The Lone Cypress tree is found near Monterey, California. It's along the 17 Mile Drive through an ultra luxurious golf community. If you ever watch golf, you have probably heard of Pebble Beach, there are five golf courses nestled in and around the most incredible coastal scenery. The Lone Cypress is just one of many points of interest along this drive, keep in mind, there is a $12.25 entry fee per vehicle to travel along this road.
There are a few entrances to this road, one is near Carmel beach. We are at the North End of this beach, looking towards the pebble beach golf course. You can make out some players up on the cliffs. The tide is low and we were out for a morning stroll along the beach.
Here we are looking out towards the north end of the Beach. Carmel-by-the-Sea is a town that is more of a well manicured garden I wrote about in a previous post. Walking along the seashore past very expensive but stunning properties is a pleasure. The views are unparalleled.
The Pacific Ocean brings a Mediterranean climate to coastal California. The weather is almost always perfect, light jackets in the Spring and T-shirts during the day in the fall. It is never too hot or too cold as the prevailing ocean winds regulate the temperature.
Mist from the colder air mixing with the warmer air makes this coast unbelievably green. Trees can grow very large and tall in California where you find all sorts of giant Redwoods and Cedars up in the mountains where they would have been difficult to chop down before they became protected.
California is simply stunning outside of LA, San Jose and the endless suburbs. This beach is a couple hours south of San Francisco and a few hours north of Los Angeles. It is an ideal destination for a weekend getaway, the rich and the famous also come here to hang out. There is no poverty in Carmel.
The beaches are clean and in the morning they are not crowded. We visited in the middle of May just before it starts to get busy along the coasts of central California.
Something tells me many of the locals don't have to work a 9 to 5. They are walking casually around in the morning with their dogs and relaxing at coffee shops in and around town. It is a perfect place for retirees and homemakers. If money wasn't an issue, this would be an ideal place to have a home.
Here is one of the golf courses. You can book a tee time with a mandatory cart for $735 at Pebble Beach or you can save some money and play another course in the area for just a few hundred bucks. Some of these courses are regulars on the PGA tour, so you won't be disappointed.
Maybe this is why they call it pebble beach. It's such a classic beach view with a seagull, a picnic table and a wild beach. It's too cold to swim here in general, especially in May. A few brave souls were in the water wait deep wearing wet suits.
They preserve much of the coast, only about half of it is private property. The ground is too rocky for farming and it would probably be very windy here. Even the stork didn't want to hang out in the water today.
Off the coast you can see piles of seabird guano with birds and sea lions relaxing. There are seals nesting with their young on the beach in the Spring and the ocean is full of life. We stayed on shore for the duration of our experience but one can charter a boat and go whale watching.
Just because I don't want to leave you with a picture of a rock covered in a mountain of shit, here is one last photo of some wildflowers with the Pacific Ocean in the background.
Thank you for reading and have a nice weekend!
All photos were taken with an S22 and are unfiltered
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