Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Our trip from Monterey to Pleasanton was fine, except for all the bumps on Highway 101.  That road needs some serious attention! 

We left the Monterey Fairgrounds and checked into the Alameda County Fairgrounds.  They have upgraded this park a bit since we were last there in 2009 and now the pull-through 50-amp sites cost $48/night.  No thanks, we settled for a back-in 50 amp site for $33.  If we had settled for 30-amp, we could have camped for $28. 

I woke up on Saturday morning with an upset stomach.  Maybe it was because we ate at Lee's House of Mandarin on Friday night?  Maybe, maybe not.  We've been having a few water problems, including discovering that our water filters needed to be replaced, so it could have been from that.  Anyway, I took a 2 1/2 hour nap after we got set up at the fairgrounds.  I felt much better afterwards.  Then it was time to meet our niece Laura and her boyfriend, Will.  They are currently living with his parents in Livermore while they are fixing up a house to move into.  We had a good meal at Bruno's in downtown Livermore and caught up on all the news.  Laura made us a batch of her dad's special recipe for red velvet cupcakes.  Yummy--the frosting is a cooked powdered sugar recipe and tasted oh, so good!  Thanks, Laura!

This morning it was on to our final fairgounds stay this trip.  We are now at Cal Expo in Sacramento.  The wifi FINALLY reaches the gravel area of the park where the sites are more suited for big rigs.  Yay!  We love free wifi.  The sites here cost $35/night, so we have experienced $36 at Monterey, $33 at Pleasanton, and $35 at Sacramento.  Tonight we are meeting our sister-in-law, Pam (Laura's mom), and two of the other nieces (Laura's sisters), Cheryl, and Keri.

Tomorrow we head for home and we hope that the wind and rain storm won't turn out to be as severe as predicted.

While in Monterey, I visited the lovely village of Carmel-by-the-Sea, usually called by the short version, Carmel.  The stores there are way too upscale for me, so I window-shopped and got a nice walk out while enjoying the sights and sounds of downtown Carmel.

Then it was on to one of the highlights (for me) of Carmel, the Mission Carmel, or The Basilica of Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo.  This was another of the California missions founded by Padre Junipero Serra, a Franciscan friar.  Father Serra was born in 1713 and died at the Carmel Mission in 1784.  The Mission is still used today and has been rebuilt several times since its historic beginnings. 

Part of the gardens

Some of the graves of priests who served the Mission

The main altar of the Mission

More of the architecture of the Mission

One of the Mission bells.  I happened to arrive right at noon and was treated to the ringing of the bells.

Holly at the Mission--still blooming in March

I have a few more pictures of our stay in Monterey and I want to post some final thoughts about Pebble Beach and the 17-mile drive.  Stay tuned!