Veteran's Mem'l Park Monterey, CA 6.5.08

We left Big Sur & headed North to Monterey. We saw all of the cool stuff on the way - the old historic bridges like Bixby Bridge, and Point Pinos lighthouse and high-tailed it to the campground because we were worried there wouldn't be any spots available. Veteran's Mem'l is the only campground in Monterey...and it is first come, first served! As luck would have it, there were a few spots available. We pitched the tent & unpacked (hey, didn't we just tear down earlier this morning!!). As we were unpacking, two deer - a doe & a fawn greeted us just behind our tent. They were munching away at the foilage and after a few pics & a video...we let them be. The below is a video of the deer. Click on the big arrow to play the video. (I'm trying out a new video program. Let me know if something doesn't work!)



The only thing lacking in Kirk Creek campground was a SHOWER! And after 3 days of hiking...we were getting a little funky. My jeans could almost stand by themselves!! So after the campsite was ready....we took a wonderful, hot, long shower & cleaned up. Mmmmmm....fresh & clean. :-)

The ice in our cooler had just melted & we told 'Jill' (our little GPS unit) to find us the closest grocery store. She took us right to Trader Joe's - Woohoo!! OK, for all you non-Trader Joe's people out there...TJ's is a small grocery store with a ton of fabulous specialty items - cheeses & wines from all over, fresh fruits & veggies, & just plain 'yummy' items. We bought a few bottles of wine & pasta for dinner & then set out looking for block ice. Our cooler is one of those 6 day coolers - which just means the insulation has a higher rating and will keep things cool for 6 days. We put 1 block of ice in the cooler before we left on Saturday and it lasted until today. Saturday - Thursday...not bad! But finding block ice in Monterey proved to be a bit of a chore. Three stores later...success!

Back at the campsite the sun went down & the fog rolled in and it was COLD!! The temps have been in the 50's during the day & down in the 40's at night...brrr!! Why the heck do we keep heading NORTH?!? Michael is a polar bear & the cold doesn't bother him...me...I'm another story. Luckily I brought lots to layer, a hat, scarf, & lots of jackets. I didn't bring enough leg layers though and that's on the shopping list for tomorrow.

Tomorrow we're headed to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, walking around Cannery Row, & some odds & ends shopping.

More to follow...
Rene
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