October 17th to 20th, 2007 MORROW BAY & HEARST CASTLE

As we were leaving Monterey Harbour we saw John & Pam from "SV Passages" on the dock. We just had time to exchange best wishes as we passed and look forward to catching up with them latter in the journey. We left at noon with 20 hours budgeted for the trip to Morro Bay. Winds, seas and current were very favorable and we had to slow the boat down to arrive in daylight. We arrived at dawn, with a brilliant sunrise. Sandra would not let me take another sunrise picture, but I snuck in this sunset picture of Passat II at the Morro Bay Yacht Club.

The Hearst Castle is a "WOW" rated attraction. We took one of the 4 tours required to see the full castle, gardens, etc and hope to return to take the others. I "won" the rose bud for bringing up the movie "Citizen Kane". The guide glossed over the controversy, and I note that the gift shop has no reference to the movie. I went out and bought a copy of the movie and plan to play it soon as we are hooked up to shore power again. The DVD set includes a section on the controversy so I will refresh my memory. As I recall Hearst tried to buy up all the copies of the movie and black "listed" Orsen Wells, severely restricting his career.

October 15th to 17th, 2007 MONTEREY

The self guided walking tour of Monterey is worth taking, with murals, sculpture, historic buildings, wildlife and, of course the obligatory fishing boat. Also, we took in the Maritime Museum and went to see the film "Elizabeth the Golden Age". All in all a very busy day.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of the best we have ever seen. The fish were hard to get pictures of as the light was poor and they moved too much. I did get these OK shots of a Tiger Shark and Sunfish (one ugly fish). Sandra is pictured in the wave action tidal pool exhibit. You really feel you are going to get wet. She also touched a Sea Rey in the touching pool. I finally got my Sea Otter pictures, but had to take over 50 to get these two. They seldom are still and I did not want to have any of the man made features in the shots. The jelly fish were perfect models, with great colours and slow movement.

October 13th to 15th, 2007 SANTA CRUZ

Santa Cruz town square is a timeless place.


Yes, another small fishing boat, this one on the pier at Santa Cruz. This Sea Lion, at the pier, actually poses for the tourists.




The Casino and Boardwalk takes up a whole beachfront. Not shown are the volley ball players on the beach next to the casino. You will have to use your imagination.


The harbour is along the river, resulting in a long narrow and very busy channel. The Yacht Club does not have it's own docks. Reciprocals are via a $10 per night discount coupon redeemed at the Harbour Master. This resulted in a very reasonable $16 and change per night cost for us. Facilities are good, but the transient moorage tends to be next to the channel and rafting is common, resulting in lots of activity. However, very little wake as the harbour police enforce the 3 knt speed limit.

October 8th to 12th, 2007 HALF MOON BAY

Good by SF, along the rugged coast to Pillar Point Marina in Half Moon Bay.


An old fishing boat entrance sign seems to be mandatory in most small harbours here. The harbour is the home for a zillion (or so) Pelicans. (Note Passat II at anchor in the background.)


Boat and wreck in Pillar Harbour. (I guess someone forgot to close the Head's valve.)


Sunset then fog.

A four mile (each way) coastal walkway from Pillar Point to the town of Half Moon Bay provides a mixture of interesting natural and man made scenery.