Day 25 - Monterey, CA. 50km +16km

Day 25 Route

Watsonville will be remembered for a great Mexican meal at Jalisco's Mexican Cuisine that came highly recommended and lived up to it's billing.  Good meals, great scenery and good sleep are all bench marks for a memorable trip! Today's ride from Watsonville to Monterey was an easy jaunt along the ocean that had them checking into a Travelodge by 11am.  They were originally heading for Carmel but were advised by other cyclists that the motels they were looking for were in Monterey.

 Along the way they are seeing a change in land use.  Gone are the forests of the north, replaced by cropland that bring with is a stark reminder of where the produce we see in our grocery stores starts out. Gary writes, "Yesterday and today we saw lot of fields filled with monoculture crops being worked by itinerant workers.  It brought to mind Steinbeck's, Grapes of Wrath.  Even though I know that conditions have changed for the better, the sight of these people bent over as they harvested strawberries made me cringe at the thought of spending one day doing that work, let alone doing it day after day.  And the site of tractors equipped with spray equipment driven by young men with faces covered by chemical masks - and the  helicopter doing aerial spraying - was not at all reassuring."

Fog shrouded field

Backbreaking work

Once they reached Monterey, they dropped their paniers in their room and got back on the bikes for another 16km and headed for one of Kevin's must see destinations. 

Kevin's Destination

 Gary writes "Kevin stroked one off his bucket list today.  After signing into our Travelodge Hotel in Monterey we rode out to Pebble Beach Golf Club and spent some time looking around.  Kevin enjoyed soaking up the ambience of the place and getting some souvenirs.  We enjoyed a drink in the Lodge Great Room overlooking the 18th hole and the ocean beyond."  Apparently, that drink was some Arnold Palmer wine!

Kevin & Tug enjoying the moment

And for those who ever wondered how they keep pigeons from overtaking the golf course. Here's how it's done.

The owl - on the handler's glove - is used to discourage pigeons and other birds around the clubhouse.

A relaxed evening is planned with Big Sur as tomorrow's destination - another short ride before a big jump to Cambria the next day.

Posted by Janet