Sorry all, I'm not going to be able to meet up for a meal. I've got tangled up in some family and work commitments this weekend. Hope you all have a great time and the nice weather holds for you.

Just arrived at Ambrosia.

Weather is looking good enough for me to fly, so I'll see you guys this afternoon!

/me waves at boxo.

One other feature of the Big Sur area I wanted to mention, though I'm not sure it merits a side-trip for anyone driving up CA-1: One day, I was looking closely at a map of Central California, and noticed something that stood out. The Big Sur coast is a thin bit of rugged and lushly forested coastal land, around 100 miles long, delimited by a very steep, young mountain range, the Santa Lucias. On the inland side of the Santa Lucias is the long, agriculturally rich north-south valley of the Salinas River, though which US-101 goes (that being a much easier, flatter route than the coastal one).

Looking at the map, i saw that there were no roads across the Santa Lucias between Carmel Valley Road on the north end of Big Sur, and the Hearst Castle area on the south end, with exactly one exception: Ferguson-Naciamento Road crosses and hits the coast fairly close to Nepenthe.

I was intrigued, enough so that after hiking Pinnacles National Monument on the east side of the Salinas River valley, I drove south down US-101 to King City, to find the start of Ferguson-Naciamento Road. First, you have to enter the Fort Hunter-Liggett military reservation. The guard at the gate asks to see your driving licence, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance (suggesting, perhaps, that the military are not thrilled about public access but have no right to shut us out). You drive in and follow signs a short distance to the 200-year-old Spanish Mission Antonio de Padua. Stop, cool off, admire the ancient olive trees, and enjoy the very picture of early California. If you ignore the WWI-era buildings in the middle distance to the southwest, you might think you were in the 1700s and about to encounter Padre Junipero Serra.

From there, Ferguson-Naciamento Road starts westward. At first, it's ranch country, then starts gradually rising, the land becomes mixed forest, and you realise there's a beautiful small river course to your left, and people are camping, fishing, and picnicking in the woods near the stream. You keep gradually climbing. The woods thin out. You approach the top, and there's a rustic intersection with 'Camino Cielo' (road of the sky). Hmm, does that mean...? You achieve the pass, and you boggle:

The Santa Lucias are, as I mentioned, a young mountain range. As it turns out, they are very, very steep on the west slope. The view from the top of Ferguson-Naciamento looks like the end of the world, as if you're about to drive down the face of a cliff, about a kilometre or more straight down. Stop, admire the view, and gather your nerves.

It's not quite straight down. It's predictably an old, fairly well maintained county road with many switchbacks hugging the westward slope. Many of the hairpin curves have gravel on them, so pay attention and take it slow. Don't think about the drop. ;->

When I reached the stop sign at California Route 1, I did have white knuckles, but no crowbar was actually required to pry them from my steering wheel and the heightened state of consciousness (mild terror) passed in a couple of minutes.

A memorable drive.

That was the day I then cooled off in that swimming hole on the Big Sur River.

Had a very nice lunch with Doc Savage and califcoast.

Now we're just 4 hours away from dinner. See you soon!

It seems I am now the only one without a car, so carpooling to activities shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully someone(s) is willing to give me a ride wherever I am going. :)

I brought some board games along, so if anyone's up to Scrabble, checkers, or Monopoly after dinner, just say the word. Of course, Scrabble will be a frequent flyer edition where all words must be travel-related.

I can provide rides from dinner. I'm just leaving Cupertino now, and the routes are quickly showing accidents/traffic piling up. Hopefully I can still make it for an on-time arrival at 7:30 at dinner. I look forward to seeing everyone there. ^

So tomorrow's breakfast at Old Monterey Cafe will be 7 of us - dinoscool3 +4, CMK10, and me. First to arrive, please get a table or tables. Probably 3 and 4 cuz the place is small.

Drive safely, and keep in mind last to arrive picks up the tabs! Btw, your kegs comment made me LOL.

Actually, me too.

What time? I need a full breakfast and can't get one where we're staying.

There will either be 1 extra or 3 extra depending on time.

Edit: I heard it's 8 am. I'll try to be there, and I'll be the only extra since the others get free brekkie.

Hi boxo!

Thanks so much for setting all this up so well. I'm safe and sound at my SFO hotel.;)

It was great meeting everyone else. Have a fantastic time in Monterey, it is a really nice place to spend a few days with new friends.

Safe travels,

Doc

;) Thanks for following orders. Good to see you again. Looking forward to next time.

Looking forward to day two! ^

i made it!

boxo & doc savage - it was great getting to know you over two meals, thanks for having me!
sykes, chrisflyer66, kathywdrf, majuki, spacecrafter & cmk10 - i enjoyed meeting/speaking with you at dinner, i only regret not meeting the remaining three people at the table! cmk10 - thanks for the ego boost ;) hope you had a great birthday, and enjoy your drive tomorrow.

too bad i couldn't stay longer, but my flights were calling...hopefully i'll see you guys at another event or in the air!

Old Monterey Cafe 8 am sharp (10)
boxo
CMK10
dinoscool3 +4
Majuki
mhnadel
deirdre

• Up until yesterday, there were only two of us and now we've blossomed to nine.
• They don't take reservations, so it's absolutely crucial everyone be on time, if not early so we are not late for the Tor House tour.
• We should leave the restaurant no later than 9:15 am in case there's traffic. It can be bad between Carpenter and Rio.

spacecrafter, please park on Munras, just south of Fremont St, and we'll meet you there 9:20-ish. (the side street next to Denny 's)

spacecrafter's car
boxo

Majuki's car
mhnadel

Once we're done with the tour, we'll meet Kathy at Safeway (Hwy 1 & Rio Rd) for snacks/lunch.

Majuki will leave early and ChrisFlyer66 will help transport back if needed. deirdre's +2 will be dropped off at Point Lobos and may/may not hitch a ride back with us.

Frankly, I am a visual person and can figure this out seeing people and cars in the same frame.

Now that it's 2:30 am, I'll shower and sleep.

Hasta en la mañana.

ETA: lili will meet us at Tor House.