Friday, May 31, 2019
Bixby Lights

Bixby Bridge south of Monterey is one of my favorite places to explore especially in the evening. Any time of day the California coast is beautiful, but along with the glow of the few cars on the highway this evening, the clouds were just starting to roll over the hills like a slow motion waterfall making their way slowly to the ocean. In just a few short minutes the entire scene was wrapped in a soft haze.

Friday, January 4, 2019
Carmel Mission Bell Tower

One of my favorie spots in California, the Carmel Mission, with Bougainvillea in full bloom. No matter how many times I vist these beautiful architecural gems I always find a new detail or angle on a familliar spot.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Bixby Pastel Twilight

The evening light changes moment to moment along Highway one. Just a few minutes earlier it seemed that the light was all gone, but as the evening settled in, the glow from the unseen sunset over the horizon seemed to fill the air with a beautiful warmth.

Friday, October 2, 2015
Point Pinos Sunset Panorama

Sunset in Monterey at the Point Pinos Lighthouse. The sea mist was quite heavy from the large waves on the other side of the light house. It made the sunset colors glow beautifully.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Bixby Creek Bridge Twilight

South of Monterey along the Pacific Coast Highway there is a stretch of California coastline that has to be one of the most beautiful drives in the world. Among the many amazing things this area known as Big Sur has to offer are some amazing man made wonders. This is Bixby Creek Bridge an open spandrel (referring to the spaces above the arches) concrete arch bridge. It's completion in 1932 meant an end to the 11 mile inland trek required to cross Bixby creek which was all but impassable in the winter. As beautiful as the bridge is during the day, just after sunset the colors really come alive especially with a nice long exposure.

Sunday, August 23, 2015
Carmel Highlands Sunset Mist

Every day is full of wonder. This is the coast of California, just between Carmel (on the Monterey Peninsula) and Big Sur. The views are amazing any time, but in the evening the show is always something special.

Thursday, August 20, 2015
Carmel Sunset Mist

Wandering on the beach in Carmel. I don't think I've ever seen a an evening that wasn't beautiful here, but there are some evenings that are really something special (Like evey evening I get to walk this way holding hands with my wife.) But this particular evening the beautiful marine layer put on an even better show than usual for us, swirling and rolling in over Pebble Hill in the distance. All while this amazing Cypress took it all in. I think it may be time for another trip up our beautiful coast!

Thursday, November 27, 2014
Cannery Row View

Happy Thanksgiving from Cannery Row, Monterey! Ahh the beach, just one of the many things to be thankful for. I hope your blessings are too many to count! Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Carmel Cypress Silhouette

Speaking of windswept Cypress Trees (see my Poppy post from last week). This beauty and his friends stand watch along a particularly beautiful stretch of the California Coast on Carmel Beach. The hills in the distance between the beach and the setting sun are part of Pebble Beach. This is one of the areas I love to walk along at sunset whenever we find ourselves in the Monterey area. The beach is beautiful, and there is a nice path along the top of the bluff overlooking the beach. You can watch the surfers enjoying the water and take in the amazing view from a great perspective.

Monday, May 5, 2014
Carmel Mission Twilight

Sometimes the show is just starting when the crowds leave. This weekend I saw some of the biggest crowds I've ever seen at the Carmel Mission ( Mission San Carlos Borroméo del río Carmelo ) in Carmel by the Sea. From weddings to tourists and even the occasional church service this beautiful gem of Spanish and Moorish architecture is well loved and often visited. But this evening after the sun set and the last people were leaving the parking lot, I stopped by with my camera. Only the faintest color of the sunset remained on the horizon, and the stars were clearly visible overhead. But a slightly longer than usual exposure revealed all the beauty of the misson at rest in its faint lights after a long day of festivities and worship.

Thursday, March 13, 2014
Bixby Creek Coastline Big Sur

Bixby Creek Coastline in Big Sur on Pacific Coast Highway. Whenever I'm in Monterey I like to take a day to drive down Highway 1. There is no end of beautiful things to see, and every day is absolutely unique. This day was virtually cloudless, but there was still enough fog over the water and mist from the waves to give the late afternoon sun some nice golden color.

Saturday, November 2, 2013
Backlit Breaker

Whenever I'm wandering near the beach this time of year I love to try to capture these wonderful backlit waves. I particularly love the clarity of this wave and how you can see the inside of the tube through the top of it. The beautiful blue green glass like quality is something that always reminds me of my dad, and how he loves watching this kind of wave, so this one is for him. I intentionally used a slower shutter speed to see the motion of the drops of water at the front of the splashing waves.

Saturday, October 19, 2013
Swim Class

A young Sea Lion taking a tentative swim not far from his mom in the beautiful waters off the Monterey Peninsula.

Friday, October 18, 2013
Surfin with the Pelicans

Just another beautiful day in Monterey, out enjoying the surf and the beautiful environment.

Monday, October 7, 2013
Pacific Grove Sunset

In every city I spend much time, I always end up with my favorite spots where I try to end up at the end of the day. This is Asilomar Beach in Pacific Grove on the tip of the Monterey Peninsula. Some days the waves are huge and breathtaking, other days the sun slides down past the horizon peacefully, but every evening it's a wonderful show.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Arching Cypress Sunset

Sunset panorama standing by the beautiful Cypress trees on Carmel Beach.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Carmel Mission Garden Sunset

The gardens at the Carmel Mission. The mission just underwent a major restoration and only recently shrugged off the massive scaffolding around the main sanctuary. It's looking even more beautiful than ever thanks to the dedicated people who are preserving this beautiful landmark!

Thursday, June 6, 2013
Point Pinos Sunset

This beautiful little lighthouse is on the northern most tip of the Monterey Peninsula. At night it's quite bright, but there's always someone around with a bigger light, and this time of day there's no comparison. Still it's quite a beautiful spot! The Point Pinos Lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places, Reference #77000312

Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Monterey Cannery Row

A great little spot on a balcony overlooking a beach from Cannery Row in Monterey

Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Asilomar Sunset

The end of a beautiful day in Monterey. This is Asilomar State Beach in Pacific Grove at the tip of the Monterey Peninsula, one of my favorite places to watch the sunset!

Friday, May 4, 2012
Asilomar State Beach Sunset Monterey

An amazing sunset at Asilomar State Beach in Pacific Grove, California. The Monterey Peninsula has no end of beautiful views. As the golden sunset light stretches across the beaches the show only gets better. The only real problem is choosing just one place to sit and enjoy the evening.

Sunday, September 19, 2010
Point Pinos Lighthouse, VR

This beautiful little lighthouse apparently is the oldest confinuously operating lighthouse on the west coast. It's on the northern tip of the Monterey pennisula just in from a stretch of beach that is a wonderful spot to watch the sunset.

Controls from left to right:
+ Zoom in;
- Zoom out;
change the way the view moves when you drag;
toggle full screen

Sunday, February 1, 2009
Secluded Cove

Today we took a drive down Highway 1 to look for a place called Jade cove. It is always a beautiful drive and we usually stop at various parks in Big Sur but this time we found everything on the east side of Highway 1 closed. They had some massive fires last year and they still have not reopened the parks.

Luckily all the vista points on the beach side were still open. This is just south of Big Sur at a vista point looking south along the coast.

Probably good we did not stop that often anyway, Jade cove was a lot further than we expected, almost twenty miles further. And if you have ever been on Highway 1, twenty miles can be a long way especially this time of year when they are just barely keeping parts of it passable.

Saturday, January 31, 2009
Clams of Monterey

We came to Monterey this weekend to meet a friend and his son at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was a fun day, but very tiring. I've been there many times but somehow I must have missed the giant clams before. They are quite interesting.

April sixth the Aquarium will be opening a new exhibit on Seahorses in the space where the large Jellyfish display went away last year. I was really disappointed when the jellyfish were leaving, but I don't think they could have picked anything much better to replace them if they had to go! And it will be just in time for my birthday too!!