I woke up eager to explore on my first morning in San Francisco. My destination was down the famed scenic coast on a bus trip to Monterey and Carmel, leaving the City by the Bay, which I'd barely seen, behind me for the day.
I was waiting outside my hotel after eating a fruit, oatmeal, toast, and coffee breakfast when I experienced one of the trip's highlights. A middle-aged woman with a noticeable accent (British?) approached and asked if I was waiting for a tour bus. I responded affirmatively, and inspired by curiosity of her accent, I asked her destination. Turned out she was taking a different tour (SF/Alcatraz) but riding the same bus to the company's office, so we continued our conversation about jet lag, time zone adjustment, and how much time was needed to successfully navigate Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Mid-conversation I learned that my bus mate was visiting San Francisco from Australia en route to a family wedding...in a small western NY village near my hometown. I couldn't believe the unlikeliness of our meeting. (And even more unlikely: one of my Facebook friends - a former coworker - commented on my post regarding the incident that perhaps the woman in question was her Australian-bound-for-a-WNY-wedding-friend. Strange and stranger!)
I wished my travel pal well and boarded a different bus headed to Monterey. On this tour, the journey up and down the coast was as spectacular as the actual destinations. I saw Fisherman's Wharf, the piers, and the Ferry Building for the first time, as well as the charming town of Santa Cruz with its small colorful houses dotted along the landscape, before arriving in Monterey's Cannery Row. Surprisingly, fewer than half of the bus's occupants (basically me and an Argentinian contingent) chose to visit the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium for the allotted two-hour visit. Because of the time restraint, I had to hustle (dodging ever-present hordes of children (ugh) every which way), but I spent an hour and a half touring the aquarium's educational exhibits featuring sea otters, penguins, kelp, jellyfish, sharks, and stingrays, and half an hour eating lunch - a tasty (freshly-caught) salmon tostada - in the cafeteria.
The next stops were along 17-Mile Drive, home to Bird Rock, the Lone Cypress (my spirit tree), and Pebble Beach Golf Resort (where the fancy folks play), all of which I diligently photographed.
Our last tour stop was in Carmel, a tiny artists' colony comprised of upscale shops, galleries, and restaurants. Unfortunately all of the galleries and many of the boutiques were closed (we arrived after 5 pm), and there was no room in my luggage for large souvenirs, so I spent an hour aimlessly walking (without wandering too far from the bus stop) along the village's maze-like streets.
That was it for the trip. I reboarded the bus, tuned out the onboard entertainment Star Wars film (the new one, I think), and headed back to my San Francisco hotel, pleasantly exhausted and satisfied by the coast's visual treasures.
