Our first stop after an hour's drive from Fresno is a farmer's market, Casa de Fruta. With humble beginnings as a roadside cherry stall, it grew to become a fruit store and more, with Casa de Wine, Casa de Choo Choo (kid's play area), and a few others I could not remember. I bought some of their nuts, chocolates and candies.
The temperature dropped significantly from over 30ºc to under 18ºc as we headed south along the Pacific Coast to Monterey Bay, formerly known as Pinetree Bay when the Spanish first arrived in 1500s.
We stopped for lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, a collection of restaurants and shops by the pier. We ate at Crabby Jim's by the water with a lovely view of the bay. We had calamari, oysters, clam chowder, fish and chips, and pan seared scallops. The entire bill came up to $60.
In 1846, a widow sold the land which is now the 17-mile drive for $500. It has since changed hands several times. In the late 19th century the area was paved, which measured exactly 17-miles, and thus earned its name. When Pebble Beach Corporation took over, it developed the area with residential houses, resorts and golf courses. The US Open had held tournaments here and this was where Tiger Woods got his first championship.
We travelled along the spectacular 17-mile drive, taking in the magnificent view of the coast. There were about 20 iconic stops along the route and we stopped at three:
1) Bird Rock - Hundreds of beds perched on a huge rock with otters or sea lions
2) The Lone Cypress - trademark of the Pebble Beach Corporation, and
3) Pebble Beach - got its name as it had lots of pebbles on it, but now it is just golf greens and sand.
After close to three hours of drive, we finally arrived in San Francisco.
Cost: $50.07 chocolate and nuts from Casa De Fruta, $98 Sephora
Nana Fund: $60 seafood lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, $32 drinks at Union Square
Highlight: Amazing views on the 17-mile drive