February 23, 2005
President's day weekend - scenery
This weekend birding took a back seat to scenery and marine mammals, as Andrew and I explored the central California coastline. Our first stop was the amazing Pinnacles National Monument - no Condors today, but a good look at a Bobcat plus some spectacular scenery.
On Saturday we drove from Cambria to Monterey along the Big Sur coastline. Unfortunately the weather was horrendous for much of the day, so we took refuge in Hearst Castle - here's a picture of the glitzy indoor swimming pool.
Between rain showers I managed a few shots of the impressive coastal scenery.
Sunday's main event was a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
The highlight of the visit was this Great White Shark - Andrew managed these two atmospheric shots of the beast.
The sun finally made an appearance in the afternoon, giving us a good view across Monterey Bay...
... and allowing us to visit the Monarch Butterfly winter roost in Pacific Grove.
On Monday we made our way from Santa Cruz along scenic Highway 9...
... taking in the huge Redwoods in Henry Cowell State Park.
Our last port of call was the Marin Headlands, where we had a dramatic view of a storm breaking over San Francisco.
Fortunately it remained dry on our side of the Bay!
