For our first venture in the new trailer, we chose territory close to home -- Carmel and the Monterey peninsula.We settled into the nicely wooded, if crowded, Carmel River Park only a few miles east of downtown Carmel and the beach. Mike got to practice his "backing-up" skills -- a lot -- and we celebrated our first bivouac.
We did a little shopping in Carmel and visited my favorite breakfast cottage, the Tuck Box, for their terrific scones; but mostly we drove around and enjoyed the fabulous scenery. I was attracted to the unusual Pride of Madera plants that grow all over Carmel, and we made a brief visit to the pretty Carmel beach. While visiting Monterey, we solved one of our traveling problems by popping into the local Kinko's for an internet connection.
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We spent a day of on-again, off-again showers driving along the California Coast near Big Sur, where we were treated to gorgeous, if chilly, vistas. It was a relaxing day of beachcombing, cruising above the rocky coastline, and frustrating other drivers with our lolly-gagging.
One of the most incredible sights I saw was a surfer -- no lie -- doggedly paddling through the surly waves in the 50-degree water.
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Well-concealed in an otherwise uninspiring and scrubby landscape near Salinas, California, Pinnacles National Monument is a puzzling and delightful jumble of rocks. Here hikers can take a liesurely stroll in the flat valley, savor the coolness of a tree-lined stream, clamber among boulders tumbled willy-nilly like fallen Legos, or test their mettle with a stiff climb to the -- what else -- Pinnacles! Vultures and hawks soar over the rugged ridges, while songbirds brighten the meadow.
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Unfortunately, this was our last exploration on our maiden voyage. We were parked in our next campground, fast asleep, when a car rolled into our trailer! It was homeward bound for repairs -- after only five nights out!