We were leaving Carmel on the Monday and thought we would take a drive up to Big Sur. The view of course was spectacular.
Can you believe that nestled in those trees below was a beautiful home. They wake up to that view every day. Wow.
We passed through El Sur Ranch which is a 7000 acre ranch and into Andrew Molera State Park. Once in the park we were surprised at how similar the forested area was to our B.C. forests back home. It felt like we had been there before.
We stopped at a tourist stop and once again felt the items looked mainly like imported stuff and bore little historical or local character.
With one exception of course.
This little bus was certainly quirky. The 1960's are apparently still alive and well here. The one shop area had lots of great plants growing but this one here is something I don't recognize at all. Do any of you know what it is?
The ladybugs were loving the sage plants. Aren't they cute?
It was time to head back down the hill and on to San Francisco but first we stopped in the city of Gilroy famous for their garlic. It was time for lunch and we were also looking for a shop that would be selling garlic products. The gps took us to a shopping center with an Italian restaurant in it so we figured this was a good place for lunch.
It was called Carino's and it was managed by someone with a good Irish name of Murphy. My BB Guy had the 16 layer lasagne and I had the Chicken Marsala. We both enjoyed our meals and the young lady serving us was the size of a peanut and very outgoing. We asked her where there would be good place to buy garlic products. She gave us directions to one not too far away in a small outlet mall. We managed to find it with a few wrong turns. It was in an outlet mall that was almost empty. Only a few shops had opened up in there and the rest of the mall was empty spaces.
Well here we were in a store devoted to garlic. Garlic sauces. Garlic braids. Garlic aprons. Garlic nuggets. Pickled Garlic. All things garlic. We shopped around this store for a good 15 minutes and were the only ones in the store. I figured the owners watched the store from a camera in the back because they didn't come out. Five more minutes pass by and still no one comes out and by this time we are ready to go.
"Hello" "Hello". Nope no one comes out. I stick my head in the back and don't see anyone. Uh oh. I knock on the bathroom door and no one answers. Double uh oh. I slowly open the door but no one is in there either. We have now been in the store about 25 minutes.
We decided to call the police but my BB Guy's cell phone won't dial an operator. He has walked just outside the door and is looking around. He comes back in and I hand him the telephone from the counter. This same counter has a lap top sitting on it and a cash register.
He called 911 and told them the scenario and the said they would send a security company over.
I am by the door as well and I can see a man and a woman walking slowly across the parking lot with drinks in their hands. La, la, la. Over they saunter. The owners.
"Oh" they say. "We didn't see anyone go into the store".
We told them we phoned the police and he just says "we went to get a drink". Almost half an hour the store was left unattended. They didn't say thank you, they didn't seem embarrassed or even relieved that we were honest people. They just rang up our purchases and handed us the bag. Too weird.
Carry on to San Francisco which hopefully will be less weird then the Gilroy Garlic Goobers.
We were staying right down at Fisherman's Wharf at the Hyatt.
I have to say the room in Carmel was nicer. The air was better in the room. I had a hard time breathing at night in this one. No that's not our room above. That was one of the lobbies.
It was very close to the pier and we were walking all over the place.
Everywhere you looked at the pier the birds are scooping up food. I'll bet they could get real mean if they wanted what you were eating. The funniest part of the pier would be the big old seals that congregate on the docks.
They pile up on top of each other and then they shove and push and jostle and bark at each other. They are so funny and the crowds love them. BB Guy filmed them with his phone. Have a listen to these clowns.
Great photos and a nice variety of interesting subjects! I do think that seagull was admiring himself in the window and from my experience having lived in Florida all my life, they don't get mean exactly but they can be overly zealous about anything edible! I watched one right in front of me, snatch a whole hot dog, bun and all, from a guy who was in the process of collecting his change from having just paid for it. No "thank you sir" or anything!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting trip. The garlic shop experience was rather strange though.
ReplyDeleteI am itching to get to SF...we took our first trip to California last year, and I didn't want to leave when it was time to come home. That's REALLY unusual for me. Enjoyed your blog today!
ReplyDeleteHi there ! Thanks you for the trip, I haven't been to Big Sur for a long time.I think the plant you don't know the name of , is a hellebore.
ReplyDeleteHave a great Sunday and thank you for passing by on my blog, Modern Country Lady.
The Carmel/Monterey ares has to be one of my favorite areas in Cali. This is where Dan was for a year before he moved up into the mountains. d I really enjoyed visiting there! 17 Mile Dr. is so pretty, as is the drive down to Big Sur. We made a day of it last time we were there. Picnic, hiking, dipping our feet in an icy cold ocean! Looking forward to seeing more of your trip.
ReplyDelete~ Ethel
I read back on both your California posts, seems you had some hits and misses, but the beautiful California coastline makes up for any misses.
ReplyDeleteHere's what I can tell you about those shop owners, California is known for being very laid back, especially in that area. It is the exact opposite of what you would experience in New York, where everyone always seems to be in a panic. They probably didn't apologize, because to them, it was no big deal. They probably didn't even realize how much it upset you.
I hope you went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, it is one of the best in the world! Too bad you weren't there for the Garlic Festival in Gilroy, now honey, that is a hoot and a half!
I agree with Shellbelle...they are really laid back there. And it's to the point of being rude, really. I think, anyway.
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