Over breakfast at The Tickle Pink Inn, Papa and I saw over four dozen whale spouts. Amazing! The view was spectacular! We couldn’t have had a better start to our day.
We stopped at the Carmel Mission Basilica, built in 1797, and well maintained in the city of Carmel. Our next stop was at Mission Soledad, built in 1791, the most simple of the missions we’ve visited. We drove to Soledad via a two lane county road, through miles of agricultural fields, growing a range of products, from wine grapes to fruit trees, to annual crops and beef cattle. The hills were emerald green and every farm and ranch was immaculate, with yards trimmed and barnyards tidy.
We stopped at Mission San Miguel, built in 1797, and the only California mission with its interior murals still intact. It is still in use, as the primary Catholic Church for the town of San Miguel.
We continued driving south, then east, through Paso Robles wine country, then past Bakersfield, where the terrain changed into rocky hills covered in grassland, perfect ranching country. Within an hour, we entered the Mojave Desert, with snow capped mountain peaks in the distance and Joshua trees dotting the landscape. Our from Carmel, on the Pacific, down the Salinas Valley, to the Mohave Desert, took us through incredibly interesting and varied terrain. We enjoyed every moment!
