm standing at the bow of the boat. Notice how CLEAR the water is. Incredible.
More humpbacks: Heads or Tails?	WOWZERS!!! We've spotted Killer Whales! This was not at all expected and such a treat.	The Killer Whales -- see the baby blow?
Monday afternoon -- taking Nick & Nat back home, we stop in Sausalito for lunch on the water. It was a beautiful end to a marvelous trip. I feel more abundantly blessed than I can describe with words. It was an amazing time and very, very hard to say good-bye.

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