WEST COAST TOUR SEP 2010

Santa Cruz to Carmel by the Sea

65 miles

Sep 25, 2010

Our last day. In some ways were are relieved as we are all tired, but in others we wish the tour would go all the way to San Diego. We had a nice day and not too much climbing until the Monterey peninsula. One of the amazing sights were the incredible "truck" farms as we called them. We saw artichokes, brussel sprouts, cauliflowers, straw berries, several kinds of lettuce and probably others we didn't recognize.

Picking straw berries. Appeared to be at least hundreds of

acres of them

Cauliflowers by the thousands. All looked ready to pick to me

A local we talked to, said these types of fields went at least

75 miles further south than where we were

The gang, plus a visitor, Paula, on the left who was

a rider on the cross country tour in 2008 and on the staff in 2010

Cannery row in Monterey. Great food on the wharf.

Bird rock on the Monterey peninsula

Jim and Pebble Beach

The Lone Cypress on pebble beach Supposedly over 250 years old

One of the unusual houses in Carmel. Carmel was a

disappointment to us. It was totally over run with

tourists including us. We finally loaded up in someones

driveway and drove back up to Sea Side tired and hungry.

This tour was the hardest work of the seven I have taken since 2006. It was also the most beautiful. I have never seen so many beautiful and wonderful sights in two weeks in my life. I would highly recommend it to anyone.