Turtle Tales: Day 13 - Point Pinos and Point Sur Lighthouses

Today our plan was to visit the Point Pinos and Point Sur Lighthouses, and we were not disappointed! In order to get to the Point Pinos Lighthouse located in Pacific Grove, we had to pass through Monterrey, California, and I absolutely fell in love with this town! It is a mixture of old and new Monterrey, and as a result the city has many variations of architecture to see!

The Point Pinos Lighthouse was located just off the 10th tee of the Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Course! Although it was closed to the public today, it was visible enough for picture taking. This lighthouse is the oldest standing/operating lighthouse on the west coast. The third-order fresnel lens installed in 1855 still shines today!

We then drove through Carmel-by-the Sea, another quaint seaside town, and drove on highway California 1 to the Point Sur Lighthouse. If you have never been to California and driven on this highway, you are missing out on one of the most scenic rides ever - and you really need to add this drive to your bucket list! We stopped several times to take pictures, but pictures just aren't the same as experiencing it in the moment! I had many spiritual moments today - just taking in the wonder of it all! Of course I have to admit there were times when I was a little freaked out because you're driving on a two lane highway high above the cliffs overlooking the Pacific, and for 90% of the ride there are no guardrails. Not that they would do any good should a vehicle take the plunge, but I would have felt much better knowing that they were there! One piece of the highway passes over the Little Sur River, and you cross a bridge which I think you will recognize when you view the pictures below. It has been used in many automobile television commercials - very picturesque......

The Point Sur lighthouse is located on a "mountain" (high cliff in the pacific) close to the town of Big Sur, and is only open to the public on the weekends and Wednesdays, on a first -come, first serve basis. Obviously, our timing was off - but I'm not so sure I would go up that cliff without a tranquilizer or two! The lighthouse was automated in 1972 , eliminating the need to climb 395 steps nightly to light the light! At that time a rotating aero-beacon replaced the original first-order fresnel lens! After taking pictures from the highway, we proceeded to the town of Big Sur and spent some time walking the dogs and just taking in the scenery and quaint shops in the area.

On our way back to our RV, we passed many fields of veggies which we did not recognize - but the mystery was solved when we passed by the town of Castroville and it was advertised as the artichoke capital of the world! Who would have guessed!?!

When we returned to the RV park, we did housekeeping chores and laundry and prepared for our departure tomorrow morning. We are hoping to get close to Fort Bragg, California tomorrow so we can do some sea glass hunting on the beach there on Thursday. We have a collection of sea glass at home, most of which we have acquired at Magnolia Beach, so we are excited to see what the shores of California has to offer in comparison.

We hope you aren't too overwhelmed by the pictures today, but there is so much we want to share with you! Enjoy!