California's Best Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

6 Carmel Valley

Where sun-kissed

vineyards and farm

fields rustle beside one

another, Carmel Valley

is a peaceful side trip.

At organic Earthbound

Farm (www.ebfarm.com;

7250 Carmel Valley Rd;

h8am-6:30pm Mon-Sat,

9am-6pm Sun; c), sample

the fresh-fruit smoothies

and homemade soups,

or cut your own herbs

in the garden. Several

wineries further east

offer tastings – don’t miss

the pinot noir bottled

by Boekenoogen (www.

boekenoogenwines.com; 24

W Carmel Valley Rd; tasting

fees $5-10; h11am-5pm).

Afterwards, stretch your

legs in Carmel Valley

village, chock-a-block

with genteel cafes and

whimsical shops.

The Drive » Backtrack 2

miles west of the village along

Carmel Valley Rd, then turn

right onto Laureles Grade.

After 6 miles, turn left on Hwy

68, driving west to join Hwy 1

northbound. After passing sand

dunes, suburbs and artichoke

and strawberry fields, Hwy 1

swings back towards the coast.

Turn left onto Moss Landing Rd.

7 Moss Landing

Here’s your last chance

to get out of the car and

meet the local wildlife.

Rent a kayak from

outfitters on Hwy 1 and

paddle past harbor seals

into Elkhorn Slough

National Estuarine

Research Reserve

(%831-728-2822; http://www.

elkhornslough.org; 1700

Elkhorn Rd, Watsonville; adult/

child $2.50/free; h9am-5pm

Wed-Sun), or take a guided

weekend hike and go

bird-watching. From

the fishing harbor at

the ocean end of Moss

Landing Rd, Sanctuary

Cruises (%831-917-1042;

http://www.sanctuarycruises.

com; Moss Landing Harbor

Dock A; adult/child $50/40)

operates year-round

whale-watching and

dolphin-spotting cruises

aboard biodiesel-fueled

boats (make advance

reservations).

5 p175

Start: 6 Carmel Valley

From Salinas farmhands to Monterey cannery workers, the sun-baked Central

Valley hills to the fishing coastline, Nobel Prize–winning author John Steinbeck drew

a perfect picture of the landscapes and communities he knew. See the land and

people of his hometown Salinas, a 25-minute drive east of Monterey on Hwy 68.

Downtown, the National Steinbeck Center (%831-775-4721; http://www.steinbeck.org; 1

Main St; adult/child/youth/senior $11/6/8/9; h10am-5pm; c) brings his novels to life with

interactive exhibits and short movie clips. Look for Rocinante, the camper Steinbeck

drove across America while writing Travels with Charley. An adjunct agriculture

museum showcases the local economy, incorporating historical labor struggles,

water politics and the stories of immigrant farmworkers.

A few blocks west, Steinbeck House (%831-424-2735; http://www.steinbeckhouse.com; 132

Central Ave; hrestaurant 11:30am-2pm Tue-Sat, gift shop 11am-3pm) is the author’s childhood

home. A classic Queen Anne Victorian with dainty bird-patterned lace curtains, it’s

both a minimuseum and a twee restaurant, where waitstaff in quasi-period dress

serve lunch and high tea.

Two miles southeast of downtown, Steinbeck pilgrims can pay their last respects

at Garden of Memories Memorial Park (850 Abbott St). An iron sign points the way

to the Hamilton family plot, where a simple grave marker identifies where some of

Steinbeck’s ashes were buried.

SALINAS

DETOUR:

CENTRAL.CALIFORNIA

15

(^) AROUND MONTEREY & CARMEL