Boardwalk to Spanish Bay

This is Friday and the groove is moving very slowly.  Faceplant, deep sleep, staggering around house, putting travel stuff away, thinking of Hawaii.  No fluting songbirds here or large lush leaves shedding tropical rain; leaves big enough to wrap a baby in.  Just squawking seagulls.  It's just not the same.

After a few cups of coffee it was determined that a walk out there in the wilds of the Groove would be revivifying, good for the blood.  We packed up the day pack and drove over to Asilomar State Beach through the western reaches of the town.  On that route, a groover was seen emerging from the woods, staff in hand, hat firmly planted on head at a jaunty but commanding angle.  He wore a long skimmer and strode purposefully with eyes cast to the eastern horizon.  He looked like a shaman, we decided, Pacific Grove style:  White guy, probably college educated at some point in time, possibly an attendee of Esalen Institute on the Big Sur Coast, probably now a devotee of Buddha and all things zen.

On we drove, past the sentinel plinths guarding the entry of Asilomar Conference Center, designed by Julia Morgan.  We got a glimpse of the esthetically beautiful buildings, built of local materials like sandstone, redwood, pine and slate.  They look rugged and enduring but graceful.

We parked on Scenic Drive across from The Fishwife Restaurant and The Beachcomber Inn, walked west and downhill to the dune boardwalk and headed south along its winding undulations.  Pebble Beach Corporation has generously placed Mutt Mitts along the way for dog owners to use after their dogs do their thing along the trail.  Nice touch, especially since there are many dogs who frolic in the area every day.

There have been soaking rains the last week and the dunes are draining tannin-stained runoff water through the willow thickets.  There used to be a small steam train that ran from Monterey out along part of the coast in Pacific Grove, cutting inland a bit and heading over to the very spot where we walked.  Del Monte Properties also housed a sand plant; sand was used to manufacture glass and they also shipped the fine white sand to other areas to be used for a variety of reasons.  I have heard that a certain amount of it was sent to whiten a beach at a resort on the Big Island in Hawaii.  Spanish Bay -- one of the major golf courses in Del Monte Properties (locally referred to simply as Pebble Beach) -- sits on the sand plant site now.  There was a small salt lake in the drainage area where we walked, and passengers on the steam train would enjoy picnics in the area.  Locals who grew up here in the 40s and 50s can recall hearing the steam train's whistle every day.

Poppies, our state flower, are just blooming.  They look very bright and dance among the dunes when the wind blows, which is all the time, pretty much.

We found ourselves stumbling along the boardwalk, distracted by 10-15 foot waves rolling to the shore, one glassy rumbling comber after another.  Surfers were out and doing well.  Also, a Coast Guard plane was flying a grid pattern out over the water, flying back and forth, pretty low, obviously searching for someone lost at sea.  

The walk is about a half mile over past Spanish Bay to the parking lot on the other side.  It's a very pretty way to gain access to Del Monte Forest area and avoid the fee you'd pay if you drove in; I believe it's about $11 now to drive in.

Walk finished, we drove along Scenic Drive to its intersection with Ocean View Boulevard, taking note of the many and varied folks trotting around, artists painting, babies on leashes wandering at Lovers Point Park with moms in tow.  Peaceful today.  Storm coming on the horizon though, so we had a nice interlude before it arrives.