Monterey, California

MarkBarbieri

Over spring break, I took my wife and kids to California to visit my parents. They were renting a home in a town called Pacific Grove, which is on the Monterey peninsula nestled between the cities of Carmel and Monterey.

It was really just a vacation to visit with the grandparents and let the kids explore and play, but as usual, I worked in some photography.

This first shot is of the sunrise down along the coast. We were staying about a block away from the shore, so it was easy to grab my stuff and wander down after breakfast. Because the shot gives a false impression, I'd like to point out that it was a crisp, clear morning. What appears to be fog is the waves rolling through during a long exposure shot.




Here are a few closeups of the rocks and water.









I really enjoy watching the sea otters in this area. I lack a really long lens to shoot them well, but it's fun to try anyway.





One the boy's favorite activities in playing at the beach. Because the water is so cold, we outfitted them with wetsuits. We forgot to get footies, so they got cold feet, but that didn't seem to bother them much. I should also add that the pink looking wetsuit that my younger son is wearing is really "light purple." Trust me. It was all that they had at the store in his size, so it's not pink - it's light purple.

This shot was taken at a beach by Lover's Point. The rocks in the middle of the picture were where I was standing for the earlier sunrise picture. This beach was great because it was a few blocks from the house so the kids could play there in the afternoons after our outings.





I did a little random surfer shooting while we were there. I have no idea who these guys are, but they were fun to shoot.







Another favorite activity of the kids was playing at Denice the Menace Park. This park, in Monterey, was donated by Hank Ketchum, the author to the Denice the Menace comic strip. Here's a statue of the star of the strip.




Here's my older "menace." Actually, he's a really well behaved kid most of the time.


Here's my younger son getting push around by his mother.

MarkBarbieri

Here are a few more shots back at the Lover's Point beach again. We were there almost every day, at least for an hour, so I have a lot of shots taken here.





Here's my younger son warming his freezing cold hands. As parents, we have lots of odd jobs.



We took a walk into Monterey early in the week. Here's my mother in the grocery store.



OK, technically it's a candy store rather than a grocery store, but I like to eat a lot of candy.

Here's my younger son "rodeo" riding on my shoulders. He was hanging on to the draw strings on my jacket.



We spent several hours that day in a children's museum called My Museum. Here's a house that we "bricked."



Along the walk back, there is an area blocked off from the public. It's quite popular with the seals. Unfortunately, there is a chain link fence blocking the views. You can shoot through the fence, but my lens was too wide to fit through the openings. I coped by climbing on a garbage can and shooting over the fence.






We took a really interesting side trip south to Big Sur. There are numerous state parks dotting the coast, each with stunning scenary. The first that we stopped at was Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. It's famous for McWay Falls, a rare waterfall landing on a beach. It's been shot a million times and under much better conditions by much better photographers, but here's my shot anyway.



Here's a shot from the same area, looking north up the coast.


On the same outing, we stopped at Pfeiffer Burns State Park to hike among the giant trees. Here's a shot of me, the boys, and my father.

MarkBarbieri

One subject that I should have spent more time on was the flowers. There were loads of beautiful flowers everywhere. My favorite were the California poppies. The orange and green contrast wonderfully. Unfortunately, it takes me a long time to set up for a good flower shot and I'm usually running and playing with the boys rather than fiddling around with a tripod and macro lens.


I think this is a Calla.


I'm not even sure what this stuff is, but it grows like a weed all over the place.


Tide pools are another good source for closeup photography. Here is a see anemone.


And a sea star (we used to call the starfish, but apparently that is passe).



Here's my neice trying to capture a B&W picture in extreme manual mode.



We also spent some time at the beach in Carmel. There is a large sandy beach down at the bottom of a large sandy hill. It's a favorite play area for kids and dogs (there is no leash law there).

The boys had a lot of fun flying kites.








After the kite flying, the boys just mucked about having fun in the sand and surf.




Here's a dog that the kids met. He was a great ball chaser.

MarkBarbieri

Another great outing was to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. If you love jellyfish (oops, now they call them jellies), it's a wonderful place to be.



Technically, this shot is upside down, but I think they look better this way.



There are all kinds of different jellies there.






They also had collections other odd denizens of the sea.

MarkBarbieri

Further south in Pacific Grove is a place called Sunset Point. It's a great place to watch sunsets or just bask in the evening light.





We spent another morning hiking and shooting at Point Lobos. It's one of the most beautiful places on earth. It's a fantasic mix of rocks, coves, waves, kelp, and cypress trees. The divers I've talk to say that it's even prettier under the water than it is above.



I met fellow Smugmug photographer Gregg Hall out there.

Along the way home from Point Lobos, we took 17-mile drive. It's a toll road that runs along Pebble Beach through the expensive part of the Carmel area. OK, it's all expensive, but this is the part that mere millionaires think is expensive.

Here is the obligatory shot of The Lone Cypress.


We also saw bunches of otters (too close for any decent shots) and more seals (or are they sea lions?).




Here's mom helping our youngest get a better view.


We also saw Bird Roost, which is a rock very popular with the local birds. I suspect that the rock was originally a dark color before the birds started, um, decorating it.



Here's a wider view of the area.

hamster

Beautiful shots! I grew up in Monterey, as a matter of fact we took our son to Dennis the Menace park last week. The plant you can't identify is ice plant, a succulent. (Carpobrotus edulis)

MarkBarbieri

Back in town, I went out for an evening to do a little night shooting. There is a beautiful bed and breakfast called the Seven Gables. We didn't stay there, but I took pictures of it anyway. Here is a shot of it in the evening.



Here's a moonlit shot of the bay.




The next day found us back at the Lover's Point beach. Here are still more shots of the boys playing at the beach.







Our last big outing was to the Big Sur Lighthouse. It's an old lighthouse complex on a huge rock setting just off the coast. It's a fascinating tour.







Some flowers along the walk up to the lighthouse.



Mom carrying the youngest up the road.


The lighthouse.


Here's the stairway up to the light.


That's it. It was a wonderful journey. Everyone had a great time and I got some pictures that I'm happy with.

All of the pictures are posted on my Smugmug site. Clicking on any of the pictures above will take you to the photo on my site.

If you want, you can also see a slideshow here. It's a Windows Exe, so you can't run it on a Mac or Linux machine without emulation. I need to get Flash so that I can do these in a less proprietary way, but I'm not there yet.

I hope that it's not too out of place on a serious photography forum to post what are basically family vacation snapshots, but hey, it's what I've got. I love doing stuff with the family and I love photography so I mix the two together.

a110p0

Neat!
Mark,
Thanks for sharing your vacation photos. Looks like a wonderful trip,
one that your family will have fond memories of for a lifetime.

I didn't see one video game! It's great when kids can be outdoors
playing and having fun.

Alvin

Cuong

Looks like a fun and memorable vacation for the family. I'm impressed with your effort to capture the whole experience. Beautiful pictures and thank you for sharing.

Cuong

Eia

The photos are extraordinary and such a pleasure to view. The angles, dop, clarity and originality are wonderfully fun to see. Thank you for sharing these, I truly enjoyed them.

~Eia~

Dee

One of my favorite areas to explore. How lucky you all were to spend a vacation there. Your vacation photos are fantastic, and I'm sure your son will love the "light lilac" surf suit in years to come! I wasn't aware there was a secret seal beach either!

Love the aquarium shots too! And the misty water shots, you did these very well.

I had a nice time looking at your vacation photos!

MarkBarbieri

a110p0 wrote:

I didn't see one video game! It's great when kids can be outdoors
playing and having fun.

I wouldn't want to give a false impression. The boys both play with their Nintendo DS games, even on vacations. They sure make flights and long drives much more pleasant for everyone. Rather than push for a non-video game existance, we just strive for what we think is an appropriate balance.

I'm a techno gadget freak and my kids are certainly going that way. In fact, when we took the boys on a multi-night canoe/camping trip down the Buffalo River last year, I bodged up a backcountry Nintendo DS charger using parts for a regular charger and a 6 volt flashlight. The kids got to play their DSes without worry about running out of juice and I got to bask in the reputation as a dad that can do amazing things with electronics. I'm also hoping that the boys learned the power that engineering skills can give you in life.



Heck, we even brought a video player with a hard drive loaded with gobs of movies and TV shows.



Yeah, it wasn't the most natural of camping trips. Our goal wasn't to subject the kids to some outdoorsy challenge. We just wanted them to go camping and enjoy it. They loved being in the boat, playing in the water, exploring the camp, playing with the campfire, and all that camping stuff. They also loved having some of the comforts of home like the ability to play Nintendogs, watch Beakman's World, and read bedtime books. We're an odd family, but we're a happy one.

DI-Joe

*sigh*

I used to live in Monterey, and boy do I miss it, these pics don't help things either. You've managed to capture places and things that I have myself stood, or existed and that... is strange to think about. hahaha.

Soooooo many great things to do in such a little town. I miss the summer's there. I was within walking distance to the beach(then again isn't everyone?).

I used to play chess at the chess club at 630 1/2 Alvarado St. haha.

ian408

Monterey and surrounding environs are a great place to spend time.

If you get back, head over to Carmel State Beach. I think you'll find it to your
liking

a110p0

Balance

MarkBarbieri wrote:

I wouldn't want to give a false impression. The boys both play with their Nintendo DS games, even on vacations. They sure make flights and long drives much more pleasant for everyone. Rather than push for a non-video game existance, we just strive for what we think is an appropriate balance.

I understand, I like my gadgets too. Like you say, balance is important.

Alvin

summerz

Great pics, looks like a fun time.:D

grimace

Beautiful series of shots!!

cmr164

I really enjoyed the photos. A great story told, with some outstanding shots.

Pezpix

Great journey. Thanks for sharing the adventure with everyone. I really liked your water movement photos very much. Monterey is such a great adventure. You really could spend a lifetime there just in photography alone!

As for your question on what the plant that grows everywhere. Its an iceplant and they are non-native invasive plants that are slowly in the process of being removed in many areas along the central coast (notably Garrapata State Park in Carmel by the Sea). They are very pretty though FWIW