After a very long wait, here is the second part of my hike.

I recently took a hike around Point Lobos park which is just to the south of Monterey. It is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever been to and has numerous picture taking spots. Enjoy!

I recently did a hike at Pinnacles National Monument in Monterey County one very hot day. The park is about an hour from Monterey but feels like it is days away. The climate is completely different as the park is never impacted by the marine layer. The day we went was around 40C in the shade and likely well above that in the sun. Here is part one of the event starting with the camp site:

 
The main highlight from the park are the caves you get to crawl through that house bats.  In the heart of the cave, it was nearly pitch black while water could be heard running nearby.  Not only was it a great break from the heat, it was very peaceful.

There are few experiences for me that have come close to the pure joy I experienced kayaking in Monterey Bay earlier this week. Since I do not own a kayak, I had to rent one and decided to go with Monterey Bay Kayaks (http://www.montereybaykayaks.com/), a company that is located near the main beach in Monterey. I honestly cannot say enough good things about the company or the experience.

For starters, the price was only $30 for the day and included a wet suit, the kayak, a life jacket, a pullover jacket, and complete instructions. This was my second time kayaking (the other time was in Hawaii) and that was a few years ago, so after getting fitted with a suit, the 15 minute instruction portion was very helpful. I now know what the "Three B's" are and how to use them to get back in the craft.

I went with a co-worker who was also interested in taking a shot at the water, so we decided on a two man raft. After getting a few final words of wisdom, it was off to the water.

For the next three and a half hours we were able to enjoy Monterey from the water and see the large variety of homes and businesses in the city. Although you are a bit limited with where you are allowed to kayak, the 1 mile stretch has numerous chances to see a wide variety of wildlife. We saw countless sea lions, birds, otters, and ducks. The highlight for me was having a sea lion come up next to the kayak and try to grab the oar from me by biting it. Check out the video!

 

This is a definite must-do for anyone visiting Monterey when the seas are flat.

It's been an interesting few weeks around here...

For starters, Ezurbub here on LiveJournal a couple of months ago recommended that I try using Hospitality Club to broaden my horizons. Their simple concept attempts to connect people from around the world who have an interest in traveling and meeting locals. I was fortunate enough to have a fun couple from the Netherlands stop by for a day here in Monterey. Although both of them currently live in the Netherlands, they are actually from different countries -- he is from France and she is from Spain. So, my big challenge was to figure out where to take a couple from Europe who were going to spend less than 24 hour in Monterey. After thinking it over, we ended up walking along one of the beaches, went down to the Carmel Highlands, spent some time at the wharf, had a nice Thai dinner, and drinks in downtown Monterey. During our time together, we had some great conversations including a discussion about international politics, some difference between Americans and Europeans, and life in general. Since they have returned home, I heard back from them, and it sounds like they both had an enjoyable time here. Now I need to travel there!

The day after they left my friends James and Mansoor from Monterey came to town. Again I was playing tour guide, but this time we had two full days to plan out what to see and do. Thankfully both of them are explorers at heart (especially Mansoor) so we had a chance to trek all around the area. We went to the usual hot spots including the aquarium and wahrf, but we also went to some more "remote" places such as the beach near my apartment. The best part of the beach? Seeing James run in the water when the waves were low and then sprinting back to higher ground when he saw one of the large waves barreling down on him. Mansoor (again the adventurer) ended up crawling up one of the areas away from the trail and eventually talked us into following him. The view from that spot was breathtaking and extremely peaceful.

After they left, Daylon and I went to San Jose for a day. He is traveling for much of this month, so it was our only chance to spend a little time together. I found the downtown area to be a nice mix of commercial and high density residential buildings along with a good assortment of museums, parks, and neighborhoods. The day was capped off with a trip to the Cheesecake Factory.

Since that point, Daylon is now on his journey and I have been working a slew of shifts. I would love to talk about work, but it would probably bore all of you to tears.

Here is a video of a walk that I took down to a beach today. By the way, this is about a five minute drive from our apartment and a mile from the parking spot. It is my new favorite area here.

 

By the way, there is an extra clip at the end. Are there any freeware programs that can edit a WMV file?