Monterey Bay, CA (3/13/2020)

The forecast was for another nice day before the rains returned, but how often is the forecast correct?  I could have predicted rain every day and had a better track record.  So, it was not surprising that an overnight drizzle lingered on into the morning.  I decided to go ahead with my agenda and hope for the best.  First stop, Old Fisherman's Wharf in hopes of spotting some sea otters or seals.

Soon after arrival, the rain stopped but heavy cloud cover remained.  It was not the nice weather I had been promised.  There were very few people about, just the usual workers moving sea food and a few customers looking to buy.  The sea food did look pretty good.

 

A couple kayaks paddled by, then I saw a head bob up about 100 yards out.  Is it a seal?  No, it's a guy in a wet suit doing some snorkeling in the frigid water.

That's when a man came up to where I was with his daughter and two nieces tagging along.  He had an underwater drone he wanted to show them in operation.  I joined the group and watched as he deployed the robot with its 100 yard umbilical cord.  The man demonstrated how he controlled the drone and let us watch the screen.  It was pretty cool seeing the bottom of Monterey Bay, and each girl got a turn at operating the device.  Suddenly, the screen showed a human-like body in a wet suit.  I thought they had found the snorkeler, but then he came up some distance away.  As the drone worked around the "body" in a wet suit, the suspense rose.  Then we began to clearly see it was a mannequin that must have been dumped as a prank.  Creepy!

I left the group to their fun and began touring the Ocean View Drive around Monterey Bay.  Even with nasty weather, it's a beautiful scene.  Please forgive the terrible skies, that's just the way it was.

 

Of course, I saw some interesting homes and inns, as well as statues, plants  and named rock formations.

The "17 Mile Drive" around Pebble Beach took the entire afternoon, but I'll save those photos until the next travelogue.  For now, I want to finish with my return to Ocean View Drive that evening in hopes of getting a good sunset.  The wind had picked up by then, sending waves crashing into the rocks.

The cloud cover on the horizon blocked the sunset, allowing only a small amount of color over the John Denver Memorial rock.  This is near where he died as a result of running out of fuel while flying his newest plane.  Nearby, the Point Pinos Lighthouse warns ships about the dangerous point.