San Francisco - Monterey 10 Days

[John Kasaian]

Felton has a nice steam railroad (Roaring Camp & Big trees) through the redwoods. There is a diesel train that links to it from Santa Cruz (the Beach Train) and could make for an all day outing if you're a train buff. If you want, have the steamer drop you off at the apex of the rail line to be alone in the redwoods for awhile before catching a ride back to the link up with the Beach Train. This particular part of the redwoods is unique, IIRC because it's never been logged----a rarity on this stretch of the coast. If you drive instead of train. there is Masonic Paradise Park (sort of) on the way which features a 180' circa 1872 covered bridge of the Smith type spanning the San Lorenzo River.

Santa Cruz may have toned down by the time of your trip---in tourist season it's a mad house and parking is scarce. UC Santa Cruz Seymour Marine Discovery Center is well worth a side trip, while the Monterey Bay National National Marine Sanctuary Center in the heart of the Santa Cruz tourist area is, IMHO a rip off.
The Boardwalk is a bit of History but sadly tripods aren't allowed. I prefer evenings when the Boardwalk is all lit up. Interesting night shots can be had from the pier (where tripods are allowed) and a small park on the Bluff across the San Lorenzo River(Dog Crap Park, I've named it for obvious reasons---watch where you plant those tripod legs!)
The prawn burritos at El Palomar (either location---downtown or at the yacht harbor) shouldn't be missed IMHO.
The is a Spanish Mission in Santa Cruz. It has been rebuilt a number of times but if you want to collect 'em all, well, here's one on 'em. The Beach Train goes in a tunnel underneath the Mission graveyard, btw.


South of Santa Cruz is Capitola, famous for it's Begonia nursery, The Shadow Brook (a romantic restaurant accessed by cable car) Cole's BBQ (if you're tired of seafood), and a cement shipwreck plus more tee shirt shops.

[Kevin Crisp]

Andrew Molero state park off hwy 1 is nice. I’d slip a little 120 mm lens or an 90 mm angulon into your kit.

[pepeguitarra]

Peter: There is a small town called Hollister in the area that is worth visiting. You can see the effect of the earthquakes on the streets

https://earthquaketrack.com/us-ca-hollister/recent

[Bernice Loui]

The town just before entering Monterey is Sand City (yes, LOTs of sand) and Seaside. More coast side beaches are the right with farm lands and sub-urban housing on the left. Laguna Seca Race way (once part of Ford Ord and their target practice range is not far away) and Ford Ord is not far away if there is interest in these sites.

Monterey was once the Capital of California:
https://www.monterey.org/museums/Cit...on-Hall-Museum


Once in Monterey there is Fisherman's Wharf which is mostly tourist trap. There are a few good restaurants on the Wharf like Fisherman's Grotto known for their clam chowder. On the way down into the Wharf area from HWY 1 on the same road as the Naval Post Graduate school once was Myrick Photography which was their original location. They moved three times before their fatal encounter with their last Land Lord, http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/...c7a5dc815.html

On the side of the Lighthouse Avenue tunnel is the Sloat Monument, this is a less known and visited attraction at the top of the hill with a good view of the coast:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/sloat-monument

Lighthouse Ave brings up the upper part of downtown Monterey and below Cannery Row which is another tourist trap;


Just before MBA is the remains of Pacific Biological Lab..
https://www.monterey.org/museums/Cit...l-Laboratories

At the end of Cannery row is the Monterey Bay Aquarium:




Do NOT visit MBA during the weekends if possible, the crowds are intense. Best visit days are Wednesday-Thursday when school is not in session as MBA is a very popular field trip destination. MBA was created as a graduation gift from Dave Packard to his daughter Julie after she got her graduate degree in Marine Biology from Stanford. Dave was big on making metal castings (this is why many of Bill & Dave's hp instrumentation was made using castings) and there are bits of metal castings Dave made for MBA that are still there to this day.

MBA is much a public attraction, not far away is Hopkins Marine Station (Stanford) which is now the marine research arm of MBA:
https://hopkinsmarinestation.stanford.edu

Carmel is very much a tourist town with mostly tourist oriented art galleries, few pricy restaurants that are mixed. One good eatery is La Bicyclette,
http://www.labicycletterestaurant.com

Carmel is home to two notable Foto galleries,
Weston gallery, https://www.westongallery.com

Photography West gallery, Say hello for me to Julia (curator) if ya visit.
http://www.photographywest.com

Both galleries have GOOD color and B&W prints worth spending time with. Despite the name and //// disputes between these two photography galleries, they are still open and worth the visit.

One less visited photo offering in Carmel that is less known and visited is the Center for Photographic Arts,
https://photography.org/?gclid=EAIaI...SAAEgLuNvD_BwE

Do visit Carmel Valley which is back up to HWY 1 and further south.

In between is Pacific Grove, then comes Point Lobos, Big Sur and .... which will be the last locations I'll write about.


Bernice

[Sasquatchian]

I grew up in Monterey, live in L.A. and have made 18 trips there in the last two years after my father died two years ago. Growing up there all the things that tourists come for we never really paid attention to as they were there every day. Since going back regularly and often not having the time I might want, I've started exploring a lot of the little hidden gems right in the middle of downtown. There are lots of old buildings there built from the late 1700's to the mid 1830's nestled in among the more modern offerings, and if you pick and choose what you want to frame, they can yield some wonderful images. Dealing with family estate crap forced me to look at my home town in a way I never had before.

Cannery Row used to be a really interesting place to go with a late night dinner at Kalisa's a wonderful experience but now it's just an over-commercialized ugly mess filled with tourists in search of Steinbeck's ghost, if they even know who he was. Red's Donuts is still there though.

The places that I recommend that people visit now are Pt. Lobos and the general Big Sur area. I get a kick out of all the tourists shooting selfies at Bixby Creek Bridge and often shoot them rather than the bridge itself. The best "locals only" drive takes off right at the north end of Bixby. The Old Coast Road, which is what you had to take prior to Bixby being built, is that little eleven mile long gem. Not drivable in wet weather and rough enough to scare most tourists off, it's easily navigated in a moderate clearance 2WD and has some wonderful spots with secluded redwood groves and unique views of the coastal range. It lets you out back on PCH right at Andrew Molera (not Molero) State Park, which is another place that's worth the visit.

Here's one shot on a Mamiya 7 down on the old commercial pier - much preferred over the tourist pier with all the restaurants and boat rides.

[Bob Salomon]

If you scuba then Monterey is great for it. Check Backscatter on Cannery Row if you need ideas or rentals.

[John Kasaian]

In Monterey check out the Historic Royal Presidio Chapel--- now a parish church (the Cathedral for the Diocese of Monterey actually) so expect limited access during weddings, funerals and masses.
http://www.historicmonterey.org/hist...esidio-chapel/

[John Kasaian]

Ragged Point at the Southern end of Big Sur looks like another tourist attraction from the road, but hidden by the lines of people waiting to buy overpriced burgers and use the rest rooms is a short trail that takes your around the perimeter of the Point with spectacular views of the seascape. Don't be put off---it's very camera friendly in my experience.

[John Kasaian]

One thing about Carmel is they roll up the sidewalk at night. Unless something like the Bach Festival is going on it's pretty dead---the nightlife is in Monterey.
The hotel and pool where Augie Pabst parked a rental Ford Falcon (to settle a bet to see how long the headlights would stay on if a car was submerged) is still there (the pool, not the Ford Falcon! Hertz or Avis had a you leave it, we'll pick it up promotion going on at the time.)
IIRC a photographer travelling with Pabst had all his camera gear in the trunk of the Falcon at the time.
https://www.scca.com/pages/augie-pabst

[John Kasaian]

Restaurants & Bars in Carmel of possible interest:
Hog's Breath (hey, is that Clint Eastwood over there?)
Forge in The Forest
Casanova's (a personal favorite)
AW Shucks (Oysters)
Em Lee (French toast)