Adventures of a Home Town Tourist

FREE Audio Self-Guided Driving tour of Lake Tahoe From South Lake Tahoe to Tahoe City by VoiceMap - LIMITED TIME

2026-07-15T09:01:37.901-07:00

I have a limited amount of FREE self-guided audio driving tours available for download via VoiceMap.me. Sign up for a free VoiceMap.me app then use this Tour Code SLTTCFRE for a Free self-guided audio driving tour of Lake Tahoe from South Lake Tahoe to Tahoe City. This tour also comes with a hiking guide of the area. The flyer below explains more about this tour and how VoiceMap.me works.

I have many self-guided walking and driving tours.

You may visit my entire library of tours here. Happy Adventures!

FREE Audio Self-Guided Driving tour of Lake Tahoe From Incline Village to South Lake Tahoe by VoiceMap - LIMITED TIME

2026-07-13T11:42:36.928-07:00

I have a limited amount of FREE self-guided audio driving tours available for download via VoiceMap.me. Sign up for a free VoiceMap.me app then use this Tour Code INCSLTFR for a Free self-guided audio driving tour of Lake Tahoe from Incline Village to South Lake Tahoe. The flyer below explains more about this tour and how VoiceMap.me works.

I have many self-guided walking and driving tours.

You may visit my entire library of tours here. Happy Adventures!

FREE Audio Self-Guided Walking tour of Downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea by VoiceMap - LIMITED TIME

2026-06-20T10:27:52.505-07:00

I have a limited amount of FREE self-guided audio walking tours available for download via VoiceMap.me. Sign up for a free VoiceMap.me app then use this Tour Code IGFDCOHT for a Free self-guided audio walking tour of Downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea. This tour will take you through some of the charming hidden passageways that intersect Carmel-by-the Sea in about one hour. The flyer below explains more about this tour and how VoiceMap.me works.

I have many self-guided walking and driving tours of Carmel-by-the-Sea. You may visit my entire library of tours here. Happy Adventures!

FREE Audio Self-Guided Fairy Tale House Tour of Carmel-by-the-Sea - Limited Time

2026-06-18T12:10:25.245-07:00

I have a limited amount of FREE self-guided audio walking tours available for download via VoiceMap.me. Sign up for a free VoiceMap.me app then use this Tour Code IGFFAIRY for a Free self-guided audio walking tour of the Fairy Tale Houses of Carmel-by-the-Sea. The flyer below explains more about this tour and how VoiceMap.me works.

I have many self-guided walking and driving tours of Carmel-by-the-Sea. You may visit my entire library of tours here. Happy Adventures!

FREE Self-Guided Audio Walking Tour Carmel-by-the-Sea: Scenic Road along Carmel Beach

2026-06-11T10:41:35.756-07:00

I have a limited amount of FREE self-guided audio walking tours available for download via VoiceMap.me. Sign up for a free VoiceMap.me app then use this Tour Code IGFSCENI for a Free self-guided audio walking tour of Scenic Road in Carmel-by-the-Sea. The flyer below explains more about this tour and how VoiceMap.me works.

I have many self-guided walking and driving tours of Carmel-by-the-Sea. You may visit my entire library of tours here. Happy Adventures!

GPSmyCity Free Downloads July 14-28, 2025 (San Sebastian Garabandal, Lourdes, and Santarem)

2025-07-13T06:58:00.000-07:00

San Sebastian Garabandal, Spain

On Monday July 14, 2025 I will be releasing 9 new tours with GPSmyCity. These tours which were featured in my last few blog posts are from our latest trip to Portugal, Spain, and France. For two weeks (until July 28, 2025) three of these tours are available for free.

Grotto at Lourdes, France

These tours are: San Sebastian Garabandal, Spain where we highlight a walking tour through this tiny village where the Blessed Mother appeared in 1961. Lourdes, France where we highlight a tour of the Lourdes Sanctuary as well as the surrounding town. This is the location of the Blessed Mother's apparitions in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous. Santarem, Portugal where we highlight the Church of the Holy Miracle, the site of the Eucharistic Miracle of 1247.

Church of the Holy Miracle, Santarem, Portugal

If you are interested in any of these tours, the links above will go live on July 14. The tours will be free until July 28 through GPSmyCity.

Montserrat, Spain

The rest of my tours will also go live on July 14 but they will not be free to download. These tours are Covadonga, Spain / Montserrat, Spain / Manresa, Spain / Loyola, Spain / Santiago de Compostela, Spain / Fatima, Portugal.

I bid you much peace and happy adventures!

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Interested in being your own tour guide? I have over 30 published GPS audio tours with VoiceMap (Carmel, Monterey, California Gold Country, Folsom, Tahoe, Sacramento) and over 40 tours published with GPSmyCity (Carmel, Monterey, Big Sur, Folsom, Sacramento, Boston, Cinque Terre, Kotor Montenegro, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Estonia, Covadonga, Spain, Montserrat, Spain, Manresa, Spain, Loyola, Spain, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Fatima, Portugal, San Sebastian Garabandal, Spain, Lourdes, France, Santarem, Portugal ). Happy Adventures!

Momboisse Family Adventures April 2025: Barcelona, Spain

2025-06-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

Sagrada Familia

Wednesday April 9, 2025

Barcelona traffic

We are not in the country anymore. Our bus comes to a complete stand still as we inch our way the last few miles into Barcelona. We will spend the last two nights of our trip at the Sercotel Caspe Hotel, located in the Eixample neighborhood.

Sercotel Caspe Hotel lobby

Hotel lounge

With a late arrival in Barcelona there is only time to check in and have dinner before we retire for the night.

Wednesday April 10, 2025

A bit of rain on our last day of touring. But that doesn't stop us. After our hearty buffet breakfast in the hotel dining room we are ready for a whirlwind tour of the best of Barcelona.

Cava for breakfast!

We board our bus and ride a short distance to the Church of the Sagrat Cor (Sacred Heart) on Casp Street. The church is located inside the Col-legi Casp school, a primary and secondary school run by the Jesuits.

Church of the Sagrat Cor (Wikidata)

We enter through a side entrance for Holy Mass in one of the chapels. The pictures below are of this chapel and Fr. Thom celebrating Mass.

After Mass we toured the main church where the sword that is attributed to St. Ignatius is displayed on a side altar.

St. Ignatius Sword at side altar to right above

Main altar Church of Sagrat Cor

This is the original sword that Ignatius placed at the feet of the Black Madonna in Montserrat in 1522. We saw a copy of this sword when we toured the Sanctuary of Loyola.

Sword of St. Ignatius

I picked up a pamphlet at the church that explained the itinerary of the sword. Here is a brief summary. After being left by St. Ignatius in 1522, it was discovered by the Duchess of Gandia Juana of Velasco and Aragon who testified that when she went to Montserrat the sword was still present in the chapel. In 1640 the sword was brought to Barcelona by Abbot Juan Manuel. In 1674 Belgian Jesuit Ignatius Cant testified that he saw the sword in the church of Bethlehem in Barcelona which was owned by the Jesuits. In 1907 Fr. Ramon Garriga, the parish priest of the church of Bethlehem gave the sword to the Society of Jesus and the Church of Sagrat Cor. And the sword has remained here in this church since that time.

An archeological examination of the sword was also performed. This examination found that the name of the person who made the blade, which is carved on the sword, was Gonzalo Simo of Toledo. The initials of the owner of the sword are also carved. They are YY. It was deduced that this would have been for Ynigo Yanez. St. Ignatius is the youngest son of Don Beltran Yanez de Onez y Loyola. Ignatius was baptized Inigo and used this name until his priesthood when he took the name Ignatius of Loyola. Inigo is also spelled Ynigo. So there you have it.

Our Pilgrim Family in front of the Barcelona Cathedral

From Mass at the Church of Sagrat Cor we take off on foot for a 10 minute walk to our next stop a tour of the Barcelona Cathedral.

Map of the Barcelona Cathedral

The present gothic style Barcelona Cathedral was constructed starting in 1298 and continued for over 150 years.

Entrance to #1 the Choir

The Gothic style wooden choir stall contains reliefs of scenes from the life of Saint Eulalia.

Looking toward #2 the High Altar

#2 the High Altar

Crypt of Saint Eulalia

Under the High Altar, and constructed in the early 14th century, is the crypt of Saint Eulalia patron saint of Barcelona.

Side altars with elaborate altarpieces (b)

The Gothic style cloister in the center of the cathedral was built between the 14th and 15th centuries. It is home to 13 white geese. The number signifies the age of Saint Eulalia at the time of her martyrdom.

Saint George Fountain in the cloister

After our tour of the Cathedral we have a short walk to our bus. Along the way we will pass by the Church of Saint Mary of the Sea. Construction of the present church dates from the 1320's.

Church of Saint Mary of the Sea

From the Pla de Palau we are back on the bus for a short driving tour of the city. Along the way we will pass the Barcelona Zoo, Jardins Fontsere i Mestre, Arc de Triomf...

...down La Rambla Street, then past Casa Batllo designed by Antoni Gaudi...

Casa Batllo (Wiki Commons License)

Casa Mila by Gaudi

...Casa Mila also by Gaudi...La Monumental, the last place in Catalonia where bullfights were held.

The Monumental

Our driving tour ends at the Basilica de la Segrada Familia where we will enjoy an hour tour of the interior of this church.

The following YouTube videos cover the history of the construction of this church. The goal is to complete construction in 2026 the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death. But will that happen? Only God knows.

Construction Sagrada Familia

Building the Sagrada Familia 1954 - 2018

One final dinner with our pilgrim family at the hotel dining room. And one final blessings from Fr. Thom.

Thursday, April 10, 2025

After a most stupendous and grace filled pilgrimage, today we all head out to the Barcelona Airport for our flights home.

Until next time, blessings and peace.

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Interested in being your own tour guide? I have over 20 published GPS audio tours with VoiceMap (Carmel, Monterey, California Gold Country, Folsom, Tahoe, Sacramento) and over 40 tours published with GPSmyCity (Carmel, Monterey, Big Sur, Folsom, Sacramento, Boston, Cinque Terre, Kotor Montenegro, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Estonia, Covadonga, Spain, Montserrat, Spain, Manresa, Spain, Loyola, Spain, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Fatima, Portugal, San Sebastian Garabandal, Spain, Lourdes, France, Santarem, Portugal). Happy Adventures!

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All photos and videos by L.A. Momboisse unless otherwise noted

Momboisse Family Adventures April 2025: Manresa, Spain

2025-06-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

Wednesday April 9, 2025

Point Vell Bridge and Basilica of Santa Maria as seen from the Cova Sant Ignasi

Late in the afternoon we board our bus in Montserrat and travel about 30 minutes to Manresa, Spain.

Point Vell Bridge

As we arrive in Manresa we pass under the stone Point Vell bridge which dates to the 12^th or 13^th century. Then immediately the Basilica of Santa Maria which stands high on a rock comes into view.

Basilica of Santa Maria

The original church of Santa Maria dates to 890 but much of it was destroyed over the years. In 1322 a large addition and renovation was undertaken. It was finally completed almost 100 years later.

Entrance to the Church of the Cova Sant Ignasi

Our only stop in Manresa is the Church of the Cova Sant Ignasi, built in the 17^th century over the cave in which Saint Ignatius of Loyola used as a place for prayer for several months while he lived in Manresa. It was here that he wrote his Spiritual Exercises.

High Altar of Cova Sant Ignasi

The 8 side altars of this church has been decorated by Marko Rupnik former Jesuit priest who was excommunicated in 2020 after begin accused of sexual misconduct. Less than a year after his excommunication he was commissioned to install a set of mosaics in the Sanctuary of the Cave of St. Ignatius.

These mosaics, based on the Spiritual Exercises written by Saint Ignatius, were installed in 2021 in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Saint Ignatius to Manresa in 1522. Rupnik also created the prominent mosaics in Fatima at the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity and Lourdes at the Basilica of the Holy Rosary.

Map of the interior of Cova Sant Ignasi

From the main church we enter the cave lobby (#5 Anantcova in map above). The floor and walls are covered with mosaics, stained glass windows, and bronze reliefs.

Many of the mosaics and windows contain portions of the text of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius: "Man is created to praise, reverence and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul. For it is necessary to make ourselves indifferent to all created things...desiring and choosing only what is most conducive for us to the end for which we were created."

We step down to enter the Holy Cave. On the wall of the cave are a set of crosses that are said to have been carved by St. Ignatius. This chapel cave is where we will celebrate Holy Mass.

Steve reading one of the more challenging readings of the week, from the Book of Daniel Chapter 3.

The Cave Chapel

Crosses carved by St. Ignatius

After Mass we visit the small museum which features a copy of the sword that St. Ignatius left at Montserrat and his espadrille (rope-soled sandal) that he wore during his stay in Manresa.

Back on the bus we have a two hour drive to Barcelona. This will be our last stop on our two week pilgrimage.

Next Stop Barcelona, Spain

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All photos and videos by L.A. Momboisse unless otherwise noted

Momboisse Family Adventures April 2025: Montserrat, Spain

2025-06-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

Tuesday April 8, 2025

Montserrat

It is an early 5:45am departure from Lourdes as our group travels to Montserrat Sanctuary in Spain. Our 5-1/2 hour drive will take us through the Pyrenees Mountains and across the French border into Spain. Our goal is to make it to Montserrat in time to see the Boys Choir at 1:00pm. Leo kindly lets us sleep for two hours as we travel through the darkness. After crossing into Spain Leo quietly breaks our silence with "Good morning pilgrims."

Co d Oskar Vielha, Spain

After a short stop at Restaurant Co d Oskar in the mountain ski town of Vielha for coffee we are back on the road to Montserrat.

Mountains of Montserrat

3 -1/2 hours later we arrive at the Montserrat Sanctuary. This is one of the main tourist stops for people who live around Barcelona. During the day bus loads of visitors arrive. We arrive at peak time, with busses unloading hundreds of passengers.

Our driver gets as close as possible and drops us near the Saint Clare funicular. We unload quickly and fold into the crowd walking up the hill to the shrine. Our luggage will meet us at the Abat Cisneros hotel later in the afternoon.

Entrance into the atrium of the Basilica

We continue walking up the hill and at Abbot Oliba Square gate, enter into the main area where our hotel and the Basilica are located. From this area we go through another gate. This one shown in the picture above is the entrance to the atrium of the Basilica.

The atrium area is shown in the picture below. To the right in the picture below are the rooms where the monks currently live.

Jesus and the Apostles bas-relief

We enter the into the Basilica using the door under the bas-relief of Jesus and the Apostles at 12:45pm and take our seats along with hundreds of other pilgrims just in time for the Boys Choir. In the picture below you can see the Black Madonna positioned above the main altar.

According to Catholic tradition St. Luke carved this statue around 50 A.D. and brought it to Spain. During the Muslim conquest of Spain in the 700's the statue was hidden in a cave at Montserrat. In 880 shepherds were attracted to this cave by a bright light. Inside they found a woodcarving of Our Blessed Mother. The bishop of Manresa tried to take the statue from the cave to Manresa, but when he tried to move it, the statue became impossible to lift. This was interpreted as Our Blessed Mother did not want to be moved and the bishop ordered a chapel built for her. We will visit this chapel tomorrow when we hike to the site of the Holy Cave.

Boys Choir

The Boys Choir here in Montserrat is considered the oldest in Europe dating back to the early 1200's. The boys may join the Choir School around age 9 or 4^th grade, and stay until their voice changes. They study a general education in the morning and their afternoons are dedicated to music, including music theory, choir practice, and instrumental studies. At 1pm each day they gather for 15 minutes to sing the Virolai, a hymn to the Virgin of Montserrat, and the Salve Regina.

After watching the Boys Choir we have an hour to ourselves to get some lunch. There is a cafeteria style lunch option just outside the main gate in Abbot Oliba Square. We head there for our lunch. Then meet back up for a walk through of the Basilica, highlighted by a little history of the area.

Monks dormitory

It is not known exactly when the Monks first came to Montserrat to build the Monastery. But around the 9th century four chapels which were inhabited by hermit monks did exist on the mountainside of Montserrat, St. Mary's, St. Peter's, St. Martin's, and St. Iscle's. The only one still in existence is St. Iscle which is located in the monastery garden.

Image of the Monastery from the Funicular (Wikipedia Commons License)

The monastery was officially founded in 1025 and during the 12th and 13th centuries a Romanesque style church was built to house the carving of the Black Madonna. It was during this time that pilgrims began to visit. In 1492 Benal Boil a hermit from Montserrat joined Christopher Columbus on his voyage to the Americas.

Ignatius in his armor, in a 16th-century painting
(Wikipedia Commons License)

In 1522 Saint Ignatius of Loyola visited the shrine of the Black Madonna in Montserrat. Ignatius was born around 1491. As a young man he joined the army and fought in many battles. On May 20, 1521 during the Battle of Pamplona he was injured and transported back to his family home in Loyola to recover. There he began his spiritual conversion. In 1522 he made a pilgrimage to Montserrat, and it was there while praying in front of the Black Madonna of Montserrat, he laid down his sword and picked up a pilgrim’s staff. He would go one to become a priest and co-founder of the Jesuit order.

Saint Ignatius in Cave at Manresa (Sanctuary of Loyola)

Between 1811 - 1812 the monastery was destroyed by Napoleon's army. Monks returned in 1844 and began reconstruction only to be forced to leave during the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939. At the end of the war the monks returned and continued reconstruction. In 1947 the Black Madonna of Montserrat was enthroned in the Basilica and since that time Montserrat has grown in popularity and caters to a large number of pilgrims each day of the year.

Entrance to the Chapel of the Image of the Mother of God

At 3:00pm we exit to the back of the Basilica through the Ave Maria Path to enter the Chapel of the Image of God. This is where Fr. Thom will celebrate Holy Mass. This chapel was completed in 1885.

Ave Maria Path

The picture above is a view of the Chapel of the Image of the Mother of God toward the altar. The picture below is looking away from the altar.

In the picture above fellow pilgrim Patrick proclaims the days reading from the Book of Numbers Chapter 21. The pictures below show Fr. Thom celebrating Mass in the Chapel of the Image of the Mother of God.

After Mass we climb to the Throne Room where the Black Madonna resides. The stairway and room were completed in 1954.

The picture above shows the door and stairway to the wooden carving of the Black Madonna. It is surrounded by a glass case.

The dark color is not from the wood, it has just darkened over the years. The ritual for venerating the Blessed Mother is to touch her right hand that is exposed. I touch my scapular to her hand.

As we leave the chapel area we walk back through the Ave Maria Path, light a candle and leave our prayer intentions to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Time now to check into the Abat Cisneros Hotel which is situated just outside the main entrance to the Basilica. Then we will return to the Basilica at 6:45pm for vespers sung by the monks and Boys Choir. Unfortunately no pictures are allowed during vespers. Our day ended with dinner at 8:00pm in the hotel dining room.

Mike and I with Fr. Thom

Standard Double Room with View of Monastery

Room with a View

Hotel Dining Room

Wednesday April 9, 2025

Good morning Montserrat. In the early morning hours here before the crowds arrive this place is so tranquil. Sunrise and coffee at our window before breakfast.

Today we have almost all day to enjoy the rest of what Montserrat has to offer. And that would be lots of hiking. With a bad hip that is going to be a challenge, but Mike is up for it!

Pilgrims on the journey

We team up with some of the other pilgrims in our group and plan to take both of the funicular's. The first, the Santa Cova funicular, will take us down the mountain to a path that leads to the chapel built near the Holy Cave where the Black Madonna statue was found in the year 880.

View from the funicular station

In 1929 construction work began on a funicular line to connect the monastery to the path to the Santa Cova (Holy Cave).

Here is a map of the walk from the funicular station to the Chapel. It is about 1 mile round trip over rocky uneven ground.

Though the funicular to connect the path to the monastery was completed in 1929, the actual path to the chapel began in 1693 and was completed in 1704.

5th Joyful Mystery Finding in the Temple

2nd Sorrowful Mystery Scourging at the Pillar

The route has beautiful views of the valley and is divided by 15 sculptures corresponding to the mysteries of the Holy Rosary.

4th Sorrowful Mystery Carrying the Cross

5th Sorrowful Mystery Crucifixion

5th Glorious Mystery Crowning Of Mary Queen of Heaven
Pilgrims on the journey

These monuments were erected between 1896 and 1910, before the funicular. It must have been a massive undertaking to get the sculptures down the mountain.

The chapel at the Holy Cave was constructed between 1696 and 1705. This area just like the monastery was damaged by Napoleon in 1811. It was reconstructed in 1859, damaged again by a forest fire in 1994 and restored in 1997.

Chapel at the Holy Cave

This is where St. Ignatius placed his sword at the feet of the image of Our Lady of Montserrat. Here is an excerpt from the Autobiography of Saint Ignatius: "He continued on his way to Montserrat, pondering in his mind, as was his wont, on the great things he would do for the love of God. And as he had formerly read the stories of Amadeus of Gaul and other such writers, he was filled with these chivalric fancies, and resolved to prepare himself for a noble knighthood by passing a night in vigil before an altar of Our Lady at Montserrat. He would observe all the formalities of this ceremony, neither sitting nor lying down, but alternately standing and kneeling, and there he would lay aside his worldly dignities to assume the arms of Christ. When he arrived at Montserrat, he passed a long time in prayer, and with the consent of his confessor he made in writing a general confession of his sins. Three whole days were employed in this undertaking. He begged and obtained leave of his confessor to give up his mule and to hang up his sword and his dagger in the church, near the altar of the Blessed Virgin."

We reverse our walk back up to the funicular then take a short walk to the entrance to the Saint Joan funicular which will take us up the mountain.

The pictures above are from the Saint Joan funicular entrance, looking back at the monastery and area of Montserrat. We take the ride up the mountain this time. At the top there is a good map of the hikes that lead out from the station. We pick what appears to be an easy hike with the most chapels. It is the red trail marked 3a.

Trail 3a

Along this fairly level trail we will walk by the Chapel of Saint Joan, to the ruins and cave of Saint Joan (AKA as John) and Saint Onofre which is where we stop and turn around. Round trip maybe about 1 to 2 miles. Mike is a trooper and under better circumstances we would have easily made the entire hike as it was well paved with only a few elevation changes.

Looking at Saint Joan's Chapel in the distance

This area of the mountain is known for its little chapels and caves. There were 13 known structures build by hermits along the mountain, separated by paths. All have been named after saints, most are in ruins.

Saint Joan's Chapel built in 1893

Above Saint Joan's Chapel

Stairs to the ruins of Saint Joan (AKA as John) and Saint Onofre

Ruins of Saint Joan (AKA as John) and Saint Onofre

We reverse our hike back to the funicular and are rewarded with this view of Montserrat. At the base we have time for lunch before taking in one more site before leaving for Manresa and Barcelona this afternoon.

After lunch we visit the Museum of Montserrat which was located near our hotel. This museum is not the easiest to tour on your own. Built underground in 1929 it has three floors which go off in all different directions and quickly became a confusing maze as we were backed into corners and lost more than once. We even had a map. Maybe we were tired or just stressed because we had limited time before our bus left for Manresa and Barcelona.

There are over 1300 pieces in this museum but we were interested in a select few. All of which we managed to find!

Giovanni Battista Salvi Madonna Praying c. 1670

Matthias Stomer Adoration of the Shepherds c. 1635

Caravaggio Saint Jerome 1605

Rutilio Manetti Last Supper c 1620

Claude Monet 1883

Pablo Picasso Old Fisherman 1895

Joaquim Vayreda Our Lady of Montserrat 1884

Antoni Caba Our Lady of Montserrat 1878

Salvador Dali 1926

Pablo Picasso 1967

Room filled with 100 Greek and Russian Icons from the 17th to 20th century

Late in the afternoon we board our bus in Montserrat and travel about 30 minutes to Manresa, Spain.

Next stop Manresa, Spain

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All photos and videos by L.A. Momboisse unless otherwise noted

Momboisse Family Adventures: Lourdes, France

2025-05-31T11:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday April 6, 2025 (evening)

We arrived at Hotel Moderne in Lourdes around 5:30pm. This will be our home for the next two nights.

Hotel Moderne Lourdes, France

View from our double occupancy room

Dinner in the hotel dining room 7pm

Monday April 7, 2025

Pilgrims are up early at 7am for breakfast at the hotel. We have one full day in Lourdes and there is so much to see and experience.

Hotel Moderne dining room

Our day will open with Holy Mass at the Grotto, a short walk from our hotel. As we enter the Domaine, the area which surrounds the Grotto, I catch my breath. It is the same experience I had at Fatima and Garabandal. My soul is touched by the spiritual presence of the Our Blessed Mother. It was here on February 25, 1858 that she appeared to Bernadette and asked her to scrape the ground at the back of the Grotto and "Go to the spring drink and wash yourself." At that time there was no spring, but as Bernadette dug in the ground muddy water bubbled up and eventually ran strong and clear.

Lourdes, which is located in the heart of the Pyrenees, was a very small and rural town in 1858. Today however, the town has grown many times over. Every year more than 5 million pilgrims come to visit the sanctuary in search of healing, whether it be in body, mind or soul.

Grotto

Before Mass, Mike and I take time to leave the petitions we have brought from home in the box near the entrance to the back of the Grotto. This is located in the cave below the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

Box for intentions

The Blessed Mother appeared to Bernadette 18 times in 1858. The Grotto where she appeared is called the Massabielle, which in Bernadette's native language Bigourdan, means "old rock." It is a mass of rock about 88 feet high covered in ivy and blackened by smoke from the candles that burn day and night. The Grotto chapel area where we will have Mass this morning was completed in 1955. Inside the Grotto is the source of the spring that Bernadette uncovered February 25, 1858. It is covered by a plate of glass.

Mike and I prayerfully walk behind the Grotto altar, toughing the wet walls of the cave and stop for a moment at the origin of the spring before exiting by the candle tower.

Pilgrims make this walk in silence, each carrying their own cross as they offer it up to Our Lord. Each praying for some kind of healing of body, mind, or soul.

As Mass begins, a small group gathers filling in the wooden pews outside the Grotto. Fr. Thom is the only priest, so he celebrates Mass in English. In the picture below, fellow pilgrim Larry proclaims the days reading from the Book of the Prophet Daniel Chapter 13.

After Mass we met up with our local guide for a 2-1/2 hour tour of the grounds and surrounding town. But before we start our walking tour here is some background on Bernadette and the Apparitions at Lourdes.

Bernadette Soubirous (1844 - 1879)

Bernadette was born on January 7, 1844 to Francois and Louise Soubirous in Lourdes. Francois was a miller and the family was very poor. The family moved many times and once lived in a former prison.

Bernadette's Family

On February 11, 1858 while gathering firewood near what is today the Grotto, Our Blessed Mother Mary holding a rosary in her hand appeared to Bernadette. Mary fingered the rosary as if praying but did not speak, and then disappeared. During the 3rd Apparition on February 18, 1858, Our Blessed Mother spoke asking for Bernadette to "Grace me with your presence here for two weeks."

Virgin in the Grotto

At the 9th Apparition on February 25, 1858, Our Blessed Mother asked Bernadette to "Go and drink at the spring and wash yourself." There was not spring in the area, but after digging in the ground a muddy spring appeared. At each subsequent apparition, more and more people gathered with Bernadette.

Crowned Virgin at night in the center of the Sanctuary

On March 12th the evening of the 12th Apparition, 1,500 people had gathered alongside Bernadette. Catherine Latapie came from a local village. She had a paralyzed arm and bathed in the waters of the Grotto. Her arm was cured and she is the first of many who received cures from the miraculous waters. During the 13th Apparition, Our Blessed Mother asked Bernadette to request of the parish priest that a chapel be built here. The Crypt, the first chapel to be built here opened in 1866.

The Crypt Chapel

On the day of the 16th Apparition March 25, Our Blessed Mother spoke in Bernadette's Bigourdan dialect, "Que soy era Immaculada Councepciou." In English, "I am the Immaculate Conception." Bernadette did not understand what this meant and shared it with the local priest, Father Peyramel. But father knew the meaning, as four years earlier in 1854, Pope Pius IX had proclaimed the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Our Lady of Lourdes as the Immaculate Conception Virgilio Tojetti 1877
(Public Domain)

The title the Immaculate Conception means that Mary was preserved from original sin by an act of God's grace from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church and clearly explained here by former Protestant ministers who have now come home to the Church.

There were two more apparitions after that, with the final one on July 16, 1858. After a thorough investigation, the apparitions at Lourdes were approved by the Catholic Church in 1862. Bernadette entered and professed her vows to the Sisters of Notre Dame of Nevers. She died April 16, 1879 and was canonized a Saint in 1933.

Porte Saint-Michel Gate

Alright, now back to our walking tour. Our guide begins by leading us around the Domaine, which spreads out on both sides of the Gave de Pau River and contains all of the sanctuaries, including the Grotto, Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, and the Basilica of St. Pius X. Though we are already inside the Domaine, I will start this tour as if we are entering the area for the first time. Most visitors will enter through the Porte Saint-Michel off Bd. Remi Sempe. Purses and backpacks are searched here and at each entrance to the Domaine.

Porte Saint-Michel Gate

On either side of the gate are statues of the Archangel Gabriel and Raphael. Just inside the gate is the Breton Calvary. Created in 1900 by Yves Hernot as a gift to Lourdes from the diocese of Breton. In the background is the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

Walking to the left of the Breton Calvary Monument and looking left we view a large expanse of grass. This is the "roof" of the underground Basilica of St. Pius X. In the distance notice the castle fort high on the hill.

Though this fort in Lourdes dates to Roman times, the oldest remains of the current structure date only to the 11^th and 12^th centuries. At one time it was used as a prison, as well as a military barracks. Currently it is the Museum of the Pyrenees, which documents the history of the mountains.

Entrance to Basilica of St. Pius X

A short walk down the esplanade brings us to the entrance to the underground Basilica of St. Pius X.

Main altar in center of basilica

Completed in 1958 and consecrated on the Feast of the Annunciation the same year, this modern oval shaped basilica can seat at least 5,000 and hold up to 25,000 pilgrims.

Around the walls are modern paintings on glass of the Stations of the Cross and Mysteries of the Rosary. A side altar contains relics of Pope Saint Pius X and Pope Saint John Paul II.

From the Basilica of St. Pius X we exited the area at the Porte Saint Joseph, walked up the hill along the Avenue Monseigneur Theas. To the left is the entrance for the Way of the Cross. This 1-mile path, which involves some difficult climbs and descents, opened in 1912. It takes visitors past 15 stations of life-sized cast iron statues.

Entrance to Stations of the Cross

Avenue Monseigneur Theas

Our group re-entered the Domaine area at the Porte de la Crypte. This map shows our walking tour for this portion of the tour.

In the picture below notice two entrances on your left. The lower one is the entrance to the Crypt and the upper to the Upper Basilica also known as the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

Porte de la Crypte

Before entering the the Crypt, take in the views from the upper entrance platform. First, shown below, is the golden crown which sits on the dome of the lower basilica, the Basilica of the Rosary.

In the two pictures below notice the bridges that cross the River Ousse. On the other side of the river are the Church of Saint Bernadette and Chapel of Light where pilgrims light candles.

Saint Bernadette's Church

Back of Grotto and across bridge Chapel of Light

We now enter the Crypt which is between the Upper and Lower Basilicas and is the original chapel built after Our Lady requested it. This chapel opened in 1866.

Exit the Crypt, and using the staircase outside enter the Upper Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

Main Altar of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception

After the completion of the Crypt, it was determined that it was not large enough to accommodate the increasing number of pilgrims. The Upper Basilica of the Immaculate Conception with its sanctuary directly over the Grotto opened in 1871. It is built with stone from Lourdes in the Gothic style.

Basilica of the Immaculate Conception over the Grotto

The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception can hold 2,000 people and contains 21 side altars and eighteen stained glass windows. Each representing one of the eighteen apparitions.

From the Upper Basilica we visit the Lower Basilica of the Rosary. The Luminous Mystery mosaics on the outside were created in 2009 by the controversial figure and former Jesuit priest Marko Rupnik.

Mosaics by Rupnik on the outside of the Basilica of the Rosary

The basilica dates from 1889 and built in the Romano-Byzantine style. The entrance to the church is shown in the picture above. Side chapels on the inside of the basilica are decorated with mosaics of the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries.

After touring the basilicas we took time for the Water Gesture, which may be performed near the Grotto where there are a number of spickets that dispense the miraculous water of Lourdes.

The source which sprang up when Bernadette dug in the earth on February 25, 1858 now flows at the rate of over 32,000 gallons a day. The water feeds the fountains near the Grotto. It is here that Mike and I filled up a bottle of water to take home and then each performed the Water Gesture.

We each washed our hands, forearms, and face in the miraculous water while at the same time offering our prayers and intentions for healing. This gesture is linked to the 9th apparition February 25, 1858 where Bernadette is instructed to "go and drink from the spring and wash yourself." After this apparition people came from far and near to wash in the waters. The first miraculous healing occurred shortly after the apparition.

Mike and I took the bridge by the Grotto over the river to the store to purchase candles. We lit them in the Candle Chapel. Here in the chapel millions of candles have been burning continuously since the 4th Apparition of the Our Blessed Mother Mary on February 19, 1858. On that day Bernadette prayed the rosary with a lit candle. Mary asked Bernadette to let the candle burn at the Grotto.

Our candle links this continuous chain of prayers to Our Lady of Lourdes as our prayer intentions rise with the smoke to heaven. The video below shows the Candle Chapel and is from the Lourdes Sanctuary site.

Now our tour guide leads our group out of the Domaine to visit a number of places where Bernadette and her family lived. You may see our 1-3/4 mile walking tour here. Starting from the Candle Chapel we cross over the river to the main Domaine grounds.

Walk the Esplanade, exit through Porte Saint-Michel Gate, cross over the bridge and into the narrow sides streets of Lourdes.

Signs on wall designating important sites

We pass by the Moulin Gras (24 Quai Saint Jean) where the Soubirous family lived in 1859 and stop at the Boly Mill (12 Rue Bernadette Soubirous) the birthplace of Bernadette January 7, 1844.

Boly Mill at the time of Bernadette 1844

This water-mill was where Bernadette Soubirous lived for the first ten years of her life. It is now a museum.

Boly Mill 2025

The first room inside the Boly Mill gives a history of the Soubirous family and of Lourdes.

The rest of the home, which was refurbished in 2012, has been set up to appear as it was in 1844. There is the room where Bernadette was born in 1844, a kitchen, and ancient water mill.

Water mill

From the Boly Mill we continue to the Maison Paternelle (2 Rue Bernadette Soubirous) where Bernadette’s parents lived after the apparitions. It was a gift to her parents by the parish of Lourdes and Father Peyramale.

The house still belongs to the Soubirous family and the museum is run by Bernadette's descendants. Inside, the historic house has been decorated with period furniture. There are also several relics of Saint Bernadette, such as her baptism dress, her handkerchief, and several letters, on display that have been preserved by the family.

As you walk past buildings that pertain to Bernadette's life you will also see metal markers in the ground. This will help you know you are on the right path.

Our next stop is Le Cachot (rue des Petits Fossés) where the Soubirous family lived after being displaced from the Boly Mill from 1856 to 1858.

In the Cachot, a former prison, the six person family shared one small room. On February 11, 1858, Bernadette left the Cachot to gather fire wood. It was on that day that Our Blessed Mother first appeared to Bernadette in the Grotto.

Finally we come to the cemetery where some of the Soubirous family are buried.

Bernadette's body lies mostly incorrupt in the Main Chapel of the Convent of Saint Gildard in Nevers, France.

Picture of St. Bernadette in Nevers, France taken from a picture on the wall of the Cachot

We finish our walk back at the gate of the Domaine. Have lunch on our own at the Brasserie Salon de Saint Sauveur (9 Rue Sainte-Marie). And spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the town before meeting back up at 7pm for dinner at the hotel dining room.

After dinner we meet back at the Domaine for the 9pm Rosary Procession, which happens every night.

Tomorrow Montserrat

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All photos and videos by L.A. Momboisse unless otherwise noted

Momboisse Family Adventures April 2025: Loyola, Spain

2025-05-30T15:14:00.000-07:00

Sunday April 6, 2025

Sanctuary of St. Ignatius of Loyola (Wikipedia General Public License)

After a hearty breakfast at our hotel Casona de los Caballeros dining room we leave at 8:30am for Loyola, Spain, the birthplace of Saint Ignatius, founder of the Jesuit Order. Another day of pleasant weather, around 57 degrees and partly cloudy. Our two hour bus ride will take us along the northern edge of Spain, through Bilbao one of the commercial hubs of Spanish Basque Country. As we ride, Leo will enlighten us with the story of Ignatius.

Born in 1491 in Spain, Ignatius was baptized with the name Iñigo. He joined the army at the age of 14.

Birth of St Ignatius by Juan de Espinal
(Museum Sanctuary of St. Ignatius in Loyola)

On May 20, 1521, he was gravely injured in the leg by a cannonball in the Battle of Pamplona and transported back to his family home in Loyola to recover.

Bronze statue depicting the scene of Iñigo being carried to his home
(Museum Sanctuary St. Ignatius in Loyola)

During his recovery he read the lives of the Saints and had a spiritual conversion and call to the religious life. After he recovered he set off on a pilgrimage arriving in March of 1522 at the Benedictine monastery at Montserrat. In front of the Black Madonna's image in Montserrat, Iñigo hung up his sword and gave up his former life.

Copy of the Black Madonna of Montserrat and St. Ignatius' Sword
(Museum at the Sanctuary of St. Ignatius)

From Montserrat he walked to the town of Manresa where he lived in a cave for several months. This was where he wrote his Spiritual Exercises. From 1526 to 1527 he studied theology in preparation for the priesthood, and was ordained in 1537 taking the name Ignatius.

St. Francis Xavier, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Peter Faber

(Museum at the Sanctuary of St. Ignatius)

Two years later Ignatius, along with his companions Francis Xavier and Peter Faber, formed the Society of Jesus also known as the Jesuits. Ignatius was chosen as the first Superior General of the Jesuits. He and his companions opened schools, colleges, and seminaries across Europe and Asia. Ignatius died in 1556 and would be declared a Saint in 1622.

Sanctuary of St. Ignatius of Loyola

We arrived at the Sanctuary around 11am. It is built over and around the tower house of the Loyola Family which dates to the 14th century. Our tour starts with the house, which is now a museum. The museum is divided into four floors and accessed by a series of stairs. There is an elevator that accesses the fourth floor for the Chapel of the Conversion where we will attend Mass.

Each floor of the house contains artifacts important to the life of St. Ignatius. Some of these items have been shown in pictures earlier in this post. The ground floor and first floor were used for storage and a kitchen.

The next floor was used as a dining area and master bedroom. It was in this room that Iñigo was born in 1491.

On the fourth floor we enter the Chapel of the Conversion. This is where St. Ignatius convalesced after his injury from the Battle of Pamplona and had his conversion. In the Chapel of Conversion Fr. Thom celebrated a private Mass for our small group.

Entering the Chapel of Conversion

Chapel of Conversion

From here we head back to the entrance of the Basilica. The Holy Door for the Jubilee Year has been opened and our group of Pilgrim's proceed to enter.

The Jubilee Year 2025 began on December 24, 2024 and will last until January 6, 2026. Walking through a Holy Door confers upon the pilgrim the opportunity to receive a plenary or partial indulgence, meaning the forgiveness of their sins. The main Holy Doors are in Rome: St. Peter's, St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major. But Bishops around the world, including our own Bishop Soto in Sacramento, have designated specific Basilica's, churches, and Marian sites as Holy Doors.

Made of large blocks of local limestone and designed by Italian architect Carlo Fontana, the first stone of the Basilica was laid in March of 1689 and was dedicated on the feast of St. Ignatius July 31 1738.

The main altar was designed in the churrigueresque style by Ignacio de Ibero between 1750 and 1757. Behind the altar, over the Tabernacle, is a statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Side altars are dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and co-founders of the Jesuits St. Francis Xavier and St. Peter Claver.

The following YouTube video showing the inside of the Basilica is presented by the Sanctuary of St. Ignatius.

After our tour of the Sanctuary, we board our bus for a 3 hour drive to Lourdes, France. As we drive we will have a view of the Pyrenees Mountains.

Next Lourdes, France

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All photos and videos by L.A. Momboisse unless otherwise noted

Momboisse Family Adventures April 2025: Potes, Spain and Santo Toribio de Liebana Monastery

2025-05-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday April 5, 2025 (afternoon)

Santo Toribio de Liebana Monastery (Spain)

Our group leaves Garabandal around noon for Potes, Spain. We will be stopping here for lunch before heading to the Santo Toribio de Liebana Monastery for Mass.

As we drive, we skirt the outside of the Picos National Park, taking in the beauty of its grandeur from our bus windows. The park takes its name from the picos or spike rock formations of the park. It is also home to the brown bear and Iberian wolf. Neither of which we would see from our bus. But I am sure they are out there.

We arrive in Potes, Spain at 1:30 for lunch. This medieval town is known as being the gateway to the Picos National Park. A short walk from the bus parking area takes us to numerous options for lunch.

We enjoy lunch at the Casa Guela overlooking the Quiviesa River a tributary of the Deva that flows from the Picos de Europa. Though the clouds appear dark and menacing, only a few drops of rain fall on our outdoor lunch.

After lunch we have a short time to explore this charming town of Potes, Spain before hopping back on the bus for a 10 minute drive to the Santo Toribio de Liebana Monastery.

Santo Toribio de Liebana (Wikipedia Commons License)

The monastery of Santo Toribio de Liebana was founded around the 6^th century. In the 8^th century the relic of the Lignum Crucis (The True Cross) was brought to this monastery to keep it safe from the Muslims. The reliquary, in the shape of a cross, contains the largest piece of the True Cross which was brought here by Saint Toribio from the Sanctuary of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem where it was discovered by Saint Helena mother of Constantine the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity in 312. According to Christian tradition, the True Cross is the cross on which Jesus was crucified.

Construction on the gothic style church we visit today began in 1256. It has been remodeled several times since the 1200's. The picture below is of the main altar.

Also significate to this church are the Beatos. During the 8^th century a monk named Beatus came to live in the monastery. He created a series of manuscripts known as Beatos which are commentaries as well as colorful illustrations on the book of the Apocalypse (Revelation) written by Saint John.

The monastery of Santo Toribio de Liebana was closed in 1836 when Spain decreed the Law of Disentailment whereby monastic properties could be sold as a source of income to pay off the government financial debt. The monastery was finally restored in 1957 and presently is run by a the Franciscans.

Our Mass today celebrated by Fr. Thom will be in the Lignum Crucis chapel (chapel of the Holy Cross).

Fellow pilgrim Steve proclaims the
reading from the Book of Wisdom Chapter 4

Reliquary of the Holy Cross behind the altar in the Lignum Crucis Chapel

The Lignum Crucis chapel dates from to the 18th century. Above is the altar piece and reliquary of the Holy Cross. After Mass Fr. Thom presents the relic to us for veneration. The relic is a large part of the left arm of the Holy Cross. It includes the hole where Christ’s hand was nailed.

Scientific tests carried out on this relic took place in 1958. It was determined that the wood is a variety of cypress native to Palestine and over 2,000 years old.

After Mass we leave Santo Toribio around 6pm to travel back to Santillana del Mar. Each afternoon our group carves out a time to pray the Rosary together. After the Rosary, the bus becomes quiet, eye lids become heavy as we are all lulled to sleep by the motion of the bus. Out the window, the beauty of Picos National Park pass by. Before we know it we have arrived back at the Casona de Los Caballeros Hotel. Just a few minutes to freshen up before boarding our bus for a five minute ride for an 8:30 dinner at the Bridge Tavern.

Next Loyola, Spain

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All photos and videos by L.A. Momboisse unless otherwise noted

Momboisse Family Adventures April 2025: San Sebastian Garabandal, Spain

2025-05-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

Friday April 4, 2025

Back on the bus at 6pm we are on our way to Santilla del Mar and hotel Casona de los Caballeros which will be our home base for the next two nights for our visit to Garabandal and Santo Toribio de Liebana Monastery. The hotel, originally built as an estate in the late 1600's, was restored in 2006 as a 4-star hotel in the middle of the historic district of Santilla del Mar.

Casona de Los Caballeros Hotel

View from our hotel room

Double occupancy room

Dinner during our stay will be at the Bridge Tavern (Barrio San Juan, Nº6, 39530 Puente San Miguel, Cantabria, Spain) which is associated with the Casona de Los Caballeros Hotel. A three course sit down meal with wine.

Bridge Tavern

One week into our pilgrimage and we have already bonded with our travel mates. Each one has a unique story and we are enjoying the time we spend at dinner learning about everyone.

We finally retire for the night around 10pm. Tomorrow is a long day of touring Garabandal, Spain.

Saturday April 5, 2025

Garabandal from Apparition Hill

Using Santilla del Mar as our home base, today we will drive to Garabandal, then to Santa Toribio de Liebana and back to Santilla del Mar. With this packed day of touring, we are up early. A hearty breakfast is served at 7:30 in the dining room of our hotel.

Hotel dining room

On the bus by 8:30am our 1 hour drive to Garabandal will take us past sprawling lush green country, and through tiny hamlets such as Mazcuerras and Puentenansa with century old stone buildings. At Casio the road begins to narrow as we begin our climb into the Pena Sagra mountains, foothills of the Cantabrian Range. As we approach San Sebastian de Garabandal our bus driver will being the dance of sharing the road with herdsmen driving their cattle to pasture.

Garabandal is an isolated village, and probably one of the poorest in the community of Cantabria. Little has changed in the 60 years since the last apparition of Our Lady the Blessed Mother Mary in 1965 as Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The principal occupation of Garabandal is raising cattle, which as you can see above is noted on our drive into the town.

Our bus parks just outside the main part of the small town. There are no other tourists. Townspeople go about their daily chores. It is just another ordinary day here.

Our first stop is the Pilgrim Center where we will watch a video on Garabandal and the apparitions of Our Blessed Mother.

Pilgrim Center

On June 18, 1961, four village girls: Conchita Gonzales (age 12), Mari Loli Mazon (age 12), Jacinta Gonzales (age 12), and Mari Cruz Gonzales (age 11) decided to snitch some apples from their schoolmaster's tree on the outskirts of town. After taking the apples Conchita saw her first vision, it was of the Angel. The Angel appeared to all the girls a few more times. On July 1, 1961 he spoke for the first time, announcing that the Blessed Virgin would appear to them soon as Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
On July 2, 1961 Our Blessed Mother appeared to the girls in the pines on the hill overlooking the town for the first time. She appeared holding a scapular and an Infant. On each side was an angel. One of the angel's was the one that had appeared earlier to the children. He was identified as Saint Michael the Archangel. The girls received over 3000 visions and messages at the pines in Garabandal between 1961 and 1965. To learn more about these apparitions, the messages, the Warning, the Miracle, and the Sign that will be associated with Garabandal, please watch the following video. It is the same one we watched at the Pilgrim Center.

The Story of Garabandal

From the Pilgrim Center we make our way through town to the base of Apparition Hill. The path has been paved over the years to accommodate Pilgrims.

Mike and fellow pilgrim Tim getting ready for our walk up Apparition Hill

At the beginning of the path is a tile mosaic marking the location of where Saint Michael the Archangel appeared to the girls.

Pilgrims Meg, Patrick, and Nancy

The accent up the hill is less than 1/2 mile to the Apparition site in the Pines. In the 1960's this was a rocky path. Currently it is in different stages of development, with the Stations of the Cross lining the path.

At the top of the hill are a few oak trees. It is here that the majority of the apparitions of Our Blessed Mother took place.

Placing our petitions for Our Blessed Mother

After some time in prayer and leaving our petitions we had brought from our friends and family at home in the box at Apparition Hill, we made our decent down the back of the hill into town.

Here is a map of our entire 1- 1/2 mile walk from the parking area, past the town church, Information Center, the Pines, and back to the town center.

It has been prophesied that once the Warning, Miracle, and Sign happen, Garabandal will become an even larger place of pilgrimage than Lourdes. When will these signs happen, only God knows. Until then Garabandal will remain a humble town with one small parish church that fills up everyday for Mass.

Church in Garabandal

As we leave Garabandal, church bells are ringing and the towns people gather for Mass. We only had time to peek in as we are on our way to the Monastery at Santo Toribio de Liebana for Mass. But first we will stop in Potes, Spain for lunch.

Next Potes, Spain

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All photos and videos by L.A. Momboisse unless otherwise noted

Momboisse Family Adventures April 2025: Our Lady of Covadonga, Spain

2025-05-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

Friday April 4, 2025

Basilica of Holy Mary, the Queen of Covadonga

After another large buffet breakfast, this one served in the cavernous monk's dining room, our group of pilgrims boarded the bus at 8:30 for Santilla del Mar, Spain. On the way we will stop for lunch in Congas de Onis. Our drive will turn east along the northern coast of Spain through tiny hamlets, and past lush green countryside.

We have just a brief 90 minutes in Congas de Onis. Enough time to have a quick lunch at one of the first restaurants we see after crossing the bridge from the bus parking lot. Our restaurant, the Placo Cocina, sits adjacent to the Rio Güeña.

After lunch we took a few minutes to explore the town and visit the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption of Saint Mary before returning to the bus.

In front of Church of Our Lady of the Assumption of Saint Mary

A bus short ride brings us to the Shrine of Covadonga, located in the Asturias province of Spain in the Picos de Europa mountains. On our way, Leo explains the history and tradition of the shrine.

Basilica of Holy Mary, the Queen of Covadonga

Tradition states that after the Muslims conquered Spain in 711, Pelayo a nobleman soldier hid out in the mountainous caves of the Picos de Europa with a small army.

Monument to Pelayo

In 722 the Muslims sent a large army to confront Pelayo. Pelayo made a cross out of two wood beams placed it at the entrance of the cave and prayed. Our Lady is said to have appeared to Pelayo in silence and then disappeared, leaving behind a statue of herself with the Christ Child.

The Muslims attacked the caves but their arrows merely bounced off the rocks. As the Muslims retreated in frustration, a massive rainstorm overflowed the river not only thwarting them on the ground, but raining down rocks on them from above. Pelayo attributed the victory over the Muslims to Our Lady.

The Battle of Covadonga between Pelayo and the Muslims was considered the beginning of the Reconquista, a series of military campaigns between the European Christian kingdoms and the Muslim kingdoms. The Reconquista ended in 1492 with the fall of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada to the Catholic Monarchs Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon.

Our first stop at the Sanctuary is the Basilica of Holy Mary, Queen of Covadonga. It was built of pink limestone in the Neo-Romanesque style between 1877 and 1901.

Interior of the Basilica

From here we go to the Crypt located beneath the Basilica. This area was consecrated for Mass in 1891 and features a wooden carving of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is here that Fr. Thom will celebrate our daily Mass.

Fellow pilgrim Tony reads from the Book of Wisdom Chapter 2

Behold God's Love for you

After Mass we will climb a few short flights of stairs to the Grotto Chapel of the Holy Cave.

Looking up at the Cave Chapel

The Grotto chapel was originally made of wood and was destroyed in the fire of 1777. It was at that time that the original image of Our Lady was also lost. The current image of Our Lady dates from the 16th century.

Pelayo grave (Wikipedia Commons License)

On the right, just before arriving at chapel is the tomb of Pelayo. It is in a niche in the cave.

Entrance to the cave

Our Lady of Covadonga

Chapel Cave

Our last stop is to the museum and gift store. You may view our walk of the area here. From the parking lot, everything at this shrine is a short walk. Make sure to visit the Basilica, Holy Cave, Monument to Pelayo, and the Museum.

Next stop Santilla del Mar for Garabandal, Spain

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All photos and videos by L.A. Momboisse unless otherwise noted

Momboisse Family Adventures April 2025: Santiago de Compostela, Spain

2025-05-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

Wednesday April 2, 2025

Our bus in front of the San Francisco Hotel Monumento, Santiago de Compostela
We arrive at our hotel the San Francisco Hotel Monumento in Santiago de Compostela around 7pm on April 2, 2025. It would be our home for the next two nights.

Postcard of monastery in room (no year)

Construction of this monastery began in the 1600’s with the cloister. The dining room was added in 1730 and the attached church in 1787.

Cloister

At one time hundreds of Franciscan monks lived in the dormitory, today only 8 share the building with their guests. The hotel opened in 2005 using former monk bedrooms as hotel rooms.

Entrance to Monks dormitory

Standard double room San Francisco Hotel Monumento

Dinner in the San Francisco Hotel Monumento Dining Room

We have just a few minutes to check into our rooms before heading down to the dining room for dinner. Most dinners on our 206 Tour were three course sit down meals, with exquisite table settings, generous portions, served elegantly by hotel staff. An appetizer or salad, main course, and a dessert. Wine and bottled water served with every dinner.

After dinner our group finally retires to our rooms around 10pm. Tomorrow we have a full day in Santiago de Compostela.

Thursday April 3, 2025

A full buffet breakfast with a large selection of hot and cold options is served at 7am in the monk's grand dining room.

Another cool morning at 57 degrees, cloudy but no rain. Today we have the opportunity to walk a portion of the Camino de Santiago, a network of roads that leads across France, Spain, and Portugal to the Cathedral of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela.

The route was established in the 9^th century after the discovery of relics of Saint James the Great. Today there are about 10 different major routes that pilgrims may follow. Each varies in difficulty and length. In general pilgrims will walk about 18 to 20 miles a day and overnight in a pension.

The scallop shell which is found on the coast near Santiago has long been the symbol of the Camino. It is used as a way marker along the Camino. As pilgrims travel the Camino they will have a passport stamped from the different stops along the way.

Our bus dropped the majority of our group at O Pino, about 11 miles from our hotel. They followed this path. O Pino is part of the French Road to Santiago and the last stage before pilgrims finish their Camino.

Our group starting the O Pino portion of the Camino

The rest of us, who have some physical challenges, begin our walk at the end meeting point. We then walk 30 minutes out, turn around and head back to where we started. The goal is to arrive at the end point around the same time as those hiking the longer section. The plan works perfectly.

Our Camino

Our shorter Camino followed this path out and back. It was a serene walk past a babbling brook, stand of flowering European white birch trees, and rustic farm houses. We were even able to get pictures by way markings and stamps on our paper passport.

Passport Stamps

As we made our Camino we passed by joyful pilgrims making their last push to get to the Cathedral for noon Mass and the end of their Camino. "Bon Camino" we all called in unison. And it most certainly as a bon Camino.

Bon Camino

After our abbreviated Camino our group reunited at the Hotel Amenal for Coffee Americano before taking the bus back to our hotel.

Back at the hotel we have a very short turn around time to walk to the Cathedral for the pilgrims' Mass in Spanish at noon.

We enter the Cathedral from the southern Transept. This entrance has maintained its original facade which is Romanesque in style and contains scenes from the life of Christ portrayed in a series of relief carvings.

Southern Transept Cathedral Santiago de Compostela

Main altar Cathedral Santiago de Compostela

The picture above shows a front view of the main altar. We will be sitting to the side. It is from this location where we will enjoy the swinging Botafumeiro.

Botafumiro, which is the Galician word for smoke expeller, refers to what is a large incense holder that is swung by a team of 8 men called tiraboleiros on a pulley system. This teams efforts swing the botafumiro 65 feet high back and forth into the cathedral naves.

Some have said that the purpose of the incense from the botafumeiro filing the nave of the Cathedral is to cover the smell of the pilgrims who arrive here without a proper shower after months hiking the Camino. I prefer a more Catholic explanation from tradition which is, the incense rising from the botafumeiro symbolizes the prayers of the pilgrims rising to heaven and to the heart of God.

Experiencing the botafumiro swinging is one of the highlights of a pilgrims journey. But it does not swing at every Mass. Outside of solemnities or high holy days someone, or an organization must pay to have this done. 206 Tours sponsored the swinging at our Mass.

Here is an edited version of the botafumiro at our Mass

After Mass we had a break for lunch. There are a number of restaurants that line the narrow streets around the Cathedral. We chose the Stella Bar in the Plaza Franco.

Streets of Santiago de Compostela

At 3pm we meet back up with Leo in front of the western entrance to the Cathedral for a tour of the museum and the church.

Work on the western facade of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella began in the 1600’s. This work included the Renaissance style staircase and the two campanas or towers that flank the entrance.

Western entrance 1889 (Public Domain)

We begin our tour by entering the museum located in the building to the right of the Cathedral.

The rooms in the museum feature pieces that belong to the history of the cathedral. On the ground floor are exhibits on the origins of the Cathedral, including pieces of Master Mateo's stone choir which were salvaged after being demolished in the 1600's.

Stone choir

The first floor also features art of the Cathedral from the 13th to the 18th centuries. Two of my favorites are St. Anne and the Virgin and Child by French sculpture Nicolas de Chaterenne (c. 1485 - 1551) and the Annunciation c. 1325.

On the second floor we visit the cloister, the Chapel of the Relics, the Cathedral's Treasury and Chapter Library.

Cloister

Chapel of Relics

From the museum we make our way into the Cathedral to view the main altar from the entrance. In the center of the nave is the pipe organ which is two pieces facing each other. It was designed in baroque style in the early 1700's and upgraded in 2005 with a new electrical system.

Above the main altar is a life-sized statue of Saint James. He faces out over the altar. Pilgrims can see him from their pews. Behind the altar is a small room that is reached by a set of stairs. In this room pilgrims may hug the statue of Saint James from behind. There are no pictures allowed, but each of us climbed the stairs to participate in this tradition.

The tomb of Saint James is in a crypt beneath the main altar. The remains of his disciples, Saint Athanasius and Saint Theodore also reside in the crypt.

We had the rest of the afternoon off and would meet back up in the lobby of our hotel at 7:30 to walk back into the heart of the historic district of Santiago de Compostela to a local restaurant, Petiscos do Cardeal (Rua do Franco, 10) for dinner. While our group reminisced about our day we were served multiple dishes with generous portions of tapas.

Tomorrow Covadonga, Spain

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All photos or videos by L.A. Momboisse unless otherwise noted

Momboisse Family Adventures April 2025 - Porto, Portugal

2025-05-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

Wednesday April 2, 2025

Porto, Portugal from Luis I Bridge

Our day begins early with luggage outside our door at 7am followed by a buffet breakfast at the dining room of the Hotel Santa Maria in Fatima. We are on the bus by 7:45. Leo begins each day we leave one location for another with a headcount and a few questions. "Did you check your room to make sure you did not forget anything? Do you have your passports? Do you have your whisper sets? Yes? Okay good."

This morning as we leave Fatima the temperature is 53 degrees with a thin layer of fog. But this will lift as we travel along the highway past farmhouses, vineyards, and long stands of pine and eucalyptus on our 2 1/2 hour drive to Porto, Portugal.

My mind races trying to identify the trees as they pass swiftly by my window. The maritime pine, native to Portugal, reminds me of home and the Monterey pine. Interspersed I see the stone pine, which is where we get our pine nuts, is also native to Portugal, but also a reminder of home. Before I nod off I spy a Norfolk Island pine...

A half hour out of Porto, Leo calmly brings us all back to consciousness with a gentle "Good morning Pilgrims." Then proceeds to enlighten us with a few interesting particulars about our next stop, the town of Porto.

Panorama of Porto from the Gaia over the Douro River (Wikipedia Commons License)

Located along the Douro River, Porto is the second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. The country of Portugal actually owes its name to Porto, which was originally called Portus Cale. Portus is the Latin word for Port, and Cale refers to the settlement of Celtic people who lived there. Over the years Portus Cale evolved into the name Portugal from which the country took its name.

Another piece of trivia Leo informs us is that the Portuenses (the people of Porto) are nicknamed tripeiros or tripe people. This refers to the time in the early 1400's when higher quality cuts of meat were sent with Prince Henry the Navigator on his expeditions leaving only off-cuts such as tripe for the people to eat. "Do you like tripe," Leo asks? Hmm, not really. Well apparently tripe is an important cultural food to Porto, and Leo feels we should try it. I leave this up to my fellow pilgrims.

Ribera area of Porto UNESCO site (Wikipedia Commons License)

The historic old town, where we will be stopping shortly to visit the Porto Cathedral and the Luis I Bridge, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. But, Leo opines, the story of Porto isn't complete without Port wine. This typically sweet red wine, usually served with dessert, is made here along the Douro River. And though other port-style wines are produced outside Portugal, only wines from Portugal area allowed to be labelled "port." Leo suggests we try the Port wine with the tripe. Maybe? The boat pictured below is a rabelos. Frequently seen along the Douro River as it carries barrels of Port wine to the Gaia for storage and aging.

Rabelos carrying port wine (Wikipedia Commons GNU Free License)

With that background, our bus pulls into Porto at 10:30 and we pick up a local tour guide for a 1 hour bus tour starting from the Monument to the Heroes of the Peninsular War at Avenida de Boavista.

Monument to the Heroes of the Peninsular War
(Wikipedia Creative Commons License)

Portugal, Spain, and England united against Napoleon who invaded the Iberian Peninsula during the Peninsular War from 1808 to 1814. The monument, shown in the picture above, commemorates the joint victory of the Portuguese and their allied forces as well as the men and women of Portugal who fought in these battles.

Casa de Musica
We pass by the Casa de Musica, a nine-floor high asymmetrical polyhedron covered in cement. It was designed by architect Rem Koolhass to mark the year 2001 when the city of Porto was designated the European Capital of Culture. Casa de Musica opened in 2005 as the first building in Portugal aimed from its conception dedicated exclusively to music. This 1,300 seat theatre is home to the National Orchestra of Porto.
Our driver now heads toward the waterfront for a view of a large multi-layer net sculpture drifting and gliding with the wind over the Cidada Salvador Plaza. Installed in 2005, this artistic piece called She Changes by Janet Echelman was designed to reflect Port's seafaring heritage.

She Changes (Wikipedia Creative Commons License)

Continuing along Av. do Brasil we travel through the wealthy neighborhood of Foz do Douro. The name means mouth of the Douro, which is where this neighborhood lies looking out toward the Atlantic Ocean.

On the right is the Fort São João Baptista da Foz. It was built in the late 1500’s to defend the city from French pirates. Fearing an invasion by Spain the fort was reinforced and expanded in the mid 1600’s. By 1694 it was considered a major stronghold in the Portuguese Kingdom and the key to the defense of Porto. In 1759 the fort functioned as a prison for political prisoners and housed over 200 Jesuit priests who were temporarily expelled from European countries. The fort was also used for defense against the French during the Peninsular War in 1808 and the Portuguese Civil War in the 1830’s. Today it is the home of the National Defense Institute.

Fort of São João Baptista da Foz (Wikipedia Commons License)

We turn inland and continue along the Douro River past the Ponte da Arrabida bridge. This separates the two parts of Porto, the old town and the (new) Nova de Gaia. Old Porto located in the Ribeira neighborhood of the city is the historic medieval heart of Porto and a World Heritage UNESCO site. It features narrow streets with colorful buildings, the Porto Cathedral, and terraced homes overlooking the Douro River. Across the river the Nova de Gaia or New Porto features modern architecture and is known for its Port wine cellars.

Arrabida Bridge

Our bus tour will end in the Ribeira neighborhood at the San Bento Metro Station on Av Dom Afonso Henriques.

From here we walk less than a 1/4 mile through narrow streets to the Church of Santa Clara for Holy Mass.

Arriving at the entrance to the church of Santa Clara

Saint Clare welcomes pilgrims

Construction on this convent church was completed in 1457 and a community of Poor Clare nuns moved in. Between 1730 and 1732 the interior of the church was covered with gilded woodwork.

Main altar with Saint Francis to the left and Saint Clare to the right

In 1834 at the conclusion of the Portuguese Civil War, Minister and Secretary of the Kingdom of Portugal, Joaquim Antonio de Aguiar decreed the elimination of all convents, monasteries, colleges, hospices, religious houses, and orders. He did however, out of the kindness of his heart, allow cloistered nuns to live out their life in their convent before closure. The last nun who lived in the Church of Santa Clara died in 1900 and the convent was closed.

Restoration of the Church of Santa Clara took place between 2014 to 2021. In 2021 it was reopened for visiting, worship, and Mass which is celebrated every Tuesday and Saturday. 206 Tours arranged for Fr. Thom to celebrate Mass for us privately.

Fr. Thom in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle

Fr. Thom Celebrating Holy Mass

Master carver Miguel Francisco de Silva did all the gilding in the 1730s. Nearly every square inch, including the ceiling is covered with carved and gilded woodwork. The architectural style is a mixture of Rococo and Baroque.

How did the relationship between the Portuguese monarchy and the Church get so bad that religious houses like the convent of Santa Clara would be closed? Well it is a story as old as time, the story of two brothers who could not get along, Pedro and Miguel.

King John VI of Portugal (Public Domain)

When King John VI of Portugal died in 1826 a dispute over royal succession was opened between two of his sons, Pedro and Miguel.

King Pedro IV (Public Domain) King Miguel I (Public Domain)

Known as the Portuguese Civil War or the War of the Two Brothers, this dispute carried on between 1828 and 1834. King Pedro IV leader of the liberal progressive constitutionalist was Emperor of Brazil and the king’s oldest son. Younger brother Miguel contended that Pedro had forfeited his claim to the throne by declaring Brazil independent. With neither Brazil or Portugal wanting to unify the monarchy this became a problem.

In 1826 Pedro proposed a Constitutional Charter for Portugal in an attempt to unite the traditionalists and the liberals. The traditionalist party as well as the Catholic Church were not satisfied with this and backed Miguel as the successor to the throne of his father. The town of Porto, the center of the Portuguese progressives, declared their loyalty to Pedro IV. King Miguel I initially suppressed these rebellions, but by 1834 after six years of civil war, he formally renounced all claims to the throne of Portugal. Pedro swooped in, restored the Constitutional Charter, confiscated the property of all who had served under King Miguel I, closed all religious houses, and expelled the priests.

After Mass we had two hours on our own in Porto. We joined fellow pilgrims Patty and Charles for lunch a the Batalha Cafe (Praça da Batalha 32 4000-100 Porto, Portugal) a short 5 minute walk from the church.

Batalha Cafe

Our goal in the short two hours we had was to enjoy lunch, walk the Ponte Luis I bridge and tour the Porto Cathedral. A lot to undertake when Mike is limited by his crutches. Still we managed to do this and arrive at our bus meeting spot ahead of everyone else!

After lunch we walked with fellow pilgrims Patty and Charles to the Ponte Luis I Bridge over the Douro River for some incredible views.

Construction was finished on the Luis I bridge in 1886. Linking the Ribeira neighborhood with the Nova de Gaia, the bridge has two levels. The upper for pedestrians and the Metro and the lower level for cars and buses. The wind whips over this bridge in what appears to us almost hurricane speed. So, hold onto your hat and your phone!

Metro approaching

Views from both sides of the bridge. Always watch for the metro as it approaches silently from both directions.

From the bridge we have a short walk to the Porto Cathedral, where we toured on our own before meeting the rest of the group to continue on to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

The Cathedral sits on top of a hill and offers stunning views of the Old Town. Below are pictures of the main entrance to the Cathedral.

The cathedral was built during the 12th and 13th century and contains both Romanesque and Gothic period architecture.

High Altar of the Porto Cathedral

Decorated with azulejo tiles depicting scenes from the Bible, the Gothic-style cloister was built during the reign of King John I of Portugal (1385-1433) and is located inside the Porto Cathedral.

Cloister of Porto Cathedral

Pilgrims waiting for our bus at the Porto Cathedral

Time for a rest on the bus as we travel 3 hours to our next overnight stop, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Next Santiago de Compostela, Spain

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All photos or videos by L.A. Momboisse unless otherwise noted

Momboisse Family Adventures March / April 2025 - Fatima, Portugal

2025-05-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

Monday March 31, 2025

Around 2pm, we all hopped back on our bus in Santarem for a 40 minute ride to Fatima. As we ride through the countryside, Leo gave us a brief history of Portugal up to the time of the apparitions in Fatima.

The Kingdom of Portugal from 1139 to 1910 was classified as a monarchy, alternating over the centuries between absolute monarchy to semi-constitutional monarchy. This monarchy ended with the revolution of October 5, 1910.

A Constitution was approved in 1911, establishing the First Republic of Portugal which would last until 1926 when a military dictatorship took over. In 1914 and until early 1916, Portugal would remain mostly neutral during World War I. Allied to England however, Portugal partnered with them against the Germans later during the war. This brings us to the time of the apparitions of the Angel and Our Lady of Fatima to three young children, Lucia Santos, and Francisco and Jacinta Marto.

Parish Church at Fatima

Our first stop in Fatima is at the Parish Church of Fatima (Av. Irmã Lúcia de Jesus 1988, Fátima, Portugal). The present church dates to the 16th century. Outside there are three statues: Francisco, Jacinta and Our Lady of Fatima all dating to the year 2000.

Inside the church is the baptismal font where Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta were baptized. Also inside is a statue of Our Lady of Pleasures (also called Our Lady of Joy) which was hidden during the Peninsular War (1808 to 1814). It was discovered during the renovations at the time of the apparitions.

Altar at the Parish Church of Fatima

Our Lady of Pleasures (AKA Our Lady of Joy)

Across from the Parish Church is a cemetery where Francisco and Jacinta were first buried. Today both reside in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary at the Sanctuary in Fatima. To see more of the inside of this church, including the baptismal font and learn more of the history please watch this following video.

From the Parish Church it is a short drive to the parking area for the Aljustrel. This is the village where the children were born. Here our group toured their homes and walked to the Well of Arneiro. Click here to view a map of our 1/2 mile round trip walking tour.

From the parking area we walk along the R. dos Pastorinhos, the street where the children's homes reside. Today it is filled with souvenir shops selling goods of Fatima. A far cry from what it must have been like in 1916 when the village was isolated, and families tended to their work caring for livestock and crops.

Souvenir Shop

Francisco and Jacinta Marto's Home

The first house is that of Francisco and Jacinta. The wall outside the house is where the famous picture, shown below, of the children was taken. Our group posed for a picture along the same wall.

Photo taken at the Aljustrel 1917 (Wikipedia Public Domain)

Our group in front of the same wall

The home of the Marto Family was built in 1888 and restored in 2000. It was in this home that Francisco and Jacinta, the youngest of nine children of Olimpia and Manuel Marto were born. Francisco was born June 11, 1908 and Jacinta March 5, 1910.

Both Francisco and Jacinta would receive a vision of Our Blessed Mother in this home. The bedroom shown below was where Francisco died on April 4, 1919 from pneumonia. He was 11 years old. Jacinta died on February 20, 1920 in the Lisbon Hospital. She was 9 years old.

A short distance down the street is Lucia's House. This home was built in 1885 and restored in 1987. Lucia was the youngest daughter of six children of Maria and Antonio dos Santos. She was born in this house March 22, 1907.

Lucia dos Santos Home

In 1921 Lucia went to Porto to attend convent school. A few years later she entered the religious life as a Sister of St. Dorothy in Pontevedra, Spain. While in Pontevedra, Our Blessed Mother would reveal to Sr. Lucia the Five First Saturdays devotion. In 1948, Sr. Lucia received papal permission to enter the Carmelite convent of Santa Teresa in Coimbra, Portugal, and professed as a Discalced Carmelite in 1949 taking the name Maria Lucia of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart. She died February 13, 2005 and is buried with Jacinta and Francisco in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary at the Sanctuary at Fatima.

From Lucia's home we walk a short distance to the well located behind her home. Called the well of Arneiro, this is the location of the second apparition of the Angel, which was witnessed by Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta during the summer of 1916.

Statue of the children and the Angel at the well of Arneiro

The Angel told the children: "Pray very much...Make of everything you can a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which he is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners. You will thus draw down peace upon your country. I am its Guardian Angel, the Angel of Portugal."

After our tour of the Aljustrel we have a short drive to the Hotel Santa Maria in Fatima. Our home for the next two nights. Perfectly located this hotel is a short walk to the Fatima Sanctuary.

Hotel Santa Maria in Fatima

Double occupancy room with rooftop views

Lounge and Dining Room Hotel Santa Maria

After dinner, Leo led a walk to the Sanctuary for the Candlelight Rosary which would begin at 9:30pm. Though most of our fellow pilgrims made it to the procession, some even helped carry the statue of the Blessed Mother, Mike and I retired "early" and would plan on going the following evening.

Tuesday April 1, 2025

Chapel of the Apparitions (left) Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary (center)

Tuesday April 1, 2025, another full day for us pilgrims. Our itinerary started at 7:15am with breakfast and ended at 10:30pm with the rosary. We are getting used to taking a photo of the itinerary posted each day. Keeps us on track and on time. Leo, our tour director thinks of everything. It's another perfect weather day, no rain in the forecast, 68 degrees and cloudy.

After a full buffet breakfast at our hotel, our group met Leo in the lobby at 9am. This would give us time to walk to the Shrine and get good seats for Mass at 9:30 at the Chapel of the Apparitions.

When Mike and I arrive at the Sanctuary for the first time that morning, the area was almost empty. It took my breath away. In 2024 over 6 millions pilgrims registered visiting this shrine. Today there were almost none. An intimate meeting with Our Blessed Mother and her Son on this glorious morning in Fatima.

A little over 100 years ago in 1917 when our Blessed Mother appeared here, this was the Cova da Iria, the field where Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta would pasture their family's sheep. Today there are two large Basilica's and several small chapels. Our Mass this morning would be at the Chapel of the Apparitions. Fr. Thom our fellow pilgrim the main celebrant.

Chapel of the Apparitions

Through the window in the chapel above is the holm oak tree. Our Blessed Mother appeared to the children in the Cova near this tree while they were tending their sheep.

The location of her appearance is marked by the pillar and statue of Our Lady the Blessed Mother in the Chapel of the Apparitions. This is shown in the photo below to the left of the altar where Fr. Thom is co-celebrating Mass.

Statue and pillar near where Our Blessed Mother appeared

Fellow pilgrim Tim proclaiming the day's reading from Ezekiel Chapter 47

Fr. Thom co-celebrating Mass

Our Lady the Blessed Mother appeared near the oak tree to the children five times in 1917. In May, June, July, September and October. During one of her apparitions, she requested a chapel be built. Construction began in 1919 and Mass was celebrated for the first time on the 4th anniversary of the October Apparition, October 13, 1921. The chapel was destroyed by dynamite on March 6, 1922 and restored and reopened in 1923 as the Chapel of the Apparitions.

The small chapel you see behind the altar in the picture above, is a replica of the original chapel from 1919.

After Mass Leo gathers us under the 206 Flag for our walking tour of the Sanctuary. He begins by giving us a short background on the apparitions.

On May 13, 1917, while pasturing a flock of sheep in the Cova da Iria, Lucia aged 10, and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta, aged 9 and 7, were surprised by an unusually bright light near the oak tree. On the top of the oak a "lady more brilliant than the sun," appeared holding a rosary. This woman told the children to "pray much" and to return to this location for five consecutive months on the 13th.

In June and July the children returned as requested on the 13th. Word had spread in the small town and crowds arrived as well on July 13th.

Just prior to the August 13th, the children were taken by the town Administrator Artur Santo to the jail for questioning. Santos held the children in jail and threatened to boil them in oil if they did not reveal the secrets they had reportedly received from Our Blessed Mother. The children did not say anything and were finally released from jail after the 13th. On August 19th, she appeared to the children, this time in Valinhos.

Valinhos is located on the Way of the Cross
(Photo by fellow pilgrim Patrick)

The Valinhos is on the walking path of the Way of the Cross, located between the Aljustrel and the Fatima Sanctuary. The location is between the 8th and 9th Station of the Cross. Also on the Way of the Cross near the 11th Station is the Loca do Cabeco, the location of the 1st and 3rd Apparition of the Angel of Portugal to the children in 1916.

Our group had the opportunity to walk the 1 mile Way of the Cross, along a stone path surrounded by olive and oak trees later in the day. The following is a short video put out by the Sanctuary at Fatima on the walk of the Way of the Cross.

Official Video by Fatima Sanctuary - Way of the Cross

The Way of the Cross also known as the O Caminho dos Pastorinhos or Little Shepherds' Way, was the path taken by Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta from their homes in the Aljustrel to the Cova da Iria. The fourteen Stations of The Way of the Cross and the chapel were designed by Ladislau Marec and constructed between 1959 and 1964.

Loca do Cabeco (Photo by fellow pilgrim Patrick)

On September 13th Our Lady the Blessed Mother appeared again to the children in the Cova da Iria. The crowd on that day was estimated around 30,000. She told the children: "Continue to pray the Rosary in order to obtain the end of the war...In October I will perform a miracle so that all may believe."

On October 13, 1917 during a torrential rain storm, a crowd of what was estimated between 50,000 to 70,000 gathered in the Cova. Our Blessed Mother appeared to the children on the oak tree and said: "I want to tell you that a chapel is to be built here. I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue always to pray the Rosary every day. The war is going to end, and the soldiers will soon return to their homes." Then Our Lady of the Rosary disappeared and St. Joseph with the Child Jesus appeared and blessed the crowd by tracing the Sign of the Cross with their hands. Once they disappeared, Our Lady of Sorrows appeared with Our Lord. Once she disappeared, Our Lady appeared again, this time as Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Ilustração Portuguesa, October 29, 1917, crowd looking at the Miracle of the Sun
(Wikipedia Commons Public Domain)

Then the clouds parted and the sun began to flicker and move, shooting rays in different colors. It weaved one way and then the other, defying the laws of gravity and even falling out of orbit towards earth. This action by the sun is referred to as the Miracle of the Sun and was the miracle that Our Blessed Mother promised in her September Apparition. This miracle was reported in several secular newspapers in Portugal. You may read a translation of the article written in the O Seculo on October 15, 1917 here. To read more about each of the apparitions and the messages associated with them visit America Needs Fatima or watch the following videos.

Leo then led us to our first stop on our tour, the Museum of the Fatima Sanctuary. The permanent exhibition is called Fatima Light and Peace. It begins with a short film that reminds us that the apparitions occurred during the bleak years of World War I. Then visitors walk through a number of rooms with exhibits that comprise gifts that have been presented to the Sanctuary over the years from anonymous pilgrims, world-famous pilgrims, and Popes. The most famous artifact is the original crown of Our Lady of Fatima.

The bullet pointing down inside the top of the crown

This crown contains the bullet that struck Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981 in St. Peter’s Square. This attempted assassination happened on the anniversary of the 1st Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima. Pope John Paul II felt that Our Lady protected him. He said "it was a mother's hand that guided the bullet's path and in it its throes the Pope halted at the threshold of death." Pope John Paul II gave one of the four bullets that were removed from his body to the museum. It fit perfectly in the crown. The following video put out by the Sanctuary of Fatima shows the displays of the Museum's permanent exhibit.

Official Video by Fatima Sanctuary - Museum

Before we leave the museum there is a desk at the front where pilgrims may leave their prayer intentions. We gave ours to Leo as he was actually able to leave all of our prayer intentions at the statue of Our Lady in the Chapel of the Apparitions. But if one is not able to do that, prayer intentions may be left at the front desk at the Museum. These are collected by the religious orders that live near the shrine. They pray for all the intentions. At this desk in the Museum you may also arrange for Masses to be said at the Sanctuary for your intentions.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary

From the museum we walk through the interior square to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary. Construction on this church began in 1928 and it was dedicated in 1953 and made a Basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1954.

The bell tower is topped by a golden crown which illuminates at night. Below the bell tower in the niche is a statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Divided along each side of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary is a colonnade housing the 14 Stations of the Cross. Above the colonnade are 17 statues of Saints. Including some Portuguese favorites, St. Anthony of Padua, Saint Teresa of Avila, and St. Ignatius of Loyola. This area shows up better at night.

As we enter the Basilica pilgrims are gathering for Mass. By the time we have toured the inside it is standing room only for Mass.

Inside there are 14 side altars with bas-reliefs dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary. The painting over the main altar represents the message of Our Lady as she descends in the form of light and peace to meet the children.

Painting over the main altar by Joao de Sousa Araujo

And finally we visit the tombs of the children. Lucia and Jacinta on one side of the main altar and Francesco on the other. Below is a video of the tombs of the children inside of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Official Video by Fatima Sanctuary - Tombs of the Children

From here we walk the parameter of the central area of the Fatima Sanctuary. On the left side as we make our way to the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity we pass a piece of the Berlin Wall and a nativity scene sculpted out of stainless steel by Jose Aurelio in 2000.

Nativity Scene by Jose Aurelio

The other end of the Fatima Sanctuary has a completely different look than the Neo-Baroque style of the Our Lady of the Rosary Basilica. This side which contains the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, the Statue of Saint John Paul II, and the High Cross, all appear very modern in style.

Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity

Entrance to the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity

The Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity was built in the Modern style and dedicated on October 12th, 2007 for the 90th anniversary of the apparitions. It was raised to a basilica in 2012. The inside is arranged like an auditorium with seating for over 8,000.

Inside the altar is a piece of marble from the tomb of St. Peter. The 160 plus foot mosaic panel that spans the wall in back of the altar was created by Marko Rupnik a former Jesuit priest, who was excommunicated in December 2022 due to allegations of sexual misconduct. He was expelled from the Jesuits in 2023.

Rupnik's mosaics on the outer doors of the Basilica have been covered. But this mosaic is too big and prominent to cover. It was decided to suspend all use of images of Rupnik's work for promotional purposes.

On either side of the outside the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity are ramps (and stairs) to a complex of underground chapels and exhibition halls. The corridor connecting these chapels contains artwork that appeared to me as if they were made with a sharpie.

Conversion of St. Paul and Jesus curing a blind man

Our group spent some time in adoration in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. Here the Blessed Sacrament is exposed 24 hours a day.

Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament

Sculpture of the Immaculate Heart

After our formal tour of the Fatima Sanctuary, our group had a few hours on on our own. Mike and I chose to light candles and fill our container with water from the Sanctuary. To do that we had to get back down to the central area from the Basilica of the Holy Trinity. I discovered that letting Mike go downhill in his wheelchair can be so freeing, but also terrifying. What if he can't stop on his own!

Next to the Chapel of the Apparitions is a small store to purchase all different sizes of candles. You need exact change. Usually 1 or 2 Euro.

Purchase candles

Next to the candle store is a large area to light the candles and offer prayers. Catholics light candles. They are lit during Mass, and at different liturgical ceremonies. Just as in Judaism when the Temple lamps were lit, we keep a candle lit before the Tabernacle to signify the Lord's presence in the Blessed Sacrament. We also light votive candles at churches.

These lit candles signify our prayers offered to God. As the candle burns and the smoke rises it symbolizes our prayers rising to God in heaven. This is the significance of lighting these candles at the Sanctuary in Fatima.

After lighting our candles we went to the Monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the center of the sanctuary area. At that monument there are several spickets where one can fill their jugs with the miraculous water of Fatima. It is not considered Holy Water until it is blessed by a priest, but it is considered miraculous water. This was the first of several jugs we filled on our pilgrimage. By the end of our trip we would have 9 pounds of miraculous water to bring home. Some people buy souvenirs we bring home miraculous water.

From the Sanctuary we walked just a few minutes to R. Jacinta Marto, a street lined with many restaurant options for lunch. We chose Apollo Caffe which offered a nice selection of entrees at reasonable prices.

Apollo Caffe

Reward well earned

At 3pm our group met Leo in the lobby of our hotel for the Way of the Cross walk. Then we had free time until dinner which was scheduled for 7:30pm. After dinner we met Leo and our group in the lobby to walk back to the Sanctuary for the Candlelight Rosary which takes place every night at 9:30pm.

As we enter the grounds of the Sanctuary around 9pm we are overcome by the beauty of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary lit at night.

The colonnade featuring the mosaic panels and altars of each Station of the Cross is far more vibrant at night. Our group makes their way over to the Chapel of the Apparitions where we had Mass in the morning. It is here that the priests and lay people will lead us in the Rosary. Each decade will be said in a different language. Tim and Jelaine, two pilgrims from our group have been selected to lead the English portion.

Fellow pilgrims Tim and Jelaine leading
the English portion of the Rosary

At the conclusion of the rosary, the group proceeds around the grounds. A cross and statue of Our Lady of Fatima lead the way.

The evening ends around 10:30 and we return to our hotel tired, but at the same time filled with joy and a grace that can only be experienced by being present at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima.

Tomorrow Porto, Portugal

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All photos or videos by L.A. Momboisse unless otherwise noted

Momboisse Family Adventures March 2025 - Santarem, Portugal

2025-05-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

Monday March 31, 2025

Up early Monday, March 31 for breakfast at 7am and luggage at the door for pickup by 8. Our breakfast at the Lumen Hotel, and at every hotel on our 206 Tour, was a full breakfast with pastries, breads, eggs, bacon, meats, cheeses, yogurt, coffee, and juice. A spread sure to please anyone. It was far more than we expected.

The weather that greeted us as we boarded our bus at 8:30 was 57 degrees, sunny, and remained pleasant all day. This morning we are driving from Lisbon to Santarem along the main motorway A1, about 50 miles. I must say that we slept for most of the ride. Well until Leo woke us up with "Good Morning Pilgrims!"

Santa Casa da Misericordia

Our bus dropped us off near Santa Casa da Misericordia and the C & A Shopping Center (Largo Cândido dos Reis, Santarém, Portugal). The Santa Casa da Misericordia was founded in 1498 on the principle of the Catholic Corporal Works of Mercy. It was there that the sick and disabled were treated for many years. Today the building is a hostel for pilgrims on the Portuguese Way of the Camino de Santiago.

It is a short 1/4 mile walk through the narrow sides streets of Santarem to the Church of St. Stephen, also known as the Church of the Miracle. This is where Fr. Thom will celebrate Holy Mass today.

Church of the Miracle

Outside the church, a sign explains the story of the Eucharistic Miracle. This is the text from that sign on the Holy Miracle of Santarem.

"Some narrators say it happened in 1247 others that it took place in 1266. At that time there lived in the village of Santarem a poor woman whose life was made miserable by her unfaithful husband. Weary of so much unhappiness she decided to consult a Jewish sorceress for aid. The sorceress promised the woman that all her difficulties would disappear if she would bring her a consecrated Host. After great hesitation the poor woman decided to commit this sacrilege. After being heard in confession at the Church of Santo Estevao (Saint Stephen) she proceeded to the altar and upon receiving the Blessed Sacrament removed it from her mouth and carefully wrapped it up in her veil. She then proceeded to leave the church and hurry to the sorceress not noticing the great drops of Blood that fell from her veil. Others who saw the Blood inquired why she was bleeding so profusely. Confused and perplexed, she ran home and hid the Holy Sacrament in one of her wooden chests. Late that day her husband returned. In the middle of the night, they awoke and saw that the house was lit up by mysterious rays of light which penetrated through the chest. The woman confessed her sin to her husband and both spent the rest of the night upon their knees, in adoration. At daybreak the parish priest was informed and people from far and near rushed to the woman’s house to contemplate the Holy Miracle. The Blessed Sacrament was then taken in procession to the Church of St. Stephen where it was placed in a small case of wax. Sometime later when the Tabernacle was opened for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament another miracle had taken place, the wax case was found broken in pieces and the Holy Sacrament was encased in a beautiful crystal pyx. This pyx was placed in a gold-plated silver monstrance and can be seen to this day. The Church of St. Stephen is now named the Church of the Holy Miracle."

Door to Miracle Closed (Photo by fellow pilgrim Patty)

Door to the Miracle open

Before Mass begins the caretaker of the Miracle opens the door so that we may view the reliquary holding the Miracle. Then Fr. Thom proceeds with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Fr. Thom proclaiming the Gospel (John 4:43-54)

Today the monstrance is displayed in a gold case high atop the tabernacle. After Mass we were allowed to climb the stairs behind the altar to venerate the Body and Blood of Christ physically manifested up close. We touch our scapulars to the glass case holding the miraculous Host. No photos were allowed, but the following video shows the inside of the church, the paintings, and the Host up close.

Eucharistic Miracle (The Faithful Traveler)

Many saints and royalty have venerated the miraculous Host. Queen Elizabeth of Portugal visited in 1295 and 1322. St. Francis Xavier came to Santarem on a pilgrimage before embarking on his missionary journey to India in the 16th century.

On the second Sunday of April, the eucharistic miracle is carried in a procession that begins at the house where the couple lived which is nearby and ends at the Church of the Miracle.

In 1997, scientific tests on this Eucharistic Miracle confirmed that the contents in the vessel is human flesh and blood, with the same AB blood type as the Shroud of Turin and other eucharistic miracles, such as Lanciano.

In 2015 I took a deep dive into the Eucharistic Miracles our Our Lord. I needed comfort. I need guidance. I needed Him. Our daughter-in-law was diagnosed with stage IV cancer after just two months of marriage. Here is my final post in that series of blogs. It also has a list of all of the Eucharistic Miracles I reviewed. Since this time I have had a real connection to Our Lord in the Eucharist. It is a gift. Nothing I did. All from Him.

After Mass we had free time to enjoy lunch at Tasca in Santarem before leaving for Fatima mid afternoon.

Next up Fatima, Portugal

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All photos or videos by L.A. Momboisse unless otherwise noted

Momboisse Family Adventures March 2025 - Lisbon, Portugal

2025-05-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

The morning we left on our pilgrimage I still had some
doubt as to whether or not we should be going.
In my mailbox was this unsolicited Youtube short.
Mary's fiat indeed does/did change everything.
We're going!

Saturday March 29, 2025

Mike and my great pilgrimage adventure on a 206 Tour of Fatima, Lourdes, and Northern Spain began Saturday March 29, 2025 at 7:30am with the first of three flights. We began in Sacramento and end in Lisbon, Portugal, 17 -1/2 hours later at 9:00am Sunday March 30, 2025.

In Dallas we picked up fellow pilgrims Nancy and Larry. We didn't know them yet, but that is Nancy sitting behind us on our flight in the top picture. In Philadelphia I scanned the gate for a man in a clerical collar with a red 206 backpack. Knowing that the priest who would be our Spiritual Director was from Pittsburg I figured he had to get on board here. And there he was. I made the introduction with Fr. Thomas Miller, but we would not start to get to know him for a few more hours.

Before we land in Lisbon here is a little background on our pilgrimage. This trip was originally planned in 2019. A three week grand adventure. About 10 days in I experience a tear in my retina. We were actually on an incredible hike in Kotor, Montenegro to the Castle of St. John when my symptoms began.

2019 view from Castle of St. John Kotor, Montenegro

But God had other plans and we cancelled the rest of our trip and flew home so that I could have surgery.

In June 2024 we decided to try this trip again and booked our tour with 206 Tours Catholic Pilgrimages this time. A few months later Mike began to experience pain near his hip. Prior to leaving on this trip in March 2025 it was clear that Mike would need hip replacement surgery. After much prayer we decided to proceed with our pilgrimage. Mike made it through the entire trip with crutches, a wheelchair, beer, and a lot of ibuprofen. This and the following series of blogs documents our journey.

Lisbon Airport

At the Lisbon Airport, 206 Tours picked us up along with Fr. Thom, Larry and Nancy, as well as another set of pilgrims Patty and Charles. On the short bus ride to our hotel we began to bond. By the end our our trip all 20 pilgrims would be like family to us.

After a short drive from the airport we arrived at the Lumen Hotel which is known for its nightly light show. We would only see it from the window of our hotel room as jet lag, by 9pm finally took over.

In the lobby fellow pilgrims converged. Some had arrived a day or so before and were already adjusted to the time change. Though fatigued, we were not giving in. This would be our only day in Lisbon.

Meeting Leo our tour guide

Around 2pm, Leo our most excellent tour guide, greeted us in the lobby to distribute our room keys. He explained the itinerary for the rest of our first day, and let us know that itineraries would always be posted by dinner for the following day. We were to take a picture of the itinerary and follow it religiously, making sure to always arrive on time. If we did, he assured us, our trip would go well.

First itinerary

We had a few minutes. And I mean a few minutes, to check into our hotel room before meeting in the lobby at 2:15pm.

Standard double room Lumen Hotel

Partial view of the courtyard from our room

Back in the lobby we piled onto our bus for the first time. 50 seats for 20 pilgrims meant we had a lot of room to spread out. Each of us claimed a spot that would remain our bus home for the duration of our trip. Typical of humankind there were the front of the bus, back of the bus, and middle of the bus people. God planned it perfectly and we were all happy with the results. Mike and I are center of the bus people, but we are sure, after this experience the back of the bus had the most fun.

Lisbon is divided into districts. Our hotel which is located in the Avenidas Novas district is known as one of the more expensive areas, with one bedroom flats selling for over 1 million US.

Nearby our hotel we pass Marquess of Pombal Square, considered the heart of modern Lisbon in the Santo Antonio district near Edwardo VII Park, it is known for its high-end shops. The Marquis of Pombal was the prime minister responsible for the rebuilding of Lisbon after the earthquake of 1755.

Marquis of Pombal

Fighting off the urge to sleep as our drive continues to the Belem district on the waterfront, we listen to Leo give us our first history lesson. This one would be about Lisbon, Portugal.

Lisbon, located at the mouth of the Tagus River on a sheltered harbor, is one of the oldest cities in western Europe. Its history dates to the indigenous Iberians who migrated from Africa around 3000 BC. Between 800 to 600 BC, the Celtic people arrived, migrating from the north. Then the Carthaginians around 500 BC, and Romans in 205 BC. After the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD the Germanic tribes arrived.

Lisbon Harbor

In 711 Lisbon’s history was markedly changed with the invasion of the Islamic Moors. Lisbon would be under Moorish control for over 400 years until 1147 when it was recaptured by Christian forces led by Alfonso I, the first King of Portugal who reigned until 1185.

Mosaic near Monument of the Discoveries

With Christianity reestablished, Lisbon became the capital city of the Portuguese territory in 1255. By the end of the Middle Ages in the 1400’s, it had become an important trading post. Most of the Portuguese expeditions during the Age of Discovery (c. 1418 to c. 1620) set out from the Lisbon Harbor at the mouth of the Tagus River.

Map of the Age of Discovery (Wikipedia Commons Creative Commons License)

In 1418, under the sponsorship of Prince Henry the Navigator, child of King John I of Portugal, the Portuguese began to explore the Atlantic coast. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias reached the Indian Ocean from Portugal. In 1492 Christopher Columbus made his first of 4 voyages across the Atlantic to Central and South America, also from Portugal.

Monument of the Discoveries Prince Henry the Navigator
overlooking Lisbon Harbor

In 1498 another Portuguese expedition was led by Vasco de Gama, he sailed around Africa to India, opening a direct trade route with Asia. These discoveries led to Lisbon’s golden era where Lisbon became the hub of European commerce between Africa, India, Asia, and Brazil. Okay that is a lot of information to process while jet lagged.

In the distance in the picture above, the rectangular building leaning left is the Port Authority for Lisbon.

Though there is limited parking around the Belem Tower, as well as the Age of Discovery Monument, our driver has no trouble finding a place for our bus. Here is a map of our parking stops for Belem Tower and Discoveries Monument.

At Belem Tower we took on our first local tour guide. Using our Whispers Phones, affectionately known as our "whispers" or hands-free headsets, (which we will use daily on our tour) we are able to clearly hear the guide as they describe the features and history of the area. We walk the promenade along the waterfront of the Tagus River on what was a gorgeous afternoon in Lisbon to our first highlight, the Belem Tower.

Belem Tower

It was built between 1514 and 1520 out of Lisbon limestone by Francisco de Arruda a Portuguese architect and sculptor. It is one of the best representations of Gothic Manueline style, which incorporates maritime elements. Originally built to defend the city, it is divided into two parts, the bastion and tower. The Belem Tower is classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

25 de Abril bridge

From the promenade near the Belem Tower, in the distance is the 25 de April bridge, a suspension bridge that connects the city of Lisbon to the municipality of Almada. Constructed between 1962 and 1966, it was built with American steel, and patterned after the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. It was originally named the Salazar Bridge after the Prime Minister (and Dictator) at the time. After the Carnation Revolution in 1974 which overthrew what was left of the Salazar regime, the bridge was renamed April 25, the date of the revolution. Scenes from the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service were filmed on this bridge.

25 de Abril bridge from Almada
(Wikipedia Commons Creative Commons License)

Pedestrians can not walk out on the bridge but the Pilar 7 Experience (entrance located on Av. da India) allows visitors to take an elevator to the bridge street level for unique views.

To Mike's right in the distance in the picture above is Christ the King monument. Unveiled in 1959, it is located in the city of Almada and inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. The statue was erected to express gratitude to God for sparing the Portuguese from the mass destruction of World War II.

Christ the King

At the top of the pedestal and at the feet of the statue, there is an elevator to the top of the statue and a viewing platform.

Christ the King (Wikipedia Commons License)

From the Belem Tower area we board our bus for a short ride to the Monument of the Discoveries. Originally built with perishable materials, the monument was created by Angelo Cottinelli Telmo and sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida in 1940 as a temporary exhibit at the Portuguese World Exhibition.

Monument of the Discoveries

It was later reconstructed out of concrete and stone mined from Portugal. It was inaugurated in 1960 for the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator in commemoration of his contributions to Portugal's Age of Discoveries.

Designed to appear as a caravel setting out to sea with Henry at the prow, thirty-one other significant figures to Portuguese maritime development file in behind him. Each carry a symbol to indicate their identity such as navigator, cartographer, missionary, royalty, or soldier. In the middle of this monument is a flight of steps leading to a platform with views of the surrounding area.

In the picture below, our local tour guide describes the significance of the Rose dos Ventos mosaic that encompasses the area in front of the monument.

Rosa dos Ventos (Compass Rose)

Impossible to get a picture of the Rosa dos Ventos, or Compass Rose without visitors standing on significant features, this large mosaic is made of local black and red limestone.

In the background is St. Jerome's Monastery

The mosaic includes dates and caravels that mark the main routes of the Portuguese expansion during the Age of Discovery. It was designed by architect Luis Cristino da Silva and presented to the city of Lisbon in 1960 by the Republic of South Africa. The drone shot below from Wikipedia Commons Free Use, shows the sheer size of this piece of art.

Rosa dos Ventos (Wikipedia Commons GNU Free Documentation License)

Back on the bus we drive a short distance to park and then tour of St. Jerome's Monastery. In 1496, at the height of the Age of Discovery, King Manuel I sought permission from Pope Alexander VI to build a monastery near the Lisbon waterfront. Construction began in 1502 and was completed several decades later using money from profits made off the Portuguese India spice trade.

St. Jerome's Monastery (Wikipedia Commons Creative Commons License)

The monastery would be built in the Gothic Manueline style and dedicated to the memory of Prince Henry the Navigator.

A community of Hieronymite monks, of the Order of St. Jerome, would live on these grounds until 1833 when the religious order was dissolved. The monk's primary role was to pray for the King's eternal soul and to provide spiritual direction to navigators and sailors departing from the nearby harbor. In 1907 the monastery was classified as a National Monument and placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1983.

St. Jerome's Monastery is one of the most visited heritage sites in Portugal, and tickets are required for entrance. There are two primary entrances, one to the Church of Santa Maria and one to the monastery cloister and garden. Already late in the afternoon, our time was limited to the church. Inside in the first transcript to the left is the tomb of Vasco de Gama.

Vasco de Gama tomb

Church of Santa Maria inside Monastery

In addition to the church and cloister the monastery building is home to several exhibitions rooms and two important museums. The Maritime Museum features artifacts related to Portugal's Age of Discovery and the National Museum of Archaeology, located where the monks had their dormitory, is devoted to ancient art from the Iberian Peninsula.

Pastel de Nata

As we entered the bus to drive to our final destination of the tour, Leo surprised us with individual Pastel de Nata pastry. Purchased from the nearby Pasteis de Belem the most popular place in Lisbon for these delicacies, these pasties were created by the Catholic monks at the St. Jerome Monastery in the 1600's.

Next we drive along the waterfront to the Alfama district, the oldest neighborhood in Lisbon. It is here, at the Church of Saint Anthony that Fr. Thom will celebrate the first Mass of our pilgrimage. This church is right next to the Lisbon Cathedral which is shown below.

Lisbon Cathedral

Saint Anthony was born Fernando Martins de Bulhoes in Lisbon in 1195. He joined the Franciscan order around 1220 just 11 years after it was founded by Saint Francis. He died in Padua, Italy June 13, 1231 and was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII in 1946. The Church of Saint Anthony is shown in the picture above along with the statue of Pope Saint John Paul II.

Our pilgrim group ascending the steps to Mass

Fr. Thom in prayer before the altar

The altarpiece above is topped by two angels carrying a crucifix. The image of Saint Anthony in the center at the foot of the Eucharistic throne, survived the 1755 earthquake. It was carved in a single piece of cedar wood and weighs over 600 pounds. The statue is said to be the approximate height of Saint Anthony.

On the left side of the tabernacle is a reliquary that holds a first class relic, a bone from Saint Anthony’s left arm. After Mass we had the opportunity to touch this reliquary. I touched my scapular to the relic, making my scapular a 3^rd class relic.

Fr. Thom told us that the church that holds the largest collection of relics in the U.S. is St. Anthony’s Chapel in Pittsburg. It happens to be very close to Fr. Thom’s parish in Pittsburg. If you are interested in learning more about what a Catholic relic is, please visit my Catholic blog.

The two paintings above on side altars are attributed to Pedro Alexandrino de Carvalho (1729 – 1810). They are the Nativity and The Immaculate Conception.

Shown above is another side altar. This one dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. Under her statue is a reliquary altar with the body of Saint Justina of Padua.

After Mass we took a staircase down to the crypt. On the wall is a tile which represents the visit of Pope Saint John Paul II in 1982. The tiny chapel in this crypt marks the birthplace of Saint Anthony in 1195.

Evening shadows are setting in on our first night as the sun begins to set. We have a short walk from the Church of Saint Anthony, past the Lisbon Cathedral to our bus.

Back at the Hotel Lumen we still have a welcome cocktail party and our first dinner together.

First Dinner Lumen Hotel Lisbon

Those that still had energy, the Hotel Lumen Light Show would be featured in the courtyard at 10:00PM. I must say we missed it, even though we have a partial view from our window. But here it is on Youtube.

Tomorrow Santarem, Portugal

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All photos or videos by L.A. Momboisse unless otherwise noted

CARMEL WINE WALK-BY-THE-SEA TASTING ROOM TOUR (2023)

2023-05-29T14:19:00.003-07:00

Interested in being your own tour guide? I have over 20 published GPS audio tours with VoiceMap (Carmel, Monterey, California Gold Country, Folsom, Tahoe, Sacramento) and over 40 tours published with GPSmyCity (Carmel, Monterey, Big Sur, Folsom, Sacramento, Pacific Grove, Cinque Terre, Kotor Montenegro, Copenhagen, Covadonga, Spain, Montserrat, Spain, Manresa, Spain, Loyola, Spain, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Fatima, Portugal, San Sebastian Garabandal, Spain, Lourdes, France, Santarem, Portugal). Happy Adventures!

Driving Tour of Pebble Beach 17-Mile Drive (Highway 1 Gate to Carmel Gate)

2023-05-26T14:29:00.005-07:00

Pebble Beach Golf Links

On today’s driving tour we will follow one of the most scenic drives in the world, the 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, where you will experience an enchanting world full of dramatic coastal cliffs, white sand beaches, iconic golf courses, and cypress forests. Along the way we will visit Bird Rock, Crocker Grove and the Lone Cypress. There will be many opportunities to get out and explore different areas from the Restless Sea at Point Joe, the boardwalk above the beach at Spanish Bay, or the 18th Green at Pebble Beach Golf Links. At the time of this writing, admission to 17-Mile Drive is $11.25 per vehicle.

On this driving tour you'll have the chance to:

Learn the history of Pebble Beach
Visit or drive by all 8 golf courses in Pebble Beach
Explore the shops at the Inn at Spanish Bay and Pebble Beach Lodge
Learn the history of the Crosby Clambake & its connection to the Pebble Beach AT&T Pro Am
Visit the Iconic Lone Cypress
Visit Crocker Grove and view the oldest Monterey cypress trees in existence
View some architecturally significant homes in Pebble Beach
Observe wildlife at Bird Rock
Learn the backstory of all the viewpoints we stop at in Pebble Beach
Hear the story of the Pebble Beach Road Race
Discover what Pebble Beach golf course is connected to writer Robert Louis Stevenson
And much more

This tour covers approximately 23 miles. We will stop at a number of viewpoints along the way. If you take your time and get out at each of the stops on this tour, it will probably take you 3 to 4 hours to complete. Of course this will depend upon what your schedule includes such as, hiking, shopping or dining. If you prefer not to get out of your car at any of the viewpoints or golf courses, this tour may be completed in about 90 minutes to 2 hours. But this is your adventure, it is up to you where you stop and for how long you stop along the way. After the Guard Gate, take the first right and continue up the hill along Sunridge Road.

At the Highway 1 Gate, stay to the right, pay your entrance fee, and get a map.

After the Guard Gate, take the first right and continue up the hill along Sunridge Road.

We have entered the Del Monte Forest of Pebble Beach which is dominated by Monterey pine and cypress.

Right onto Scenic Drive

Turn right ahead onto Scenic Drive. Stay on this road as it circles around the Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula. Shortly, we will arrive at Stop 1 on the Pebble Beach Map you received at the entrance gate. Stop 1 is Shepherd's Knoll.

Interesting name, "Shepherd's Knoll," but you will not find any sheep here. This area was named after Abraham D. Shepard (completely different spelling) who was responsible for carving out this portion of the 17-Mile Drive in the upper forest of Pebble Beach. In 1927 a map complete with a cartoon shepherd and sheep marked the spot and the name stuck.

But at one time sheep did have a purpose in Pebble Beach. In 1919 flocks of sheep were used to keep the greens at the Pebble Beach Golf Links groomed. They were cheep labor, however they left behind hoof prints in the greens as well as their own form of fertilizer. After the golfers complained, lamb chops became a featured item on the Pebble Beach Lodge menu.

If it is a clear day you may have a filtered view of Monterey Bay from this stop. But there are far better views at other stops along this driving tour. If you do get out of your car at any time along this tour remember to cover all your valuables, lock the doors, and take your keys.

Our next stop is in 1.3 miles. Continue along Scenic Drive. Cross Skyline Forest Drive and continue along Scenic. This road will cross over Highway 68. Just past the bridge over Highway 68, stay to your right onto Los Altos Drive.

As you drive I will continue with the history of Pebble Beach. We left off after businessman David Jacks sold the land that would become Pebble Beach to the Pacific Improvement Company, or PIC for short, in 1880.

The PIC was formed in 1878. By the 1880s it was one of the largest corporations in the Western United States, with subsidiary companies that conducted shipping, mining, land development, resort hotels and more. The PIC was an affiliate of the Southern Pacific Railroad which was owned by Leland Stanford, Collis Potter Huntington, Mark Hopkins and Charles Crocker (1822-1888). All big names in history, but Crocker is who we will focus on.

Hotel Del Monte 1883 Wikipedia

On June 3rd 1880, Charles Crocker established the Del Monte Hotel in Monterey under the PIC property division. This would be their first hotel. Skeptics called the project "Crocker's Folly" and predicted that it was fail. Beating the odds, the Del Monte became a favorite of the rich and famous, gaining and international reputation as the "Queen of American Watering Places," and "The most Elegant Seaside Resort in the World."

Crocker's 7,000-acre resort was named Del Monte Forest. It featured a botanical garden, polo grounds, race track, golf course and a scenic carriage ride through the Del Monte Forest of Pebble Beach. For several years, this ride was called either the Scenic Drive or the 18 Mile Drive. The famous Lone Cypress tree, was the midway point on this excursion. Early in the 1900's as the automobile emerged, horsedrawn carriages and horseless carriages competed to take guests on this tour.

The PIC would own Pebble Beach from 1880 to 1919 when Samuel Finley Brown Morse and his company Del Monte Properties arrived on the scene. I will save that story for later. Continue along Scenic and watch for a sign for for Huckleberry Hill on your right.

Pull into this viewpoint and park. This is the second of 17 markers that correspond to the map you were given at the Pebble Beach Gate. It was named Huckleberry Hill after the abundance of native huckleberry bushes that abound in the area. It is also one of the highest elevations in the forest. On a clear day this stop offers filtered views of the bay.

A placard at this stop tells of Pebble Beach lore that the area was frequented by authors Robert Louis Stevenson and John Steinbeck. If you want to get out of your car and explore this area, there are a few paths cut in between a thick growth of huckleberry. Some of the paths are a bit rutted and hard to navigate.

From Huckleberry Hill, continue straight along Los Altos Drive this will turn into Costanilla Way. We are less than two miles from our next stop, Poppy Hills Golf Course.

Pebble Beach is home to eight golf courses. All are 18-hole courses except for 9-hole Peter Hay. Pebble Beach Golf Links opened in 1919, Spyglass Hill in 1966, Poppy Hills in 1986, and The Links at Spanish Bay in 1987. These are all public courses. Cypress Point Club which opened in 1929 and the Monterey Peninsula Country Club's two courses, the Dunes Course opened in 1926 and the Shore Course in 1959 are private. We will be stopping at or driving by all courses on this tour.

On the road way the arrows will point to the left. Ignore this and turn right onto Ronda Road. Follow the sign toward Resource Management.

Following the sign that points right toward Poppy Hills, slow, and turn right using the yield lane onto Sunridge Road.

Follow this road to the left and it becomes Lopez Road. Turn left into the Poppy Hills Golf Course and park in the parking lot in front of the NCGA Golf Course Building.

The next important era in Pebble Beach history revolves around Samuel Finley Brown Morse. Samuel Finley Brown Morse was born in Massachusetts and is a distant cousin to Samuel Morse the inventor of the telegraph and Morse Code. Morse attended Yale where he was the captain of the undefeated 1906 football team. In 1915, at the age of 30, he was hired by the PIC to liquidate many of their assets. Seeing value in these assets, Morse formed the Del Monte Properties Company in 1919 and purchased many of the holdings including the Hotel Del Monte, the Del Monte Lodge (now known as the Lodge at Pebble Beach) and Del Monte Forest. He planned on using this land to develop a community within the forest centered around the Del Monte Lodge.

Samuel Finley Brown Morse (1885-1969) Wikipedia

Interested in conservation Morse banned needless land clearing and set aside greenbelts to be reserved for preservation of wildlife, forests, and coastline. He also set aside some of this land for a golf course and a housing subdivision. The first golf course would become the Pebble Beach Golf Links. Eventually he would set aside more land for more golf courses. One of those golf courses was Poppy Hills.

Poppy Hills

Under the leadership of Samuel Morse, and the newly formed Del Monte Properties Company, Pebble Beach became known as a renowned recreational resort for the wealthy and earned the title of California Riviera.

Though Morse set aside this 164 acre parcel around Poppy Hills for a golf course in 1919, the site would not be developed until 1977 when the parcel was sold to the Northern California Golf Association, the NCGA. Robert Trent Jones Jr., who designed or remodeled more than 250 courses during his career would design the course. Poppy Hills opened in 1986, it is owned and operated by the NCGA, and from 1991 through 2009 it was part of the PGA Tour's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. It is the only course of the seven in Pebble Beach that plays exclusively in the forest.

In 2014 the course underwent a 13-month renovation facilitated by Robert Jones Jr. II Golf Course Architects. This group founded by Robert Jr. is run by his son Robert III. During the renovation the par was reduced from 72 to 71 but the yardage increased from 6,863 to 7,002.

ProVisualizer.com Poppy Hills

The Jones group reinvented the course, restoring each hole to its natural elevation along the forest floor, rebuilding all 18 greens with bentgrass. It is said to be the closest experience in golf to a round in a national park which each hole chiseled through the towering Monterey pines. It is recognized by Golf Digest’s Top 100 Courses You Can Play and enjoyed as by golfers of all abilities. If you would like to play Poppy, as of this writing NCGA member fees for a weekend round are $120, non-member fees are $300.

Poppy Hills Snack Shack

Take some time to explore the area around the club house. If you walk behind the club house you will find the tee for Hole 1 and the green for the 18th. There is also a public restroom near the snack shack. You might also want to check out the restaurant here at Poppy Hills, Porter’s Grill & Pub. You can't go wrong with their Monterey Bay Calamari with garlic and mustard seed aioli. You will also find the regular chili dog, shredded steak sandwich or cheeseburger.

Just as a reminder, a $35 receipt from dining at Porter's will not get you reimbursement for your gate fee. Only dining at Pebble Beach Resort restaurants, excluding Pebble Beach Market work toward gate fee reimbursement. These will all be located at either the Inn at Spanish Bay or Pebble Beach Lodge. I will remind you when we visit these resorts.

Once you are finished exploring the area around Poppy Hills, exit the parking lot and turn left back on to Lopez.

Red-dotted line

Periodically on this drive, you will notice a red-dotted line in the center of the highway. This let's you know that you are following the 17-Mile Drive. As we continue along this tour though, we will not always be on the 17-Mile Drive, so don't be concerned if you do not see that red-dotted line at times on the highway.

Follow the sign pointing toward 17-Mile Drive and Spanish Bay. The Pebble Beach Services District, which includes the Pebble Beach fire station, wastewater management and forest conservancy department, will be on your left.

We are on our way to the Inn at Spanish Bay. On the way we will drive by the Olivida Penas House, one of only two homes in Pebble Beach listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Monterey County. Having served on the Carmel Historic Resources Board where we had nearly 300 historic structures in 1-square mile, this seems odd. There are many homes built in the early 1920's that could possibly qualify for this designation in Pebble Beach.

Turn right onto Sloat Road

At the stop sign ahead turn right onto Sloat Road. Follow the sign pointing to 17-Mile Drive, MPCC and Spanish Bay. While you drive I will tell you a little more about the subdivision Morse planned for Pebble Beach. The pictures below are some of the homes that were built in Pebble Beach between 1910 and 1926.

As president of the Del Monte Property Company, Samuel Morse planned on turning Pebble Beach into a unique country club community catering to the rich and social elite. In 1924, he set aside 1,600 acres between Bird Rock and Point Joe, the coast, and the timberline, for his golf courses, 2,000 parcels for housing development, and undeveloped park land.

In order to conserve the natural setting from over development Morse exercised near complete control over development of the area, including the establishment of architectural controls to ensure a harmonious blend of Mediterranean Revival style architecture. During the 1920s, 84 homes were built in Pebble Beach by some of California’s most promising architects.

Olivida Penas 1926
Designed by Frederick Reimers

As you continue straight on Forest Lodge Road, slow and watch for Majella Road on your left. We are on our way for a drive by of Olivida Penas. This means forget sorrow in Spanish. Built in 1926 it was designed by architect Frederick Reimers in the style of a Mexican wayside inn. Considered an exemplary example of Mexican rural vernacular architecture, it is one of only two homes in Pebble Beach on the National Register of Historic Places.

Olivida Penas

Turn left onto Majella Road. Olivida Penas is the first house at the corner behind the adobe wall. The address is 1061 Majella Road. Just over the adobe and mission tile wall you can see the two parallel wings built in 1926 and styled after wayside inns found in Mexico.

Olivida Penas

Continue past Olivida Penas along Majella Road. This road was named after nearby Lake Majella.

Around 1890 this lake,(it was more like a pond) supported a sand plant making high-grade quartz crystals. After its closure, the Inn at Spanish Bay was built over the lake. The Inn at Spanish Bay is our next destination.

Turn right onto 17-Mile Drive

At the stop sign, turn right onto 17-Mile Drive. Then prepare to make a left into the Inn at Spanish Bay.

Follow the sign for Inn and Links at Spanish Bay. At the stop sign use the left turn lane to turn left into the entrance of Inn at Spanish Bay.

Ahead you will see a covered stop for visitors to drop their golf bags. Turn left here into the Self-Parking area (just as the car in the picture above is doing). Drive past the first two driveways on your right. They are for Valet Parking. Turn right into the third driveway this is for self-parking. Find a place to park and stop for a moment.

In the early 1980s, Robert Trent Jones Jr. (the same architect who designed Poppy Hills) was called on to design the golf course at Spanish Bay. Jones teamed up with five-time British Open Champion Tom Watson and former USGA President Frank “Sandy” Tatum on the project, which would also include the Inn at Spanish Bay.

Green at Hole #2 Spanish Bay Golf Links

The links-style golf course, which snakes through the sand dunes, was developed and planned from the beginning to protect the native dunes habitat and recreate the natural dune area around the course. This endeavor was massive, requiring planting of more than 100,000 native species.

Links at Spanish Bay

The Links at Spanish Bay unveils some of the most spectacular seaside views in Pebble Beach.

Tom Watson played the inaugural round on November 5^th, 1987. When he came off the course, after shooting a 67 on this par-72 course, he declared, “It’s so much like Scotland, you can almost hear the bagpipes playing.” Well with this a tradition was born.

Firepit Inn at Spanish Bay

Each evening at twilight, a bagpiper performance begins on the first tee at The Links at Spanish Bay in front of STICKS, and finishes 45 minutes later at the Inn and Spanish Bay fire pits by the second green. We love to find a cozy spot by the fire pit, with drink in hand, and watch as the sunsets behind the bagpiper as he comes over the knoll. Amazing way to end a day.

ProVisualizer.com Spanish Bay

Green fees for Links and Spanish Bay at the time of this writing are $315 for a resort guest and $315 plus cart fee for Non-Resort Guest.

Lobby Inn at Spanish Bay

Take some time to explore the shops and the lobby here at the Inn at Spanish Bay. If time permits have a drink or a snack on the patio by the fire pit. If you are really adventurous, take a stroll along the seaside boardwalk.

If a luxury meal is what you have in mind try Roy's, you won't be disappointed. Start your meal with the Lakanilau Roll filled with spicy Dungeness crab and topped with wagyu beef, or just go right to the Thai-style Rack of Lamb! Remember to present the receipt for your Gate Fee to your server to get a reimbursement.

When you are ready to continue. Exit the Spanish Bay parking area the way your arrived and then you come to the entrance of the Inn at Spanish Bay turn right back onto the 17-Mile Drive. Our next stop is in 1 mile, the pullout for Spanish Bay viewpoint.

While you drive I will fill you in on the story of the Crosby Clambake. In 1937, Hollywood celebrity and avid golfer Bing Crosby decided to start his own golf tournament. He brought his Hollywood buddies to the Rancho Santa Fe Country Club near his home in San Diego. The goal, comradery, maybe some shenanigans, and then when the tournament was over, have a clambake.

The event was an instant hit. In 1947, Crosby moved this tournament to the Monterey Peninsula, where it was played at Cypress Point, The Dunes at Monterey Peninsula Country Club and Pebble Beach. With Hollywood A-list stars like Jack Lemon, Dean Martin, and Clint Eastwood, the Crosby Clambake drew large galleries on the course as well as big television audiences.

Bing Crosby died in 1977 and the Clambake continued until 1985. AT&T became the sponsor for this annual tournament in 1986, which is one of the most exciting competitions on the PGA tour. The current courses on this tournament are Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, and Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shore Course. All tournament proceeds benefit local charities.

Clint Eastwood 2016 Celebrity Challenge AT&T Pro-Am
and that is Huey Lewis on the left

Slow and turn right ahead following the sign pointing right toward 17-Mile Drive and Beach and Picnic Areas.

Continue toward the coast and slow and watch for the signs on your right to Beach and Spanish Bay. Turn right into the parking lot and park for a moment.

Spanish Bay Beach is Stop 3 on your Pebble Beach map. It was named after the Spanish expedition headed by Gaspar de Portola. Portola and his men are said to have camped here in the winter of 1769.

The name also comes from the Spanish galleons, which were ordered to stop here in Monterey Bay for 40 days between 1777 and 1794, as they traveled between Manila and Acapulco. The branchless trunks of the Monterey pine trees that dominated the coastline here were used to mend the masts of the galleons.

At the end of this parking area there is a boardwalk path that leads back to the Inn at Spanish Bay. It meanders through the dunes along the beautiful coastline.

Boardwalk to Inn at Spanish Bay

When you have finished exploring the area around Spanish Bay Beach, drive to the end of the parking lot, make a U-turn and drive back to the entrance. Then turn right back onto the 17-Mile Drive.

Continue straight. The ocean will be on your right and the Monterey Peninsula Country Club Dunes golf course will be on your left.

Follow the arrows to the right to stay on 17-Mile Drive

Watch for the sign for the Restless Sea Stop 4. Turn right into this parking area and park for a moment. We will be parking here to explore both the Restless Sea and Point Joe, stops 4 and 5 on your Pebble Beach map.

The Restless Sea is considered one of the most turbulent spots along this section of coastline. Why is the sea so restless here? There is an interpretive plaque at this stop that helps to explain this phenomenon.

Some say ocean currents collide here to create the restless nature of the current. But it is more likely submerged rocks that cause the waves to break further from shore, making the sea look restless, hence the name of the stop.

Countless photographers, myself included, have attempted to capture the power of the waves as they crash against the rocks and coastline. But nothing quite compares to just standing here, physically watching the waves, feeling the ocean mist, and listening the roar of the surf. Explore the area, but stay back from the waters edge.

A short walking path connects the Restless Sea stop to Point Joe. Now you are probably wondering, who is Joe? Well Joe lived in a driftwood home near this spot in the early 1900s, and made his living selling shells to anyone who happened by.

But Point Joe, being right off the Restless Sea, is also known for shipwrecks, when mariners mistook this area as the entrance to Monterey Bay and ended up crashing on the rocks. Heavy fog also made navigation problematic.

On August 8, 1896 the passenger cargo steamer St. Paul was enroute from San Simeon to San Francisco. Heavy fog forced her into the rocks. All passengers and crew were able to make it to shore on life boats but most of the cargo of grain, butter, cheese and cattle were lost at sea.

August 28, 1906 the S.S. Celia also succumbed to the fog. It was enroute from Santa Cruz to Monterey with 160,000 board feet of lumber. Passengers and crew took lifeboats, but the cargo and ship were a complete loss. Pieces of both the St. Paul and the S.S. Celia lie on the floor of the bay here and are frequently enjoyed by scuba divers.

Today Point Joe overlooks the 14th tee on the Monterey Peninsula Country Club Dunes course. Across the street are the 13th and 15th hole of the Dunes course.

ProVisualizer.com Dunes

The Monterey Peninsula Country Club (MPCC) has two 18 hole golf courses in Pebble Beach, the Dunes and the Shore. On January 19, 1925 Samuel Morse set aside four hundred acres for the Monterey Peninsula Country Club. Morse was elected president of the club and a year later the MPCC opened the 18 hole Dunes golf course. It would be thirty-three more years before the MPCC opened their second planned golf course for this area, the Shore course. The land along the fairways of these courses was subdivided into lots of a quarter-acre to three acres. They were sold for $1,500 and included membership to the club.

The Dunes course is longer and considered more difficult than the Shore course. The Dunes starts inland and weaves through the pine forest to the coast with hole #14 positioned on the edge of the Pacific tucked into granite boulders.

#14th tee MPCC Dunes

The MPCC courses are private courses, so you are not able to go past the sign for the tee, but you might get lucky and watch a member tee off.

Take some time, if you like to get out of your car and explore both stops. Make sure to look out to sea to the rocks where you will find the Brant's Cormorants who like to hang out there.

Also check out the informational panels that explain other interesting tidbits, like did you know that ice plant is non-native to the area?

When you are finished taking in the beauty of this stop, exit the parking area and turn right back on to 17-Mile Drive. We are 1/2 mile from our next turn out, China Rock.

Chinese immigrants settled this area between 1850 and 1912. They came initially to harvest abalone. The abalone rush of 1853 found over 500 Chinese fishermen working the area. By 1856 they had removed much of the easy to harvest abalone. While some Chinese families moved on, others stayed here on the coast homesteading fishing villages.

Those that stayed behind expanded their catch to rock fish, sharks, cod, halibut, mackerel and flounder.

The first documented Chinese fishing village in Pebble Beach was an 1868 lease signed between David Jacks and the China Hop Company. The lease stipulated the China Hop Company pay Jacks $6 and two dozen abalone monthly.

Slow and watch for the China Rock sign. Turn right after the sign into the parking lot. This is stop number 6 on your Pebble Beach map.

At China Rock a small collection of Chinese families set up lean-to shelters which slanted into the rock. Smoke from their cooking fires can still be seen caked into the rock.

Across the road from this parking area is the 8th and 9th green of the Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shore Course.

ProVisualizer.com Shore

Alright, it is time to get going again. Exit and turn right back on to 17-Mile Drive. You will be driving alongside the Shore Course.

The Shore Course was designed by Bob E. Baldock and Jack Neville in 1959. In 2003, Mike Strantz was hired to redesign the course layout. He stated, "I wanted to shape the course to sweep with the natural terrain - the rocks, the trees and grasses, the ocean. I dreamed that the course would appear to dance among the cypress trees on this coastline forever." Those who play this course believe Strantz achieved his goal.

The MPCC Shore course will be one of the three exceptional courses where professionals and celebrities compete during the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2023. Its proximity to the open ocean means wind is a major factor when playing this course. The par-3 11th is the signature hole. It features an elevated tee that sits on a natural granite rock outcropping overlooking the green and costal vistas beyond.

11th (lower) tee MPCC Shore (along Ocean Road)

Slow and turn right into this unmarked turnout and park for a moment. Across the street from this turnout is Ocean Road. If you were to walk 1 mile up Ocean Road you would come to the tee for the signature hole of the MPCC Shore course, the par-3 11th.

Though the course is private, the street is public, so if you have any interest in visiting this area, this is the time to do it. Otherwise exit this turnout and turn right back onto 17-Mile Drive. Our next stop, Bird Rock, is in less than 1/4 mile.

7th green MPCC Shore

As you drive, the back nine of the MPCC Shore course will be on your left. Before this course was built this was a popular stop for equestrian hunt and steeplechase competitions. It also had a military purpose. During the early years of the Pebble Beach Golf Links, the grounds keepers had a difficult time keeping the grass well groomed. So they set up a trade with the 11th U.S. Cavalry division that was stationed at the Monterey Presidio from 1919 to 1940. The Cavalry allowed the grounds keepers to clean out the Presidio stables and use the manure to fertilize the turf. In exchange the Cavalry was allowed to use the beach along this stretch of coast as a riding and saber practice area.

Slow and turn right into the Bird Rock Vista Point and park for a moment. This is number 7 on your Pebble Beach Map.

As you exit your car to explore this stop you will probably be hit by the sound of the noisy sea lions that have taken to hanging out at this spot. The large rock off shore also attracts cormorants, gulls and pelicans. It may have a "snow-capped" look to it, that is bird excrement, or what is commonly known as bird poop. Up until the 1930s the poop was allowed to accumulate. And the birds loved it! Then someone in park maintenance got the bright idea to harvest the poop for fertilizer.

As soon as this harvesting began to happen on a regular basis, the sea lions, who had their own rock just south of here, began moving in. Now the birds and sea lions live harmoniously together, for the most part.

During the spring the western gull and Brandt's Cormorant will build nests here. During the summer the Brown pelican will arrive and share space on the rock. In August and September those noisy male sea lions head back to the rock after mating season along the southern coast. Occasionally you might catch a glimpse of a sea otter.

From November through March, migrating grey whales will pass along this coast. Keep a sharp eye out for their flukes, commonly known as their tails, as they dive deep for food. From April to December the Humpback and Blue whales will migrate through these waters.

Use the pay-telescopes here at this stop to get a close up view of the sea lions hoisting their 600 pound bodies up the side of Bird Rock for some sun. I find it an amazing feat.

As you exit this parking area turn right back onto the 17-Mile Drive. In less than .2 mile, make a right into the Seal Rock Vista Point, which is stop 8 on your Pebble Beach map.

As you look out to sea you will look over Seal Beach to Seal Rock. I don't find it nearly as exciting as Bird Rock. But if you are interested there is a wooden staircase down to the beach.

The reason I stopped you here is across the highway. Do you see the house in the distance with the multicolored roof? The picture below is a close up of the house.

This is Casita de Lemos, but locals call it the Gingerbread House. It was built between 1941 and 1944 by Professor Pedro de Lemos in the Storybook-style. To my knowledge it is the only Storybook-style home in Pebble Beach, which is why it really stands out.

Lemos was a painter, architect, illustrator, lecturer and longtime director of the Thomas Welton Stanford Art Gallery, now known as the Stanford Art Gallery. Lemos never finished building his home and over the years it fell into disrepair. It was acquired by the Pebble Beach Company in 1991, and restored. That high-pitched roof may look like tile, but it is actually poured concrete, hand formed to create the appearance of individually colored tiles.

Professor de Lemos (1882-1954)
(Photograph by Johan Hagemeyer - Wikipedia)

Lemos also has ties to Carmel-by-the-Sea. Besides being a founding member of the Carmel Art Association, Lemos designed the Storybook-style cottage on Dolores Street near 7th Avenue in 1929. He designed it after Carmel's iconic Tuck Box which resides next door. Over the years this little cottage next to the Tuck Box was used as a garden shop, jam shop, wine room, and today, well it is Carmel Groomers Pet Salon.

If you are really adventurous and would like a closer look at the Gingerbread house, there is a boardwalk path directly across the highway from this parking area. Just be careful crossing the highway if you decide you want a closer look.

When you are ready to continue, exit and turn right on to 17-Mile Drive then take the second left onto Spyglass Hill Road. We are on our way to the Spyglass Hill golf course.

Spyglass Hill Golf Course

As you continue along Spyglass Hill Road. You will be driving between the holes of the Spyglass Hill front 9.

ProVisualizer.com Spyglass Hill

According to Pebble Beach lore, writer Robert Louis Stevenson traversed the dunes that would years later become Spyglass Hills Golf course during his short stay in Monterey.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
(Photo by Henry Walter Barnett 1893 Wikipedia)

Stevenson was born in 1850 in Edinburgh. He met Mrs. Fanny Osbourne in Paris in 1876, fell in love and followed her to Monterey in 1879 where she had gone to reconcile with her husband. Stevenson would eventually win the love of Fanny, but his total time in Monterey was only four months. It is said that the fog covered sand dunes inspired him to write the novel Treasure Island in 1881. Whether this area was the muse for Stevenson's novel or not, is still up for debate. But it makes for a nice story.

Turn left onto Stevenson Drive. Then make a right into the parking area for Spyglass Hill Golf course and park for a moment.

This magnificent course was designed by British–American golf course architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr. in 1966. Jones Sr., was also the father of Jones Jr. who designed Poppy Hills and Spanish Bay. Jones, Sr. designed or re-designed more than 500 golf courses during the course of his career.

This course was originally called the Pebble Beach Pines Golf Club. Yet Samuel Morse was intrigued by the legend of Robert Louis Stevenson roaming the hills of these sandy dunes and renamed the course, Spyglass Hill. Many of the holes have also been named with a Treasure Island theme. On the front nine there are the Billy Bones, the Black Spot and the Blind Pew. On the back nine one will find the Captain Flint, Long John Silver, and the novels protagonist, Jim Hawkins. One year after Spyglass opened in 1966 it joined the rotation on the Crosby Pro-Am Clambake. It continues to be featured on the AT&T Pro-Am.

Take some time here if you like to explore the grounds. Behind the parking lot you will find the 9th tee and Spyglass Grill. Though it doesn't count toward gate fee reimbursement, the BBQ Pulled Pork Bogey Hoagie or Eagle Quarter-Pounder are both nice sharable snack options.

When you are ready we are going to return to 17-Mile Drive the way we arrived. Exit the parking lot and turn left then make a quick right onto Spyglass Hill Road, the same way you came in.

At the stop sign ahead, turn left back onto the 17-Mile Drive. Once we are back on the 17-Mile Drive we will pass the Fan Shell House designed by Mark Mills in 1972.

Born in 1921, Mark Mills was an American architect who apprenticed for Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin West from 1944 to 1948. It was here that Mills adapted Wright's ideas using free-form organic design. Mills came to Carmel in the 1950s to help with the construction of Mrs. Clinton Walker's house on Scenic. Mrs. Walker's house was the only home in Carmel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Mrs. Clinton Walker House (Scenic Road, Carmel, CA - Frank Lloyd Wright)

Mrs. Walker was so impressed with Mills' work that she offered him the opportunity to plan and build two more houses in Carmel. They are both located side by side on Mission Street, near Rio Road. Mark Mills spent 52 years working in Carmel. He died in 2007.

Banyan Hideaway (Mission Street, Carmel, CA - Mark Mills)

Watch on your left for the Fan Shell house. It features a distinctive scalloped roofline, similar to the lip of a seashell and floor to ceiling windows.

Fan Shell House designed by Mark Mills

After you pass the Fan Shell house, turn left onto Signal Hill Road. Continue to the end of the road.

We are on our way to view the Arthur Connell House at 1170 Signal Road.
The last time I was there in 2022 the address had been removed from the front of the house.

Connell house designed by Richard Neutra

The Arthur Connell house was built in 1958 by architect Richard Neutra and is an extremely rare example of the International-style in Pebble Beach.

Richard Neutra (1892 - 1970) Wikipedia

Richard Neutra was an Austrian-American architect. He spent the majority of his career in Southern California and was considered an important modernist architect.

Neutra designed this home for commercial photographer Arthur Connell and his family. Connell was a good friend of Brett Weston, son of one of the masters of 20th century photography, Edward Weston. The Connell's were active in the Monterey Peninsula arts community for 15 years before selling the house and moving abroad.

In 2004 the home was purchased by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Massy Mehdipur. Her plan was to tear down the house and built a bigger home. Then the fireworks started. Mehdipur, who claimed that when she purchased the home, she did not know that it was designed by Neutra submitted plans for a demo and new construction, neighbors got up in arms, and historic preservationists became involved. Years went by, Mehdipur rented out the home and it fell into disrepair.

Mehdipur may have hoped that this would allow for her to demo the home, but alas this was not to be. A structural engineer hired by Mehdipour claimed that vandals must have sawed through the structural support and beams of the building making it unsalvageable. Monterey county required Mehdipur to shore up the building and hire a guard to protect it. In 2014 the home became the second property listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Pebble Beach.

In 2019 an environmental impact report concluded that the Neutra house should be restored as currently it is one of only thirteen of Neutra's twenty extant projects in Northern California that have retained some sort of architectural integrity. Today the jury is still out and the home remains in disrepair. If you would like to read more about this property and its Environmental Impact Analysis, visit this resource.

Back of the Fan Shell House

Follow Signal Hill Road back to 17-Mile Drive and turn left. You will have a nice view of the back of the Fan Shell house. Our next stop is in less than a mile, Fanshell Overlook.

The last time I took this drive I happened by an equestrian tour being given by the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center.

With more than 27 miles of marked equestrian trails that run deep in the beautiful Del Monte Forest, Pebble Beach Equestrian Center offers a memorable horseback riding experience. Including this one, near Fan Beach. We will be visiting the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center later on this tour.

As you continue along the 17-Mile Drive, ahead and to your right is Fanshell Beach. This is an irresistible spot for harbor seals, who return here each spring from April to June for pupping season. If the seals are beached there will be a fence along the highway to keep people away. Straight ahead is the Cypress Point golf course. I will tell you more about the course later on the tour.

Fanshell Beach

Turn right into the parking area for Fanshell Beach Overlook ahead on your right. This will be stop number 9 on your Pebble Beach map.

If you do arrive here during pupping season from April through June, this is the best spot for observing the moms and their pups.

Harbor Seals (Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary - photo by Dan Linehan)

Harbor seals are one of the most common marine mammals here in Monterey Bay. They have spotted coats in a variety of shades ranging from silvery-gray to dark brown. They are smaller than the California sea lions you saw at Bird Rock.

Cove at Fanshell Beach

You might notice harbor seal pups all alone on the beach. They have not been abandoned, their moms are out in the ocean foraging for food to sustain them while nursing. Within three to four weeks of birth, the harbor seal pups are weaned and are then left to fend for themselves. This is the most challenging time for the new pup as they must learn to catch food for themselves, by going back and forth to the sea. This enclosed cove gives them a pretty good chance of survival.

When you are finished taking in the view, exit and turn right back onto 17-Mile Drive. You will be driving between holes of the Cypress Point Golf Course. This road is as far west at 17-Mile Drive will take us. It used to go out a bit farther around Cypress Point, but this is now the location of the par-3 No. 16 at Cypress Point.

ProVisualizer.com Cypress Point

Crosswalk leads to the last 4 holes on the Cypress Point course.

As you come around the point, the crosswalk ahead is for golfers on their way to one of the most famous holes on the course, sitting on the edge of the jagged Pacific coastline, the #15, a par-3, is only 143 yards. A short shot over a cove onto the green, puts you near the hole which is surrounded by 6 bunkers.

The following two photos by JoAnne Dost are available at Gallery Sur on 6th Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea. We visit Gallery Sur on our VoiceMap Carmel-by-the-Sea's Bohemian Art Scene walking tour.

Cypress Point 15th Hole (Photo by by JoAnne Dost)

Cypress Point Holes 15, 16 and 17 (Photo by by JoAnne Dost)

Continue driving and up ahead watch for the tall hedge on your right. This hedge actually hides the tee shot for hole #1 at Cypress Point. Players drive their ball over the 17-Mile Drive to the hole 417 yards away. Just past the hedge you will get a glimpse of the club house to this private club. The driveway is also marked private.

Hedge Covering Hole #1 tee Cypress Point

Designed in 1928 by Alister Mackenzie, the front nine meander through the coastal dunes into the Del Monte forest then the back nine reemerges to the rocky coastline for some visually stunning finishing holes.

When asked about the design of Cypress Point in 1932 Alister Mackenzie responded, “I do not expect anyone will ever have the opportunity of constructing another course like Cypress Point as I do not suppose anywhere in the world is there such a glorious combination of rocky coast, sandy dunes, pine woods, and cypress trees.”

Cypress Point is probably one of the most exclusive golf courses in the world, as it is virtually impossible to play a round here unless you are invited by a member. I had the opportunity to watch the pros play here during the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am until 1990 when Cypress Point was removed from tournament rotation. If you want to see every hole on this course by drone, take at the look at the video imbedded in this article from Golf Digest, December 2021.

Just past the hedge you will see arrows in the road pointing right. Follow the road to the right to stay on the 17-Mile Drive. Continue through the majestic grove of Monterey cypress. These cypress trees are found naturally in only in two places. Here in Del Monte Forest and just south of Carmel in Point Lobos State Reserve. If you are interested in touring Point Lobos, Our California Coast Driving Tour from Carmel and Point Lobos to Big Sur is a great option.

These trees can live up to 300 years. Their gnarled shapes sculpted by the wind have been planted widely elsewhere, but they prefer the harsh conditions along this coast, especially the cool moist summers, and sea fog.

Continue slowly. Watch for a sign on your right pointing right to Cypress Point Lookout. Then continue through a wooden gate into a parking area. Cypress Point Lookout is stop 10 on your Pebble Beach map.

Take some time to enjoy the views up the coast here, they are spectacular.
Unfortunately views of Cypress Point Golf Course have been blocked off.

When you are ready, exit the parking lot. Follow the road to the right to return to the 17-Mile Drive. We are on our way to Crocker Grove, a 13 acre nature preserve.

Ahead on your left is the parking area for Crocker Grove. Pull off into the parking area and stop for a moment. Crocker Grove is number 11 on the Pebble Beach map.

In this natural preserve you will find the largest Monterey cypress trees in existence. They are also the oldest, with some nearly 300 years old. This grove gets its name from Charles Crocker, the railroad baron who, as I stated before, was responsible for building the Hotel Del Monte as well as the original 17-Mile Drive in 1881.

Once you are ready to continue, carefully pull back out onto the highway and continue in the direction you were previously headed. Our next stop is in less than one mile, the iconic Lone Cypress.

The Lone Cypress (2005) Wikipedia

Possibly the most recognized stop on this driving tour, and certainly the most photographed, the Lone Cypress has survived on this rocky perch for more than 250 years. Though it has had a bit of help. In 1941 a retaining wall was constructed around its base. In 1948 cables were installed to ensure its upright position. In 1969, the tree was fenced off to the public in order to protect its roots. In 1984, an unknown arsonist attempted to set fire to the tree. The tree survived with minor fire scarring. And in 2019 a wind storm took off one of its limbs. So it looks a bit different than it did in the past, though it is no less impressive.

Slow and pull into the parking area on your right for the Lone Cypress. The Lone Cypress is stop 12 on the Pebble Beach map. If you are interested, there is a set of stairs at this stop that will take you down closer to the tree.

Continue along the 17-Mile Drive. Over the course of the next 1/2 mile if you look off to your right you will get a glimpse of a few homes that were built on the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean. Two of these were built in 1925. I will point them out.

As you drive along this section, watch for the stone wall, this is 3252 17-Mile Drive. Over this wall you may get a glimpse of the Mediterranean Revival-style Villa Felice.

It was designed by San Francisco architect firm Bakewell and Brown and built in 1925 for Celia Tobin (1875-1965) and her first husband, copper king heir Charles Clark (1871-1931). Celia's father was a San Francisco financier and founder of the Hibernia Bank.

This home is currently (2022) undergoing renovations with a design by Jun A. Sillano and construction by Harvest Construction.

Next door is Villa Eden Del Mar. This Spanish Eclectic-style homes was also built in 1925.

Behind the white stucco wall Villa Eden Del Mar is easily visible from the road. This white stucco Spanish eclectic-style home with tile roof was designed by architect George Washington Smith. It was a gift from gold mining entrepreneur William Bowers Bourn II to his daughter Maud Bowers Bourn and son-in-law Arthur Rose Vincent.

As you continue driving, stay to the right. When the road forks veer right to stay on 17-Mile Drive.

Gate for Crocker-Irwin Mansion

Right before you get to the next stop, Ghost Tree, you will pass a stone wall with a wooden gate. This is 3283 17-Mile Drive and the location of the historic Crocker-Irwin Mansion. Designed by Santa Barbara architect George Washington Smith and completed in 1929, this Byzantine-style home was built for Helene Irwin (1887-1966).

This home is also commonly called the Crocker Mansion, yet no Crocker actually ever lived in the home. Let me explain. Helene Irwin was the daughter of William G. Irwin (1843-1914) who made his fortune in sugar. In fact at one time William owned the entire island of Lanai. In 1909 he sold his empire in Hawaii and moved the family to San Francisco. It was here that Helene met Charles Templeton Crocker (1884-1948). Templeton was the eldest son of Charles Frederick Crocker (1854-1897) and grandson of, you guessed it, Charles Crocker (1822-1888). Templeton also happened to be a classmate of Samuel Morse at Yale in 1905, so there are a lot of Pebble Beach connections here.

Helene and Templeton married in 1911. Both had significant financial assets on their own. But it was Helene who purchased the lot in 1923 for $20,000. With this new community being developed in Del Monte Forest for the rich and famous, Helene and Templeton wanted to be a part of it. They held a big party at the site of their new property just north of Pescadero Point in 1926 to lay the cornerstone. The couple then went back to their home in Hillsborough, while three dozen craftsmen labored on every detail of their palatial coastal estate.

Helene and Templeton's romance waned and they divorced in 1928. Helene traveled to the east coast and met Paul I. Fagan (1893 - 1960). Paul was a successful import and export entrepreneur. Helene and Paul fell in love and married March 15, 1929. After the newlyweds returned to California, they purchased a home in Hillsborough and lived there while they waited for their Pebble Beach getaway to be finished later that year. The total price tag on Helene and Paul's castle in Pebble, $2.1 million. So you see no Crocker actually ever lived in the home when it was completed.

Cypress "Ghost Tree"

Just after the gate to this mansion is the parking area for Ghost Tree at Pescadero Point. This will be stop 13 on your Pebble Beach map. Pescadero Point, which was a frequent fishing location for the Ramsien Native American's, was named by the Spanish explorers Pescadero which means fishing place.

Walk over to the Ghost Tree, the trunk has been bleached white from the wind. From this area you should be able to get a glimpse of the Crocker Irwin Mansion.

Walking back over to the over side of this stop, or Pescadero Point, look south to see views of Carmel Bay, Stillwater Cove, and Point Lobos.

Alight, our next stop is in less than 1 mile, The Pebble Beach Equestrian Center. As you drive, I will tell you the story of the Del Monte Trophy, an auto road race held from 1950 to 1956 in Pebble Beach.

This race, paired with a car show called the Concourse d'Elegance, was managed by the Sports Car Club of America. The route traveled 2.1 miles on paved and dirt sections of road around the Equestrian Center. In the Del Monte Trophy road race, the Jaguar XK120 faced off with the Aardvark, Morgan Roadster, and Ferrari Sport Spider on the twisty narrow roads, through tall Cypress trees, and around sharp hair-pin turns. During the Del Monte Trophy race, accidents were scarce and relatively uneventful. Until 1956 when Ernie McAfee fatally slammed his Ferrari into a cypress tree. Although the Concourse car show event continues to this day, this was the end of the Del Monte Trophy race.

Continue along the 17-Mile Drive, at the stop sign, do not follow the arrows to the right, but
instead continue straight across the intersection onto Stevenson Drive. Continue along Stevenson and at the stop sign, veer left onto Alva Lane. Then continue along Alva.

At the next stop sign, turn right onto Portola Road. As you drive the Equestrian Center grounds will be to your left.

Turn left into the Equestrian Center parking lot and park out in front of the barn. There is a welcome sign in front. This is stop 21 on your Pebble Beach map.

In 1920, Samuel Morse cleared a field near the Equestrian Center for an airstrip to be used by his resort visitors. Many of the early Pebble Beach residents were into the newest fad, aviation, and flew their own small planes. At the same time there was a growing number of homeowners who needed boarding stables for their horses. In 1924, Morse had a small stable built near the airfield.

The airfield is gone but the equestrian center has grown. There are currently about 90 horses at the stables, with half being privately owned and the others used for lessons and trail excursions. If you are interested in taking one of these guided tours, you may choose a coast or forest ride, or create your own adventure. Tours range from $50 to $300.

You will need to have a reservation to explore the grounds here at the Equestrian Center. So when you are ready, exit the parking area and turn left back onto Portola Road. To your right is the Peter Hay 9-hole golf course.

For 12 years, the area to your left was the site of the Lexus Grand Tasting Tent for Pebble Beach Food and Wine a premier epicurean event. Canceled in 2020 due to COVID and has not returned. We had the opportunity to cover this event in 2017. It was an experience we will not soon forget.

GuyFieri (Hunt & Ryde Wines) and his winemaker Guy Davis (Davis Family Vineyards)

Zacapa Signature Old Fashioned

Glass of bubbly as the sun sets over Inn at Spanish Bay at PBFW 2017

At the stop sign, turn right to stay on Portola Road. We are on our way to the Pebble Beach Golf Academy & Practice Facility which opened in 2014. Up ahead make the next right (this is Ondulado Road but it is not marked), then make an immediate right into the Golf Academy Driveway. The outdoor driving range is reserved for Pebble Beach resort guests, but the indoor instruction studios are open to the public.

Park for a moment in this parking lot at the Pebble Beach Golf Academy. Take notice of the bronze statue at the entrance to the lot. This 15-foot bronze encompasses the energy of the golf swing. Titled Momentum, it was created by Richard MacDonald in 2000 for the U.S. Open that was held at the Pebble Beach Golf Links that year. MacDonald is considered by many to be the world’s preeminent living figurative sculpture artist. The statue is inscribed with the first 100 winners of the U.S. Open, culminating with the victory of Tiger Woods in 2000. Tiger would go on to win the U.S. Open two more times, once in 2002 and again in 2008.

There are three instructional studios open to the public at the Golf Academy. One is geared to help improve your putting skills, another to perfectly fit your clubs, and lastly one uses state-of-the-art technology to analyze your full swing for a better long game. If you are interested in making an appointment for any of these instructional opportunities, just pop into the lobby, someone will be happy to assist you with a reservation.

Outdoor Range

Time to continue through this circular driveway, exit and turn back onto Ondulado Road. Then turn left at the next corner onto Stevenson Drive. We are on our way to the Pebble Beach Resort and Golf Links.

At the stop sign turn left onto Alva Lane. Then left onto Cypress Drive and left into the Pebble Beach Market Parking lot.

Park here near the Pebble Beach Market. We will be using this as home base for visiting the Pebble Beach Lodge, Visitors Center, and Golf Links, which are stops 14 and 15 on your Pebble Beach map.

If this parking lot is full there is additional parking behind the market and near the Visitor Center. Your first stop will be the Visitor Center.

At this center you will learn the rich history of Pebble Beach from its early days as a simple stopping point on a scenic carriage ride, to its emergence as the Golf Capital of the World. There is a public restroom at the Visitor Center a well as one near the Pebble Beach shops.

From here cross the street to the Pebble Beach Lodge, shops and numerous world class restaurants. A dining tab of $35 at any of these will validate reimbursement of your Pebble Beach gate fees.

Samuel Morse contracted Jack Neville and Douglas Grant to design the golf course at Pebble Beach in 1916. This course was ready for trail play in April 1918. At the same time, the 17-Mile Drive was moved to be entirely inside the gates of Pebble Beach. Tolls were set at .25 cents for motorcycles and 2-3 seat autos and .50 cents for 4 - 6 seat autos.

Bust of Samuel Morse

In his book Pebble Beach Golf Links: The Official History, author Neal Hotelling writes: "The rocky coastline in 1916 was also scattered with sand dunes. To some extent these could be incorporated as bunkers, but some adaptation was necessary. However, the coastal meadow was for the most part absent of trees so visualization of the terrain was not a problem. The existing terrain, in fact, formed the focus of the design. Not only did they not have to clear, they did minimal grading during the construction of the course. The most difficult challenge was the installation of an underground irrigation system that would help maintain the course from tee to green during the long dry periods between the winter rains...Pebble Beach became the first championship course in the country to be constructed with underground irrigation from tee to green." (3)

ProVisualizer.com Pebble

Pebble Beach Golf Course is open to the public. At the time of this writing the fee for a non-resort guest is $645. If you are a resort guest the green fee is $595. If you don't have time to play a round, you can go down to the first hole and watch the golfers tee off, or head down to the lawn behind the 18th green and catch them finishing up their day.

Practice Green front of Lodge

The Lodge at Pebble Beach dates to 1908 when San Mateo architect Lewis P. Hobart was hired by the PIC to design the building. The rustic log-cabin style was built of timbers cut from the nearby forest and opened in 1909. Its main purpose was to serve meals to travelers taking the carriage ride along the 17-Mile Drive.

In December 1917 the lodge burned to the ground. Its replacement didn't open until 1919, when Hobart worked with architect Clarence A. Tantau to create a luxurious multi-story hotel with a Roman plunge pool.

Be sure to take some time to visit this area, enjoy a drink, appetizer or a special meal. When you visit the Lodge, make sure to take the stairs off the hotel lobby down to The Bench restaurant.

The walkway around the patio of the Bench is open to the public and will take you out to the 18th green and stunning bay views. This is sacred ground for golfers but is also a place which will generate lifelong memories for any visitor. Maybe a nice background for a Christmas Card?

When you are ready exit the parking area and turn left onto Cypress Drive.

Coming up on your left is the Peter Hay 9-hole course, designed by professional golfer Peter Hay in 1957 and redesigned in 2021 by Tiger Woods. Here all skill levels may enjoy a round of golf together. Current green fees are $65.

Hay Place Restaurant at The Hay

Veer to your right and follow arrow pointing right toward Highway 1 and Carmel. At the stop sign turn right to continue along 17-Mile Drive.

In less than one mile we will be turning right and heading toward the coast for one last stop, a coastal viewpoint for Stillwater Cove. Before we get there, we will be driving between Holes 2 and 3 of the Pebble Beach Golf Links, past the Pebble Beach Tennis courts and by Casa Palermo Inn and Spa. Casa Palermo was originally built around 1927 as a private residence off the 1st Hole of the Pebble Beach Golf Links. Today this Mediterranean-style villa is a luxury hotel and spa.

Follow the signs for Casa Palermo and Coastal Access. Then turn right ahead. The sign will read Hotel Guests, Casa Palermo, The Lodge and Coastal Access.

Continue straight about 1/2 mile. This part of the road is a 15 mile per hour zone as you are on resort property. On your right and left will be holes for the Pebble Beach Golf Links. You may also notice a number of luxury estates built on the golf course. Some of these, such as Casa Palermo date back to the 1920's.

Just past the Guard Shack you will come to Casa Palermo Inn and Spa. We are on our way to our last stop, the Coastal Access near Stillwater Cove, where you will have views of holes 17 and 18 of Pebble Beach Golf Links as well as stunning bay views.

Casa Palermo Spa

At the stop sign, turn left onto Cypress Drive toward the Coastal Access and Beach Club. Continue for .2 miles, past driveways to private residences. Before you enter the Tennis and Beach Club, which is private and for members only, turn right into a parking area. There will be a high hedge on one side of this narrow lot. This is the parking for coastal access. Turn right into this narrow lot and park.

If you like, get out of your car here. You will be rewarded with stunning views of the 18th tee, Stillwater Cove as well as Point Lobos in the distance.

Once you are finished, drive to the end of this narrow lot and make a U-turn and take the very narrow road back to the road you came in on. Turn left and proceed back in the direction from which you arrived.

At the stop sign turn right back onto Palermo Way as we make our way back to the 17-Mile Drive. We are about 1 mile for the Carmel Gate of Pebble Beach.

While you drive I will finish the story of the history of Pebble Beach.

Samuel Morse died in 1969. In 1977, his Del Monte Properties Company was reincorporated as the Pebble Beach Corporation. Twentieth Century-Fox used its profits from its film Star Wars to buy the Pebble Beach Corporation in 1979. In 1981, American industrialists, Marvin Davis purchased Twentieth Century-Fox which included the Pebble Beach Corporation. In 1990 Davis sold the Pebble Beach Company to Japanese businessman, Minoru Isutani, who later sold the company to the Taiheiyo Golf Club in 1992.

In 1999, former Major League Baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth assembled a high-powered group of investors to take Pebble Beach permanently off the market. This group included actor and director Clint Eastwood, the late, great Arnold Palmer, and a former United Airlines chief executive, Richard Ferris. Together, they amassed an $820 million offer, which was lower than the other figures offered for the land. It was accepted! Over the years, this ownership group has sold limited partnership interests, with the explicit understanding that the Pebble Beach Company would never again be sold to another ownership group.

Alright that brings up to present day Pebble Beach. Follow the road to the right toward Carmel and continue past the Carmel Gate. We are on our way to Carmel-by-the Sea where we end this driving tour.

Until next time Happy Adventures.

Old Town Sacramento Historic District and Waterfront Walking Tour

2023-05-24T16:21:00.006-07:00

Hello and welcome to this walking tour of the Old Town Sacramento Historic District and Waterfront Walking Tour. You should be standing in a small tree shaded patio on the west side of the 1 Capitol Mall Building in front of the entrance to the Tower Bridge Parking Lot and across the street from Tower Bridge.

This 1 1/4 mile walking tour of Old Sacramento's Historic District will take about 90 minutes. The historic district takes visitors back to the time of the gold rush, riverboat steamers, and the building of the transcontinental railroad. As I lead you along the boardwalk throughout the historic district, I will fill you in on the history of California and Sacramento as well as some unique stories about Old Town itself.

Now before we get walking let me give you a very brief introduction to the history of California and Sacramento.

For thousands of years, prior to European discovery, this area was the home of the Nisenan Native Americans. They lived peacefully here, hunting and gathering for all their needs. In 1542, Spanish explorer Juan Rodgriquez Cabrillo discovered and mapped what would become Alta California. But it wasn't until 1776 that Alta California came under Spanish rule. In 1808 Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga came upon the Sacramento River and Valley. This area would get its name from a description written by a traveler on that expedition. He wrote, "Es como el sagrado sacramento," its English translation, it's like the Blessed Sacrament, which is what Catholic's call the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

Mexico's war for independence began in 1821. The following year, Mexico won its freedom from Spain, and Alta California, passed quietly into Mexican control.

In 1839, Swiss immigrant, John Sutter, Sr. arrived in California. He persuaded Alta California's Mexican governor to award him a 48,000 acre land grant at the convergence of the Sacramento and American River's. There he built Sutter's Fort, which would operate as the economic center for his agricultural and trading colony New Helvetia, also known as New Switzerland, named after his home country.

As Sutter's new colony continued to grow, United States President James Polk was setting his sites on U.S. expansion into Mexican territory, especially Alta California. Polk gave Commander John Sloat the order to seize Monterey, the capital of Alta California, if the U.S. ever went to war with Mexico. On May 13, 1846 the U.S. Congress declared war on Mexico and less than a month later on July 7th Sloat peacefully raised the U.S. flag over the Monterey Custom House and claimed California for the United States.

The following year in 1847, Sutter built a sawmill about 30 miles northeast of his new colony. It was at this sawmill in January 1848 that gold was discovered. This would forever change the course of Sutter's colony, but not for the better. Many of the residents of New Switzerland and workers at the mill abandoned their homesteads and headed for the gold fields, leaving behind a ghost town which never recovered.

In December 1848, John Sutter's son, John Jr., laid out the plan for a new town, Sacramento. Two years later, in 1850 California became a state and Sacramento was incorporated as a city. Sacramento grew rapidly during its first two decades, but residents would face many challenges during those early years. In fact, 1850, a horrendous year for Sacramento, brought disaster for every season. Winter of the new year brought the first of several floods, Spring the first significant fire, Summer a banking panic, and Fall a cholera epidemic. As we walk through the oldest quarter of this city, you will hear stories about Sacramento's early years, and how residents dealt with these challenges.

Alright, it is time to get going. Our next stop is across the street. The golden colored Tower Bridge at the corner of Neasham and Capitol Mall.

As you face Tower Bridge, walk to the corner traffic signal and crosswalk. Use the crosswalk and carefully cross Neasham Circle toward Tower Bridge.

Carefully cross the railroad tracks and continue up the steps onto the pedestrian portion of Tower Bridge. Walk along the pedestrian walkway and stop when you get to the first tower. Then turn and face Old Town, looking up river.

Below is the mighty Sacramento River, the largest river in California. Originating at the Klamath Mountains near Lake Shasta in northwestern California, the river flows south 445 miles through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and into San Francisco Bay.

Take a look upriver to that bridge in the distance. That is the I Street bridge. Built in 1910, it is a great visual cue for the story I am going to tell.

In 1839, John Sutter carved out a road from his fort to an embarcadero landing along the Sacramento River and erected a wharf. The location of this embarcadero wharf was located just south of the I Street bridge. Just north of the bridge is the mouth of the American River.

Ten years later in the summer of 1849, thousands of gold-seekers from all over the world arrived at this embarcadero. After landing in San Francisco, thousands of prospectors in search of fortune followed two major river routes to reach the California's gold fields. Both headed east through San Pablo and Suisun Bays, where they split. The southern route followed the San Joaquin River to Stockton and the northern route the Sacramento River to the Embarcadero, right here to Old Town Sacramento. Sacramento was bursting at the seams with Forty-Niners, as they were called and the town became the final jumping-off place for the northern gold mines.

Fortune seekers, quickly bought their supplies in town and headed out to stake their claim in the mines. From Sacramento there were two routes, a steamer up the American River, or an overland trail by horseback. But not all who arrived in Sacramento during the early gold rush years headed to the mines. Some saw fortunes to be made by staying behind in Sacramento. Catering to miners needs, they opened hotels, saloons, gambling halls, boarding houses and mercantile shops. Whether you stayed behind or headed out to the gold fields, both business owners and miners faced many a hardship.

Before we head off into Old Town I want to call your attention again upriver. Do you see the paddle wheeler straight ahead and to your right? That is the Delta King. We will learn more about her history later on this tour. Now, notice the difference in the river level where the Delta King is docked and the street level where the restaurants sit high on beams.

When John Sutter Jr. originally laid out Sacramento in 1848, he did so at the river level. After annual floods devastated this new town, the streets were raised to the level you see on your right. Pretty impressive achievement in the 1860s. You will hear more about how this was done as we tour the town.

Alright turn around and walk back along the pedestrian walkway of Tower Bridge. Descend the steps and turn left on Neasham Circle. Continue straight along the sidewalk, you should be across the street from the parking garage. Up ahead this path will turn into a boardwalk.

John Sutter Jr., mapped out the area around the embarcadero in 1848 and sold lots on the waterfront for $500 each. Using canvas and wood from abandoned ships, early Sacramentans quickly erected buildings and opened saloons, hotels, and mercantile stores to meet the demand of the arrival of thousands of gold-seekers.

During those early years, gold dust was a common form of currency. The usual price for a drink in a saloon was a pinch of gold dust, with the bartender measuring. Saloon owners screened bartenders for how much they could raise in a pinch. Those with fat fingers got the job.

The first hotel, the City Hotel, opened in June of 1849 and others soon followed. Though prospectors looking for a place for a good night sleep were not concerned with cleanliness, they lay awake most nights itching and scratching as blankets, which were rarely cleaned, were filled with lice.

By the end of 1849, Sacramento doctor, John Morse wrote in his First History of Sacramento City, "Sacramento has become a perfect house of disease, suffering and death." This statement would soon ring true.

Coming up on your left just past Joe's Crab Shack will be a silver colored metal ramp walkway. Turn left and walk onto this ramp. Stop when you get to the end of the first section. Do not make the u-turn to continue walking down the ramp.

From here you are at a great vantage point to see some major highlights along the Sacramento river bank.

Starting on your left that is Tower Bridge where we started this tour. Built in 1934, it opened to traffic in 1935. When this vertical lift bridge opens for tall ships, the center portion between the two towers lifts straight up. Directly across the river is the city of West Sacramento.

That beige stepped pyramid shaped building is called the Ziggurat. Designed by Sacramento architect Edwin Kado to resemble a Mesopotamian ziggurat, it was built in 1997 and is the headquarters of the California Department of General Services. Now look directly to your right upriver to the I Street Bridge. This metal truss swing bridge was built in 1910 to link the capital city of Sacramento to Yolo County to the west.

And now take a look to your right and down to the wooden boardwalk outside the Delta King paddle wheeler. The boardwalk marks the original level of Sacramento as it was established in 1849. The decision to place the town at the water's edge would be the catalyst for its first major catastrophe.

In 1850, the same year Sacramento incorporated, the town was hit with its first disaster, a devastating flood. Built at water level at the confluence of two major rivers the Sacramento and the American, the new town flooded every winter. With no sanitation methods, and with dead animals, rotting food and debris of all kinds floating in the flood waters, these yearly floods were also a breading ground for disease.

To control the floods, residents built levees. The townspeople felt safe, until the following winter when the river broke through the levees and inundated the city once again with chilling waters. Sacramentans were at their wits end and seemingly out of ideas to solve the flooding problem until the Daily Union newspaper published an anonymous letter from a local merchant with an unprecedented idea to save the city. "If floods can't be contained by levees, he said, then let's lift the city above the floods!" Though the idea was well received by residents, not much was done as the next eight years brought light winter rains and few people thought about floods during those times. Then came the big one, the floods of December 1861 and January 1862. They were the worst to ever hit Sacramento.

It was now apparent that the city had to be raised and there was no time to waste. Lifting up an entire city, which had never been done before to anyone's knowledge, would prove to be quite challenging. The city allocated $200,000 for the engineering job, which would be done in stages and take several years. The final grading, raising and reconstruction was finished over 10 years later in 1873. How was all this accomplished? It involved a series of integrated construction jobs, the first of which involved the railroad.

In 1862, President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act, which provided Federal government support for the building of the first transcontinental railroad. The following year the Central Pacific Railroad company headed by four Sacramento merchants, Collis P. Huntington, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker, formed a plan to establish Sacramento as the western terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad. And with that, the Central Pacific Railroad would became the first partner Sacramento enlisted in raising the city.

The city gave the railroad the land along the riverbank next to the Embarcadero wharf. But they had one big requirement. The railroad had to build a levee for the railroad line 22 feet 9 inches above the river level. It is interesting that this was 3 inches shy of the Great Flood of 1862 which peaked at 23 feet. But it was what the city wanted and the railroad agreed and built the levee. The city then used the levee's high point to level off the entire town approximately 22 feet above the river line. The next step, all the roads had to be raised. I will tell you how that was done shortly.

Turn around and walk back along the ramp to the boardwalk. Then cross the railroad tracks and continue straight to the cobblestone street.

Turn left when you get to the sidewalk and stop at the crosswalk before you get to the ferris wheel and amusement park.

At the crosswalk, stop and turn to your right. Directly across the street is a parking lot. Carefully cross the cobblestones of Front Street and continue along the boardwalk down L Street, keeping the parking lot on your left.

Stop here for a moment on the boardwalk and take a look over the wooden fence into the parking lot. Now look to your left to see pillars under the sidewalk of Front Street. Behind the pillars notice the brick wall supported by brick buttresses.

Built in the 1860s, these brick walls were used to raise the streets. This is one of just a few places in town where you can see what lies beneath the cobblestone streets here in Old Town.

How were these walls built? Well let me tell you.

After the railroad had done its part in building a levee to lay its track, the next challenge in raising the city was to raise the roads to the level the railroad had established. To do this, the city ordered every property owner in town to construct a brick bulkhead along the street fronting their property to the new curb line. Eventually two brick walls supported by brick buttresses were build over all streets in town. Then thousands of cartloads of sand and gravel were dredged from the river bottom, dumped on the streets between the brick walls and tamped down. Once the gravel had settled, which took months, the new streets were paved with cobblestone.

The next dilemma for the business owner was what to do about their front entrance, which was now blocked by a brick wall. There were two options, turn the original first floor into a basement and cut a new front door on the second level. This would have been the easiest and cheapest solution.   Or bring in a construction crew to jack up your multi-ton brick building to the new street elevation using jackscrews similar to an old auto jack. Though property owners had to pay for all of this themselves, the majority of businesses chose the second option. All together, more than 200 buildings were raised in Sacramento.

Continue walking straight along the boardwalk and cross Firehouse Alley ahead.

You will notice that this alley runs downhill. It was not raised, and was used for water run off.

Continue walking to the end of the block. At the corner, take a look across the street to the stone monument with a bronze bust surrounded by a grove of trees.

That is our next stop. Use the crosswalk ahead to carefully cross 2nd street to the Theodore Judah Monument. Then stop in front of this stone monument to Theodore Judah while I tell you a bit about him.

Born in 1826 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Theodore Judah studied at Rensselaer Polytechnic institute in New York before working as a survey engineer on a number of railroads in the northeast. In 1852, Charles Lincoln Wilson recruited Judah to come west and serve as the Chief Engineer for the Sacramento Valley Railroad. Under Judah's charge, train operation for this 22 mile railroad which ran from Folsom to Sacramento, began in February of 1856.

While building the Sacramento Valley Railroad, Judah dreamed of building a railroad over the Sierra, the biggest obstacle to completing the transcontinental railroad and making Sacramento its western terminus. Judah floated the idea to some financial tycoons in San Francisco, who immediately rejected the idea. Not dismayed, he brought the idea to four Sacramento businessmen, Leland Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker. The Big Four, as they came to be known, organized the Central Pacific Railroad, a rail line that would run east from Sacramento to Promontory, Utah to complete the western portion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Judah would be the Central Pacific Railroad's chief engineer for this project.

Because of Judah's single-minded passion for driving rail road lines through the Sierra Nevada mountains, something that was considered impossible by many at the time, he earned the nickname, Crazy Judah . Although he did not live to see it, his dream of establishing a rail line through the Sierra Nevada's was realized in 1869 when the Golden spike, connecting the Central Pacific Railroad to the Union Pacific Railroad at Promontory, Utah, was hammered on May 10, 1869. Replacing the months long sea voyages and hazardous travel by covered wagon, the Transcontinental Railroad system made coast-to-coast train travel in eight days.

This monument to Theodore Judah, first Chief Engineer of the Central Pacific Railroad, was first erected in a Sacramento municipal park opposite the Southern Pacific Station. The monument was later moved into storage during the construction of Interstate 5 and eventually placed here in Old Sacramento.

Alright, it is time to get moving. With the monument behind you, cross 2nd Street using the same crosswalk you used to get here.

Once you have crossed the street, turn right and continue straight along 2nd Street.

During the second half of the 1800s, the next two blocks of 2nd street, was considered the red light district. Hotels and saloons were interspersed with brothels plying their wares. Despite customers and working women being arrested regularly for disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and public drunkenness, the brothels along 2nd Steet were very profitable for their madams.

Continue walking alongside the red building to the double glass front doors. This is the front door of the Firehouse Restaurant. There is a historic plaque just to the right of these doors noting that this is the former location of the Sacramento Firehouse #3. Stop for a moment in front of this plaque I have another story to tell.

Some of the ship captains who arrived here in Sacramento at the onset of the gold rush in 1848 abandoned their ships at the dock and headed straight off to the gold fields. The canvas sails and wood hulls left behind then became building material for the first buildings in the new town of Sacramento. Canvas and wood were no match for fire.

In April 1850, Front Street between J and K turned into an inferno. But this would be minor compared to Sacramento’s great fire of November 2, 1852. Known as the Great Conflagration, this fire destroyed the majority of these hastily built structures.

The resiliency of Sacramento is unparalleled, within a month, over 700 structures were re-built. This time the buildings were constructed out of brick with iron shutters to help prevent future fires from spreading.

As a result of this fire, the city required all future buildings to be erected out of brick and funded the construction of 9 fire stations, including the one at this location, Engine Company No. 3. This building served the volunteers of Engine Company No 3 for almost 70 years.

In 1960 this was the first building restored within the newly designated historic district of Old Sacramento. Renovated into a bar and restaurant reminiscent of the Gold Rush Era, The Firehouse Restaurant opened for business in 1960. This fine dining establishment has regularly attracted governors, politicians, diplomats, sports and entertainment celebrities. Ronald Reagan held both of his gubernatorial inaugural dinners here. And on a more personal note, as children, my husband and his siblings each looked forward to the day they turned 13 and got to celebrate becoming teenagers with an extra special dinner at the Firehouse.

When you are ready, continue walking toward the corner. At the corner, stay on the boardwalk, turn left and continue straight along K Street. On the corner you will pass the former location of the Democratic State Journal, a daily news publication that debuted in 1852.

Continue walking while I tell you another story about the disastrous year of 1850.

On October 15, 1850, the riverboat New World steamed into Sacramento. On board was a passenger sick with cholera. The plague ran through the town like wildfire striking indiscriminately. At the peak of the epidemic, Sacramento's Dr. John Morse recorded 150 cases in a single day. By November 14th Sacramento was virtually a ghost town, hotels and saloons closed, as residents left town to wait out the illness. After 6 weeks the worst was over, residents were able to return and things eventually went back to normal.

Continue to the end of this block and stop for a moment at the corner near the sign for Stage Nine Entertainment Store.

Stage Nine Entertainment Store, located in the historic What Cheer House, encompasses the entire corner of Front and K Street. The What Cheer House was constructed in 1853 and operated as a hotel for 10 years during the height of the California Gold Rush. The salutation "What cheer?" or "What cheer, partner?" was the "What's new?" of its day. What Cheer Houses' prime location providing equal access to steamboats on the river and stagecoaches bound for gold fields, made it a favorite gathering place for miners and early California politicians.

Today this historic building serves as the home to The Vault, G. Willikers Toy Emporium, Old Fashioned Candy and Confectionery as well as Stage Nine Entertainment and is one of California's select Disney Preferred galleries carrying the complete catalog of officially-licensed Disney Animation Art from Disney Fine Art.

With the What Cheer House on your left, turn right at the corner and cross K Street. When you get to the other side, turn right and continue straight along K Street. You will be walking away from the waterfront.

Continue past the sign for Evangeline's Costume Mansion. Stop at the end of the boardwalk in front of the light beige masonry stone building with black shutters.

On the wall of this building you will find the historic plaque for the Lady Adams Building. This building also houses part of Evangline's unique costume and novelty store.

The first owners of the Lady Adams Building were two German immigrants who came to California "around the horn" on a ship named The Lady Adams. Initially, in 1849, they operated their importing and wholesale business from the brig of the Lady Adams moored at the foot of K Street, then moved their business into a tent while they used the ships parts to build the structure. The bricks which form this building had acted as the ships ballast. It was due to these bricks that the Lady Adams was the only building in town to survive the great fire of 1852.

With the Lady Adams building to your left, cross Firehouse Alley and continue straight along the boardwalk to the end of the block.

Stop when you get to the end of the block stop and take a look ahead and across the street between the trees. You will see a metal archway with the word Downtown. This path leads to the Golden 1 event center, home of the Sacramento Kings basketball team, and on to the California state Capitol. We are not going there on this tour, but I wanted to point it out. Now turn left and continue along the boardwalk along 2nd Street.

Ahead on your left watch for the building marked with wall lanterns in between each door. Stop on the boardwalk in front of that building. The address is 1024 2nd Street.

This was the location of the Orleans Hotel, which attracted distinguished visitors during the 1850s and 1860s. California state politicians gathered at the Orleans regularly and its guest list included American author Mark Twain, Horace Greeley founder and editor of the New York Tribune, and infamous Spanish dancer Lola Montez.

Originally built in New Orleans, the hotel was dismantled and brought to Sacramento in 1850 where it was reassembled only to be destroyed by the fire of 1852. But, like a phoenix, the hotel rose again three weeks later as a 3-story brick building with 40 bedrooms, and a grand saloon. The Orleans Hotel was also the headquarters for the California Stage Co., where each day dozens of Concord stage coaches arrived at 5am. In front of the hotel, runners for these stages, charged with recruiting passengers, shouted at the top of their lungs, "Who's agoin to Nevada City? Only three seats left, last chance today for Nevada City!"

Rhode Island stage driver James Birch arrived in Sacramento in 1849 to make his fortune in the mines. Instead Birch saw another opportunity and immediately set up a stagecoach line running prospectors from Sacramento to Coloma. With this service well received, he continued to add stages and lines to all of the hot stops in the mining area. Other companies came into the picture but by 1853, Birch was still the king of staging. He bought out all the existing companies and consolidated them into one company, the California Stage Company. By 1856 with over 1000 horses and 200 Concord coaches and wagons, the California Stage Company lines were reaching all over northern and central California.

Continue walking toward the end of the block and stop when you get to the staircase at the Visitor's Center at the corner ahead. I have a story to tell about this building.

The fire of 1852 dealt a huge blow to this block, including this building. In 1853, businessman and entrepreneur, Benjamin Franklin Hastings bought what was left of this building for $1,500. He renovated it and opened a bank.

For the next two decades, this building would meet the changing needs of Sacramento, serving as a microcosm of commercial and political activity. It was the first location of the California Supreme Court. There judges evaluated and analyzed the law, creating the case law which today still governs much of California. The Wells Fargo Company had their office here and so did Alta Telegraph. And do you remember Theodore Judah, chief engineer for the Sacramento Valley Railroad Company? He had an office here as well. And for the entire 18 month existence of the Pony Express in 1860 and 1861, this served as its western terminus.

Today this is the home of the Sacramento Visitor's Center. Inside you will find some informational plaques on the walls that have historical information relating to the Pony Express and Wells Fargo Company. Now continue walking and turn left at the corner of 2nd and J and continue straight along the boardwalk.

Ahead on your left watch for the white wooden fence with an archway opening. Stop when you are in front of this archway. This is Pioneer Park.

Though not much of a park, in 1849, this was the site of the Sacramento City Market building. A structure that radically changed during gold rush years, transitioning from wood to brick and from one-story to four-stories. During the redevelopment years of the 1960s this building was too far gone to even renovate. It was demolished leaving only this vacant lot. For some reason, those cast iron columns you see inside the park were taken off buildings during the 1960s renovations and left here in the park.

Now walk to the end of the boardwalk and the white picket fence. Stop here, before crossing Firehouse Alley.

Take a look at the brick building across Firehouse Alley and look for the brass plaque which states that this is the site of the Sam Brannan Building.

Sam Brannan was an American businessman, and journalist. Born in 1819 in Maine, Sam came to California in 1846. In 1847, he established the California Star, the first newspaper in San Francisco. Later that year he opened a store in San Francisco and Sutter's Fort in Sacramento. In 1848, Brannon got word well before other business owners that gold had been discovered at Sutter's Mill. He quickly bought up all of the picks, shovels and pans he could find and filled both of his mercantile stores. Then he paraded down Montgomery Street in San Francisco waving a bottle full of gold dust in one hand and proclaiming "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!" He paid 20 cents each for the pans, then sold them for $15 a piece. In nine weeks, he made $36,000.

Using his profits, Brannan purchased more property in Sacramento, including this section of J Street in 1865. The building served as Sacramento's first post office, the Jones Hotel, and eventually the Brannan Hotel.

It is time to get moving again, cross Firehouse Alley and continue along the boardwalk to the corner. At the corner, turn right and cross the street.

Once you have crossed the street, turn right again and continue along the boardwalk down J Street.

Just ahead is a grassy area, on your left. Stop when you get to the end of the grassy area at the informational plaque. In the 1850s this was the site of James Warren's, New England Seed Store. James brought camellia seeds with him from the east coast and introduced this flower to Sacramento in 1852. The camellia is now the official flower of the City and County of Sacramento.

Now take a look across Firehouse Alley to the red brick building. Erected in 1851 this was the site of the Sacramento Union newspaper. The newspaper business in Sacramento was a merciless. Nineteen newspapers began here between 1849 and 1857 and only two survived, the Democratic State Journal, the location of which we saw earlier, and the Sacramento Daily Union. The Union was the oldest daily newspaper in California, in print from 1852 until 1994. During the Union's early years famous American writers Mark Twain and Bret Harte were among its contributors.

When you are ready, cross Firehouse Alley and continue walking along the boardwalk. Behind the black iron fence on your left is an empty lot. Originally the site of the Magnolia Saloon where early California politicians were known to have made many a political deal over a drink or two.

Stop when you get to the corner and look across the street. That is the Pony Express statue and our next stop. Cross the street and I will meet you at the statue.

Stop on the sidewalk in front of the Pony Express statue and turn to your right to face the Heywood Building. At one time this was the location of D. O. Mills Bank, the only bank in Sacramento that did not go out of business during the bank run of August 1850.

During the gold rush years, successful miners returned to Sacramento to exchange their gold dust with merchants for more supplies and to deposit their excess gold in banks for safekeeping. Early on banks offered 5% interest monthly on deposits. But by the 1850's competition had risen so high that banks began offering 10 to 15% return on their deposits. This was not sustainable and by August of that year three major banking institutions closed their doors, with others continuing to fall like dominoes. Many miners lost some or all of their deposits. The exception to this was Darius Ogden Mills and his brother Edgar and their D. O. Mills bank which due to their wise management, did not lose one penny of their depositor's funds. In 1864, Darius would go on to become president of the Bank of California in San Francisco while his brother Edgar remained behind to run their successful banking operation in Sacramento.

Now turn around and take a look at the Pony Express Statue for a moment.

In 1860 the fastest way to get mail from the east coast to California was twenty-five days by steamer. William Russell, Alexander Majors and William Waddell felt they could do this faster and established the Pony Express. The route, St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California covered 2,000 miles in 10 days, by horse. The advertisement for the Pony Express read: Wanted “Young, skinny, wiry fellows anxious for adventure, not over 18. Must be expert riders and willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred.” The Pony Express only lasted 18 months. The completion of the transcontinental telegraph in October 1861 caused its demise.

Sculped by Thomas Holland, this statue of a Pony Express rider on a horse at full gallop, was installed here in the 1970s. It commemorates the glory days of The Pony Express, which had its inaugural run leave from the B.F. Hasting's building across the street on April 4th, 1860. There rider Sam Hamilton, with satchels full of mail, galloped off into a blinding rainstorm down J Street, on that first leg of the 1,966-mile trip to St. Joseph, Missouri.

Now continue walking along the sidewalk down 2nd street away from the Pony Express statue. Take a look to your right. Do you see the a stone wall with a number of plaques? Walk over to the plaques and stop for a moment.

These plaques were placed here in 1963 by the Sacramento Historical Landmarks Commission and Sacramento County Historical Society. They are part of the plan set forth in the 1960s to redevelop Old Town Sacramento. Despite its colorful history, Old Town was gradually abandoned during the 1940s and 50s. It became an eyesore, a collection of cheap diners, bars and flophouses. And a haven for the homeless. When the Firehouse Restaurant opened in 1960, no one thought it would succeed. When it did, a plan was set forth to redevelop the entire Old Town recreating and renovating it to look like it did in the 1850s.

In its earliest days, Old Town Sacramento's boundaries extended beyond its current limits. During redevelopment in the 1960s the construction of Interstate 5 eliminated a portion of the old city leaving only the historic core we have today with 50 plus historic buildings dating to the second half of the 1800s. Each building has a history and each shows a reasonable approximation of their original Gold Rush era appearance. Though all of the buildings have required varying degrees of reconstruction since the 1960s and few serve their original purpose, most now house restaurants, gift shops, or other businesses catering to tourists.

Alright let's get going. Continue walking along the sidewalk in the direction you were going.

What you see here today, in Old Town Sacramento, is the outcome of the redevelopment project of the 1960s. The town truly feels as if one has stepped back in time to the 1850s. So much so that in 1965 the National Park Service named the entire original historic 1850s business district a National Historic Landmark.

The architectural style of Old Town is mixed, with a few Greek Revival buildings. You will also find some building of Spanish and Mexican influence, which stems from the seven decades of their rule. But the most dominant is the Italianette style which feature multi-storied buildings with large arched doorways and windows, covered balconies, and ornate decorative details.

When you come to the crosswalk, turn left and cross 2nd Street. When you get to the other side, stop in front of the black iron fence in front of Pioneer Square.

The sign proposes the question, Where do you go after you find gold? Well, if you were a miner here in the 1850s and 60s, this would have been your first stop.

Professor Louis Lauriet’s Assay Office opened in 1850 and was located here in a two story brick building. Originally from the West Indies, Lauriet was an assayer. He analyzed and weighed the gold to determined if it was authentic. If it was, Lauriet would cast the gold dust into ingots or slugs and stamp them with a U.S. mint value. Now a miners gold was legal to spend.

The building that housed Lauriet's assay office has been gone for years. At one time it occupied this sunken courtyard in front of you. The exposed brick wall you see on your right down in the courtyard was built by store owners in the 1860s to raise the streets to the current level you stand on today. This wall is an example of what exists underground here in Old Town, brick walls running the entire length of the streets.

Today, Pioneer Square is the home to TheUnderground Tasting Room. They are open Friday through Sunday from 1 to 8pm.

Walk to the corner of 2nd and I which is across from the Railroad Museum. Cross the street here and stop in front of the Railroad Museum.

Quite possibly the single greatest technological feat of the 1800s, the Transcontinental Railroad, took six years and thousands of workers to complete. The majority of the workers willing to do this backbreaking work were Chinese migrants. At the peak of construction, and accounting for almost 90% of the track laying crew, the Central Pacific Railroad employed 15,000 Chinese migrants. These crews carved tunnels through the Sierras. It was dangerous and tedious work, drilling holes into the thick granite walls, packing the holes with explosives and exploding avalanches of rock down into the canyon below. Many tunnels progressed at less than a foot a day. By June of 1867 Chinese tracklayers had conquered, what was considered the unconquerable, Donner Pass, the highest on the route. Though it was all downhill from then on, it took another year to finishing laying track through the rugged mountain range. Finally on May 10, 1869, Leland Stanford drove the ceremonial Gold Spike at Promontory Summit, Utah completing the 1,912 mile continuous Transcontinental Railroad. East met west with continuous steel rails permitting passengers and freight to ride from sea to sea and the city of Sacramento played a pivotal role in this endeavor.

The California State Railroad Museum is a must see for any railroad enthusiast. Inside historical exhibits are presented using stories of the people who lived, worked and died while building the railroad. Current exhibits include: The Chinese Railroad Workers’ Experience, a view of the Chinese workers who built the western portion of the nation’s first Transcontinental Railroad and Farm-to-Fork, a history of the Fruit Growers Express refrigerated railcar system. There is also an extensive locomotive collection inside the museum. While the locomotive collection is extensive, only a portion of the 19 locomotives dating from 1862 to 1944 are on public exhibition at any one time. The remaining engines are either undergoing restoration or awaiting restoration in the Museum’s shop facilities.

There is an admission fee if you are going to visit this museum which is open daily, except for holidays, from 10am to 5pm. With the museum on your right, continue straight along the boardwalk in the direction of the waterfront.

Take a look to your right. Do you see a set of red doors with the words hardware, iron, steel and coal painted over the door? Stop there in front of what is today called the Big Four Building. I have another story to tell.

Few names conjure up the heyday of early Sacramento more than Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Charles Crocker and Leland Stanford the 8th governor of California and founder of Sanford University. Known collectively as the Big Four, these influential businessmen, philanthropists and railroad tycoons were the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad, the western portion of the first transcontinental railroad. Each of these men had a connection to the buildings in front of you. These buildings were originally constructed between 1849 and 1852 and stood on the south side of K Street between Second and Third, a location which currently lies beneath Interstate 5. While the highway was being constructed these buildings were moved to this location and reconstructed to appear as they did in the 1850s.

Out of these structures, Collis Huntington and Mark Hopkins ran their hardware store, the Stanford brother's a successful wholesale merchandise firm, and Charles Crocker a dry goods store. Upstairs these men had their offices for the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California. It was there that they planned out the building of the western section of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Now with the red doors on your right continue walking to the red brick Sacramento History Museum building.

In the spring of 1849, the city of Sacramento was incorporated and this two story brick building, which was built in 1854, served as its first municipal structure. It served as the City Hall, police station, city court, city jail and the city water supply was held in a tank on the roof.

In 1985, the Sacramento History Museum moved into what is now a reconstructed version of the 1854 City Hall and Waterworks Building. Open daily from 10am to 5pm, the museum exhibits feature historical images, artifacts, and unique interactive elements pertaining to Sacramento history. There is a charge to visit this museum.

With the museum building on your right, continue walking in the direction of the waterfront. Cross the railroad tracks, and continue straight to the waterfront.

Off to your right you will see the brick railroad roundhouse. This building, which is part of the Railroad Museum, was and is still today used for servicing and storing locomotives. Early steam locomotives normally traveled in the forward direction only. The turntable in front of the roundhouse was used to turn the train cars around for their return journey.

Now continue walking toward the water. Cross another set of railroad tracks and stop when you get to the river overlook and take a look to your right toward the I Street Bridge.

It was there, just south of this bridge that Sacramento docked their prison ships during the 1850s. Why prison ships? Well the gold rush created a massive migration of fortune seekers that arrived here, and though most were law abiding folks, some were not. Prior to the building of the Sacramento's municipal building in 1854 which housed the city jail, Sacramento had no where to put those who broke the law.

One of these prison ships was the LaGrange, a three-masted ship that arrived here in 1849 from Salem Massachusetts. The following year, the city purchased the ship, and built cells in its hold. The LaGrange served as a jail until 1859 when it sank.

In 1986 archeologists located wreckage of what they believe is the LaGrange imprisoned so to speak in rock just south of the I Street Bridge.

Alright, turn around and walk back in the direction of the Sacramento History Museum. When you get to the front of the Sacramento History Museum turn to your right and continue walking in front of the yellow Union Pacific caboose.

Continue walking as you pass in front of the Union Pacific Railroad Caboose. The humble caboose, a fixture on the end of freight trains for more than a century, was the place where train crews could cook meals, wash their clothes and rest.

Continue walking and stop when you are in front of the Train Depot. A picture of the depot is shown below.

Then look across the street to the Eagle Theater. Originally constructed in 1849 out of canvas and wood, this playhouse provided entertainment for a mere four months before it closed its doors for good. An outcome of the January flood of that disastrous year of 1850. The story goes like this, on the night of January 4th 1850, the Sacramento River breached its levees flooding the entire embarcadero landing. Water rose inches deep inside the Eagle. By act two the waters covered the bench seats. As the play continued, customers stood on top of the benches. Finally the flood water reached the stage and snuffed out the candles and lanterns that were being used for lighting. The stage went dark and the theater closed for good. The structure you see here today was built in 1974, and is a replica of the original Eagle Theater.

Though this theater did not survive others were built. Entertainment was very important during the Gold Rush years and actors traveled the circuit between San Francisco, Sacramento and gold country towns entertaining the miners. One of the most famous performers, or dare I say infamous, was Lola Montez. She arrived with great fanfare in Sacramento on the steamer New World in July of 1853. Famous for her "Spider Dance" her performances sold out at the Sacramento Theatre on 3rd Street. The theater was demolished during the construction of Interstate 5, but this story lives on.

For some reason Lola apparently annoyed the editor of the Daily Californian who wrote a scathing review of Lola's performance. Lola, being a high spirited soul, did not take this well and fired off a letter to the editor challenging him to a duel. "After such a gross insult, you must don the petti-coats. I have brought some with me, which I can lend you for the occasion. You must fight with me. I leave the choice of two kinds of weapons to yourself for I am very magnanimous. You may choose between my dueling pistols or take your choice of a pill-box One shall be poison and the other not, and the chances are even. I request that this affair may be arranged by your seconds as soon as possible as my time is quite as valuable as your own."

Well the editor declined the opportunity, Lola finished out her engagement in Sacramento and moved on to the next town. You may learn more about Lola and other feisty Gold Rush women on my VoiceMap tour On the Road to Gold: A Highway 49 driving tour from Angels Camp to Jamestown.

Now continue walking just a few more feet and stop for a moment when you get to the front door to the Central Pacific Railroad Passenger Station Ticket Office. It will be on your right. The address on the door is 930 Front Street.

This station is a faithful reconstruction of the western terminus of America's first transcontinental railroad. The ticket office, telegraph office, baggage and waiting room are all set up as it would have appeared around 1876. Inside the train shed, behind the ticket office, is an array of vintage railroad locomotives, cars and other equipment. If you happen to be here between April and September you might consider taking a 45 minute ride on one of Old Towns historic trains. Departure times and prices are listed near the front door to the station.

Continue straight along Front Street. Cross J Street and keep going while I tell you about the riverboat years.

Starting in 1849, steam paddle-wheelers operated for more than 90 years between San Francisco and Sacramento. At Sacramento, transcontinental passengers bound for San Francisco debarked from trains and stepped across the levee to a waiting steamer. These floating palaces were well appointed. Their main salon featured a grand staircase and brass chandeliers. Fresh flowers graced the white linen covered dinning tables, and a four-piece band entertained guests.

The New World steamer, the same one that brought Lola Montez and the cholera epidemic to Sacramento, set a record on the San Francisco to Sacramento run at 5 hours and 35 minutes in 1851. But she would not be the most notable ship to cruise the river. That designation would go to the Delta King. Continue along Front Street. We are heading toward the Delta King.

When you come to the end of this building, (the location is shown in the picture below) turn right and walk in the direction of the waterfront.

As you walk toward the waterfront you should see a granite marker with a bronze plaque. Walk over to this marker and stop for a moment.

This marker denotes the location of Mile Marker 0, and the origin of the Central Pacific Railroad. It was at this location in 1863 that prominent citizens and railroad founders gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony to begin construction of the Central Pacific Railroad. It would be six more years before the Central Pacific would meet the Union Pacific completing the first transcontinental railroad.

Now, turn to your left. Do you see the gray marble Antelope historical marker in front of the railroad tracks? Walk over to it.

This marker explains the roll the riverboat steamer played during the 19 months of the Pony Express. With Sacramento the western terminus of the Pony Express, mail still had to get to San Francisco. For the 19 months the Pony Express was in service, river steamers arrived and departed here at the foot of K Street daily and transported mail to and from San Francisco.

Now take a look toward the river. You should see two gangways as well as signs for the Delta King. Continue walking across the railroad tracks ahead and stop at the entrance to one of the gangways for the Delta King. This is our last stop. And I have one more story to tell, as no walking tour of Old Town Sacramento would be complete with out a story about two of the most famous riverboats to ever cruise these waters.

With a promise of Comfort and Luxury Afloat, the identical twin paddle-wheelers, the Delta King and Delta Queen entered into service on June 1, 1927, alternating nightly runs between San Francisco and Sacramento.

In building these vessels, it seemed as if no cost was spared. Passenger decks were constructed with the finest oak, mahogany, teak, and Oregon cedar and these four deck superstructures would be the first California riverboats built with steel hulls, which provided strength, and stability, incase of accidents.

Here is a narration of a tour of one of these ships on opening day: From the gangplank, passengers entered the Saloon Deck lobby. The centerpiece a grand staircase with ornate bronze filigree and curving Honduran-mahogany handrails, beaming brass chandeliers, and a grand piano. Beyond the lobby was the dinning room where fresh flowers graced the crisp white linen-covered tables and travelers relaxed in luxurious mahogany chairs upholstered in soft Moroccan leather. A five course meal cost .75 cents. After dinner the social hall came alive with music from a four-piece band. Those so inclined filled the floor to dance the night away doing the two-step, waltz, or Charleston. Or if a quiet night in a cabin relaxing to the hypnotizing sounds of the paddle wheel's soft pulsations was more to your liking, fare and accommodations were sold separately. Fare was $1.80 one way, and $3 round trip, with prices for cabins ranging from $1 to $5.

In 1940, the Delta King and Delta Queen's time cruising the Sacramento River ended. During those 13 years, the two made almost 4,500 night voyages on the river using only steam and paddle wheel, no radar, depth finders or other sophisticated navigational aids were available at the time. And all of these trips were without any serious accident.

From 1940 to 1946 the Delta King and Delta Queen served the United States Navy as naval barracks as well as a hospital. Both stationed at various locations near San Francisco.

After the war, the Delta Queen was sold to Greene Line Steamers of Cincinnati. She was towed through the Panama Canal to New Orleans, refurbished and began cruising the Mississippi in 1947. With over 60 years cruising the Mississippi area, the Delta Queen was taken out of service in 2008.

From 1946 to 1989 the Delta King remained land locked in various locations from San Francisco, Richmond, Stockton and Canada. In 1978 the vessel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. For 15 months in the early 1980s, while docked in Richmond, the hull of the Delta King was fully submerged causing severe damage to the vessel. It took 6 weeks of hard work to get her afloat. In 1989, after years of renovation, the Delta King finally was moored permanently in Sacramento at the Old Town dock where she has found new life as a 44-room hotel and restaurant and home to the Capital stage theater. Its open to the public so feel free to explore this floating landmark once you have completed this tour.

This marks the end of our walking tour. I hope you have enjoyed your tour of Sacramento's Old Town. Until next time, Happy Adventures!

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All photo by L.A. Momboisse

View the homes of John Steinbeck and Ed Rickets on this driving tour of Pacific Grove California

2023-05-24T14:20:00.004-07:00

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We start our tour in the parking lot of the CVS parking lot at 686 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey. Park here for a moment while I tell you about this tour.

CVS Pharmacy 686 Lighthouse Avenue, Monterey

On this tour of Pacific Grove, you will view some of the homes of John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts and learn about their connection to Pacific Grove and Monterey. As we zigzag through the lives of John and Ed and through the streets of Pacific Grove, you will also have the opportunity to visit the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, Chautauqua Hall, Monarch Habitat Sanctuary, Lovers Point, and Point Pinos Lighthouse.

Along the way I will explain the history of the area, interject some stories about some of the people who lived here and point out interesting places to explore. But as always, this is your adventure, so make the most of it!

Before we set off, let me tell you about the Sardine Factory. We will be passing it early on our driving tour.

In 1968 restaurant managers Ted Balestrei and Bert Cutino saw great potential in this, at the time, run-down industrial area on the other-side-of-the-tracks and opened their restaurant The Sardine Factory.

Other's saw potential in this area as well. In 1971, actor Clint Eastwood chose the bar at the Sardine Factory for several scenes from his movie Play Misty for Me, and for over 50 years, celebrities from all over the world have frequented its dining room.

In 1976, after operating the Sardine Factory for a few years, Ted and Bert partnered with Harry Davidian and George Zarounian to form the Foursome Development Company. This eventually became the Cannery Row Company which was the driving force behind the purchase of the crumbled remains of the abandoned canneries that lined the streets of Cannery Row in the 1970s.

One by one, the Foursome Development Company purchased the properties, and one by one they restored burned out and dilapidated structures into what you will see along the oceanfront today - world class hotels, wine rooms, restaurants, shopping, and the world famous Monterey Bay Aquarium.

InterContinental Hotel Monterey

Alright it is time to get going, exit the parking lot and turn right onto Prescott Avenue. Continue through the first traffic light. On your left you will pass the Sardine Factory. It will be the building with the Monterey clipper boat out in front.

Continue two more blocks to the stop sign at Cannery Row. At this stop sign if you look straight ahead you will see a bronze bust of John Steinbeck.

John was born in 1902 in Salinas, California. With much of his 33 literary works set in central California, he is a beloved local author. The plaque on the bust is a portion of the opening paragraph from his 1945 novel Cannery Row.

It reads: “Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream. Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses.”

Behind John's bronze bust you will be able to see the Cannery Row Monument. This large work which features the main characters of John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row, Ed 'Doc' Ricketts and Madam Flora Woods, is the work of figurative sculpture artist Steven Whyte (his studio is actually in the Carmel Barnyard not Carmel-by-the-Sea as his website states).

If you are interested in an in-depth history and tour of John Steinbeck's Cannery Row check out my blog post here. I also have an entire VoiceMap audio driving tour devoted to this subject. You may find that here.

Turn left onto Cannery Row. This street, originally called Ocean View Avenue, was renamed Cannery Row in 1958 in honor of John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row. At the time though the street was in a state of complete disrepair, the burned out buildings were vandalized over the years after the collapse of the sardine industry in the 1940s. Revitalization would not begin until the 1970's with the Cannery Row Development Company.

Continue straight and pass under two elevated crossovers. These crossovers connect the coast to the land side of Cannery Row.

They date back to the district's sardine-canning days when conveyor belts transported round metal cans filled with fish, boxed and labeled for distribution, to railroad cars.

After you pass the Intercontinental Hotel and under the second elevated crossover, look to your right. Here you will see a ramshackle wooden one-story cabin. It looks kind of out of place as it sits wedged between two former sardine canneries.

Ed Ricketts Biological Laboratories (2022)

This was the location of Ed Ricketts Pacific Biological Laboratories. John Steinbeck would fictionalize Ed as Doc and his Pacific Biological Laboratories as the Western Biological Laboratories in his novel Cannery Row.

Ed was born in Chicago in 1897. After serving in the Army Medical Corp in 1917, he studied zoology at the University of Chicago, but dropped out before earning his degree.

In 1922, he married Nan, and a year later, along with their son Ed Jr., they moved to California. Ed and college friend Albert Galigher set up a business called the Pacific Biological Laboratories. This was a biological supply house that preserved sea anemones, starfish and mollusks that were pulled from the tide pools along Monterey Bay. Biological Laboratories provided these specimens in the form of microscope slides, to universities, museums and research institutions.

Originally located in Pacific Grove, the lab was moved to this location on Cannery Row in 1930 when Ricketts became the sole owner.

As a result of his marital problems with Nan, Pacific Biological Laboratories also became his home. We will be driving by the location of Ed's original laboratory later on this tour.

John Steinbeck (1939 Wikipedia)

John Steinbeck was introduced to Ed by John's wife Carol who worked at the lab, and John spent quite a bit of time there. He was greatly influenced by Ed and even wrote a non-fiction book about him called The Log from the Sea of Cortez.

Ed Ricketts "backyard" where here kept some of his specimens

Ed Ricketts is known for his work called Between Pacific Tides. This study of intertidal ecology, is considered to be the most complete intertidal record of the west coast of North America, and still a seminal marine biology text today.

Chasing the low tide at night Ed would leave the lab in his old Packard, head to the coast and load his car with all kinds of animals and marine life. Back in his yard, he used concrete containers to separate and store the larger animals like sharks, rays and octopus.

Ed employed the residents of Cannery Row to find various specimens that he needed to fill orders, paying five cents each for frogs. He also bought butterflies, crayfish and cats.

Looking at the historic pictures of Ed's Biological Laboratories above, the downstairs housed Ricketts lab and garage. The upstairs was where he lived for 18 years.

Since the mid 1950’s this building has served as a meeting place for a men's group. The group purchased the building in 1956 and, in 1994, it was added to the National Register of Historic places.

The structure is now owned by the city of Monterey and can be visited four times a year when the nonprofit Cannery Row Foundation leads public tours. I highly recommend going on one of these tours.

Across the street from Ed's laboratory was originally a vacant lot. Today you will find a historic reproduction of a series of typical shack homes that would have been used by cannery workers.

During the heyday of the canneries, this vacant lot was where cannery workers would hangout, smoke cigarettes and converse with their countrymen while waiting for their cannery whistle to call them to work.

Each cannery had a distinct whistle and every worker knew their unique call.

Cannery Workers on Break (Mural by John Cerney)

Wearing rubber boots and standing in cold water, the men and women who worked in the canneries along the row made 25 cents an hour in 1936.

The work was smelly and dirty, but it was work. Usually the men operated and maintained the machinery while the women worked on the packing lines, filling Cannery Row’s trademark one-pound oval cans with sardines or salmon.

Though the canneries prospered through WWII, the peak season from that era was from 1941 to 1942. That season, canneries packed over 250,000 tons of fish. After 1945, the industry’s capacity to harvest was outdistanced by the sardine’s ability to reproduce. Workers were laid off and canneries began to close. When Ed Ricketts was asked in 1947 where all the sardines had gone, he replied, “there’re in cans.”

Just past Ed's Lab is a grey cement building. This is the beginning of the structure that houses the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

This building was originally the location of the Sea Pride Packing Corporation, a company which was entirely owned and operated by Japanese-Americans. Some of its top products were abalone, filleted and kippered sardines as well as tuna and mackerel. In 1926 and 1930, the facility was severely damaged by fire.

Sea Pride was rebuilt after the fire and the grey corrugated warehouse diagonally to your right across the street was added for cannery storage and access to the Southern Pacific Railroad Monterey Branch tracks, which were behind the warehouse. Sea Pride sold their operation to Atlantic Coast Fisheries in 1945 which continued to run until the 1950’s. In 1980, the abandoned cannery burned to the ground.

The original warehouse, however survived, and today it is used as retail space. As of the date we made this recording, it is the home of Crepes on the Row.

In 1916, Knut Hovden opened a cannery on the site of the main portion of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This cannery would become the largest on the row. In 1973 following the collapse of the sardine fishery, Hovden's began to can squid. They finally closed there operation in 1973. Five years later a group of marine scientists, local residents and members of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation formed the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation and in 1984 the Aquarium opened its doors to visitors. Over 10,000 on the first day!

In 1996, the Monterey Bay Aquarium opened its largest exhibit, the million-gallon Open Sea Exhibit. This showcases a community of tunas, sardines, hammerhead sharks, sea turtles, sunfish and more. The Aquarium was also the location of various episodes of the HBO Miniseries, Big Little Lies. You can read more about the episodes that featured the Aquarium here.

Turn left in front of the Aquarium and continue on David Street. Continue through the next three traffic signals and at the stop sign turn right onto Pine Street.

Pine becomes Spruce Avenue. Stay to the right and at the stop turn right onto Eardley Avenue.

(421 Eardley in 2017)

The vernacular style residence, second from the corner, is 421 Eardley. At one time this was the Steinbeck Writer's Cottage.

They recently cut back the hedge. Here are some pictures from 2022.

(421 Eardley in 2022)

John and Carol Steinbeck purchased this cottage in 1941 and lived here after they returned from the scientific expedition they made with Ed Ricketts to the Sea of Cortez. It was in this cottage that John and Ed collaborated on their book, Sea of Cortez. It was also at this time that John met Gwendolyn Conger which led to Carol and John separating. Sending John to live with his sister in her guest house on Asilomar Blvd. We will see this guest house near the end of this driving tour.

Continue straight four blocks then turn left onto Laurel Avenue. In three blocks watch for the First Baptist Church, located at 246 Laurel Avenue. It will be on your right.

The First Baptist Church of Pacific Grove was built in 1909 and the Monterey Peninsula Branch of the NAACP was founded here in 1932 by Reverend Wellington Smith Sr. the churches pastor.

Continue straight on Laurel for two blocks. Then look to your right on the corner of 6th Street for the two-story Queen Anne Victorian.

230 6th Street (Dr. Oliver Smith Trimmer House)

Located at 230 6th Street this was built in 1893 for Dr. Oliver Smith Trimmer, a surgeon and also the first mayor of Pacific Grove. It is a perfect example of Stick - Eastlake detailing with turret towers and arched entryway.

Dr. Trimmer moved to Pacific Grove in 1888 from Salinas where he had a very successful medical practice. He had intended to retire, but instead purchased the Heintz Drug Store in Pacific Grove. Reputed to be a clandestine whisky saloon, this store was operated by Dr. Trimmer's nieces' husband, Charles K. Tuttle for decades.

Marita's Boutique (551 Lighthouse, Pacific Grove)

Today, this is the location of Marita's Boutique. You can see a picture above taken in 2022.

Continue straight and turn right onto 8th Street, and continue to the end of the block.

8th and Laurel

At the end of 8th, look to your right at the white two-story wooden house. The address of this house is 331 Lighthouse Avenue. This home was built in 1910. In 1926 it became Ed Ricketts family's second home in Pacific Grove.

331 Lighthouse Avenue (cross street 8th)

They would reside at this location until 1930. Nan gave birth to Cornelia their third child when the Ricketts lived here, and it was a short walk to Ed's first lab on Fountain Street. At least for a short time. The city would demolish the building containing Ed's lab on Fountain Street later in 1926 forcing him to move his business to the wooden structure on Cannery Row that we viewed earlier on this tour.

At the stop sign, turn right onto Lighthouse and continue four blocks to 4th Avenue. Turn right onto 4th.

Midway down the block look for one-story cottage where the chimney cuts through the center two windows. It will be on your left.

219 4th Street (Joseph Campbell House)

This is 219 4th Street. At one time the home of Joseph Campbell, author and expert in mythology. Campbell was born in New York in 1904, he received his Bachelors in English literature from Columbia University in 1925 and his Masters in medieval literature in 1927.

In 1932 Campbell was introduced to John and Carol Steinbeck, poet Robin Jeffers, as well as Ed Rickett's. Campbell's house was next door to Ed Rickett's third residence in Pacific Grove.

Campbell's time living next to Ricketts was a pivotal period in his life: "It was Ed who was especially important to me...and from our long talks about biology, I eventually came up with one of my basic viewpoints: that myth is a function of biology; a manifestation of the human imagination stirred by the energies of the organs of the body operating against one another. In other words, myth is as fundamental to us as our capacity to speak and think and dream." (1)

Joseph Campbell (1970s Wikipedia)

In 1934, Campbell moved to New York where he taught Literature at Sarah Lawrence College. He is best known for his work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949). His philosophy has been summarized by the phrase: "Follow your bliss," and his work is credited with influencing George Lucas's Star Wars saga.

221 4th (Ed Ricketts 3rd residence in Pacific Grove)

Continue to the house next door, also on your left. The address on the gate is 221. This one-story home has a red brick chimney and oriel window.

This was Ed Ricketts third home in Pacific Grove. He purchased this in 1930 for his family. His wife Nan wrote in her memoir that they made numerous improvements to their comfortable home. But marital problems would force Ed from this home and into his laboratory on Cannery Row.

Turn left back onto Laurel, pass the First Baptist Church again and continue straight four blocks. At the stop sign turn left back onto Eardley.

Back of First Baptist Church

Continue through the stop sign to the yield sign. Then turn left onto Lighthouse Avenue. In two blocks, turn right onto 2nd Street.

Lighthouse and 2nd

At the "t" turn left onto Evans Avenue. Stay to the right and at the stop sign turn right onto Central.

On your right on the corner at 225 Central, is a three-story Italianate-style Victorian.

This home was built in 1884 for State Senator Benjamin F. Langford. Back in the 1880s Pacific Grove was surrounded by a fence. There was one gate and it was locked early in the evening. Langford was well known for arriving at the gate after it was locked and taking an axe to the lock so that he could get to his home.

You might be wondering why there was a fence around Pacific Grove at one time. Well that is an interesting story.

The history of the town of Pacific Grove begins in 1874 when Reverend J. W. Ross a Methodist minister visited the area and decided it would be a perfect place for a west coast Methodist Retreat. This retreat was patterned after the New York Chautauqua Assembly Center organized by Methodist minister John Heyl Vincent and businessman Lewis Miller on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in New York.

In 1875 David Jacks and the Pacific Improvement Company provided the land for the Pacific Grove Methodist Retreat. Initially, it was the founders intention that this would be an encampment of tents, not houses. And that they would only be up for a few weeks during the summer than taken down and stored in Chautauqua Hall. But just a year later, the area proved so popular that lots were sold for $50, 1/2 down and the balance due within one year.

Portion of the Pacific Grove Mural along the Coastal Trail

In 1883 Pacific Grove Methodist Retreat published its rules and regulations. The following were prohibited within the fenced environment of the retreat area: intoxicating beverages, gambling, dancing, profanity, fast buggy riding, bathing at the beach without costume, dirty outhouses, firearms, and smoking in or near buildings.

A curfew was passed in 1885 making it unlawful for those under 18 years old to be out after 8pm in the winter and 9pm in the summer. To help attendees adhere to the rules, a fence was erected around the entire retreat area.

By 1889 Pacific Grove already had 1300 permanent residents. It was incorporated as a city and the majority of the tent houses had been lined on the outside with a single wall of redwood.

Though the curfew bell sounded nightly until 1912, it was largely ignored after the first few years. The fence, or at least portions of it, remained until the 1930s.

222 Central Avenue

Alright, lets continue with the driving tour. From Central Avenue, make an immediate left on to 2nd Street. The house to your left on the corner at 222 Central Avenue was originally built in 1907. From 1915 to 1918, this was the home of John Steinbeck's maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Hamilton.

Lena Dinsmore House from 2nd Street

Continue straight to the end of 2nd. The last home on your right (The address is actually 104 1st Street) is a brown-shingled structure, officially known as the Lena Dinsmore House.

From 1st Street

This was designed by Julia Morgan in 1914 and construction was completed in 1916. It is the only home in Pacific Grove designed by Morgan. She took on this job while working on her award winning project at the nearby Asilomar Conference Grounds, where we end our driving tour.

Julia Morgan 1926 (Wikipedia)

Morgan was one of the United States' first female architects, she was most known for Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Morgan designed over 700 structures, many of which were homes and churches and most were in the Bay Area.

After the stop sign, carefully cross through 1st Street and at the stop turn left onto Ocean View Blvd. Follow the sign that reads Scenic Drive and points left.

Martine Inn

Just past 3rd Street watch for the three-story Martine Inn. Don Martine purchased this rundown property in 1972. After conducting a total renovation he furnished the property with authentic period antiques from the 1800s to 1920s.

This bed and breakfast overlooks the Monterey Bay. Many of the rooms have wood-burning fireplaces and ocean views.

On the next corner look for the Green Gables Inn, which was built in 1888 for William Lacy in the Stick-Eastlake Victorian style it was originally named Ivy Terrace Hall for the large amounts of ivy that trailed from the side of the home down to the waters edge. It was one of the first estates to be built along the oceanfront. At the time it was built there was no road separating the home from the sea.

Today this meticulously restored Victorian is a member of the Four Sisters Inns, one of a collection of independent small hotels. It offers guests a romantic get-away with its unparalleled location adjacent to the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreational Trail, and panoramic ocean views of Monterey Bay.

Everett Pomeroy House 2018

At the next corner turn left onto 7th Street. To your right will be the Everett Pomeroy House, built in 1883 it goes by the name, The Castle. Everett Pomeroy, a renowned author, composer and organist, purchased this lot in 1883 and originally constructed a tent cabin here as part of the Pacific Grove Retreat community. Later that year he boarded over it and as time went on he added to the structure, with half-timbering and a crenelated battlement. It eventually became a reasonable facsimile of the Everett Pomeroy ancestral castle in South Devon, England, the Berry Pomeroy Castle.

New Paint 2022

Continue to the end of this block. To your left will be 312 Central Avenue. It was built in 1883 for Margaret Tennant. Margaret owned a number of the homes along 7th Street below Central.

312 Central Avenue (built 1883)

As a memorial to her brother, John Tennant, Margaret built a retirement home for Methodists & Episcopalian Ministers in 1899. This building stood on Forest Avenue and Sinex, it was demolished in 1964. Today you will find another retirement home at this location, Canterbury Woods . Margaret was also instrumental in the construction of St. Mary's by-the-Sea church. We will pass St. Mary's a bit later.

St. Angela Inn Bed and Breakfast

At the stop sign, continue across Central Avenue. To your right on the corner notice the Old St. Angela Inn Bed and Breakfast at 321 Central. This Cape Cod style home was built in 1910 for Roberta and Anne Littlehale. In 1928, Father Kerfs payed $10 for this property and used it as the rectory for the first Catholic Church in Pacific Grove, St. Angela's. No longer a rectory, this became a bed & breakfast in 1983.

Continue to the end of this block and turn right onto Lighthouse Avenue. Ahead on the corner of 9th and Lighthouse, notice the statue of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal on your right. This is the new rectory for St. Angela's which is coming up in the next block on your right.

St. Angela Merici Parish was established in 1928 by Father Kerfs. The original church was located next to the Old St. Angela Inn. By the 1950's the Catholic community of Pacific Grove grew out of this parish and was moved to this location on Lighthouse.

Lighthouse and 10th

Turn right onto 10th. As you come to the end of the church parking lot, look for Ricketts Row and turn left. The street is unmarked. It is at the end of the church parking lot.

Ricketts Row

Continue straight down this narrow street. Stay on Ricketts Row and cross Monterey Avenue and continue on Ricketts Row.

147 11th Street

Coming up on your left, the red house with the shingle siding is 147 11th Street. John Steinbeck brought this home for his new bride Carol in the fall of 1930. The couple would live here until 1936.

2018

During this time he would write 4 novels: The Pastures of Heaven, To a God Unknown, In Dubious Battle and Tortilla Flat which was considered Steinbeck's first big success.

2022

Turn right on 11th, continue through Central Avenue all the way to the end of 11th.

As you come to the stop sign at 11th and Ocean View, look to your right at the pair of whales in the park.

In 2016 a huge windstorm hit the coast of Pacific Grove and heavily damaged two large cypress trees in Berwick Park. The city trimmed what remained of the trees for safely reasons, but left two very unattractive tree trunks. Local artist Jorge Rodriquez saw this as an opportunity to make something beautiful. A few months later these unsightly trunks had been transformed into two breaching whales with the base carved to resemble splashing ocean waves.

Josephine Ebner House (1922)

Turn left onto Ocean View Blvd. At the corner of Carmel Avenue look to your left for the Shingle-style home built in 1922 for Josephine Ebner.

At the next corner turn left onto 12th Street. Continue to the stop sign at Central Avenue. Look across Central to your right at the Gothic-style church.

This is the first church in Pacific Grove, the Episcopal Church founded in 1887. Called St. Mary's-by-the-Sea it is modeled after a church in Bath, England.

Stay on 12th and cross Central. Turn right back onto Ricketts Row, and continue four blocks to Fountain Avenue.

To your left on the corner of Ricketts Row and Fountain Avenue is Kidwell's Paint. From 1923 to 1926, this was the site of Ed Ricketts and Galigher's first Pacific Biological Laboratories.

Former site of Ed Ricketts Pacific Biological Laboratories

The laboratories was forced to move when the building was slanted for demolition. A bronze plaque on the side of Kidwell's marks the location, and this street was renamed from High Street to Ricketts Row in 1994.

Turn left onto Fountain Avenue then right onto Lighthouse Avenue. This is the central downtown area of Pacific Grove.

Holman's 2018

On your right was the former location of Holman's Department Store and across the street to your left look for the colorful Victorian's which were built between 1893 and 1897.

Rensselaer Luther Holman opened his first dry goods store in Pacific Grove in 1891. His son Wilford purchased this lot, here on Lighthouse, in 1918 and built Holman's Department Store. Holman's grew to become the largest independently owned and operated department store between Los Angeles and San Francisco, filling mail orders from around the world. It was also Wilford's idea to build the portion of Highway 68 from Pacific Grove over the hill to Carmel to make the department store more accessible to Carmelites.

Holeman's 2022

The structure, now known as Holman's was converted into a multiuse building with townhouses upstairs and retail downstairs in 2016.

The Victorian block across the street from Holman's started out as an Indian trading post, selling everything from seashells to barbed wire. On the corner, Aliotti's Victorian Corner has been in the restaurant business since 1977.

Continue straight along Lighthouse, pass Grand and turn right onto Forest. Continue one block to the corner of Central and turn right.

On your right will be the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History and across the street Jewell Park.

Jewell Park was ground zero for the Pacific Grove Methodist Retreat in 1875. Many tent cabins were set up just across from the park.

The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History was established in 1883 when a group of individuals petitioned the Pacific Improvement Company for land to exhibit their natural specimens. A small structure was built on the site of the current museum to house those exhibits. In 1932, local philanthropist Lucy Chase funded the new building that stands here today.

Out in front of the museum notice the large sculpture. This is Sandy the Gray Whale. This life-sized sculpture was completed in 1974 by artist Larry Foster. It was exhibited elsewhere before finding its forever home here at the Museum of Natural History in 1982.

Sandy the gray whale sculpture

Gray whales are actually born black in color, but as they age, barnacles and whitish scars give them a grey appearance. In place of a dorsal fin, common to most whales, grays have a series of bumps along their backs. They use their downturned snout and bodies to plow along the bottom of the ocean and filter out crustaceans, mollusks, and bristle worms through the baleen, or comb-like plates, in their mouth.

Grays migrate 12,000 miles round trip between feeding grounds in the Artic to breed in Baja. They are frequently spotted off Monterey coast as they travel north to south between December and February as well as on their return trip from Mexico between February and May.

The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History is one of the oldest natural history museums in the United States. It is open 10am to 4pm Wednesday through Sunday, and there is unlimited free parking on both sides of Jewell Park.

This museum has a rich diversity of interactive opportunities that educate visitors on California Central Coast's, flora, and fauna as well as historical artifacts. Ask about the Scavenger Hunt or Junior Naturalist program at the front desk. These activities are sure to keep children (and adults) engaged in this unique learning adventure. If time permits I highly recommend a stop at this museum. At the time of this writing, admission for adults is $8.95 and children 4 to 18, $5.95.

The original museum also contained a library. The books for this library were moved one block to the Pacific Grove Public Library in 1908. When you have finished visiting the museum, continue along Central. On your left you will pass the Pacific Grove Library.

The Pacific Grove Library Association dates from 1886 when books were originally housed in the museum down the block. In the early 1900s the city of Pacific Grove obtained a Carnegie grant of $10,000, the Pacific Improvement Company donated the lot, McDougall Bros. designed the building and Harry Chivers and the Granite Rock Company completed the California Mission-style library in 1908.

Turn left onto 15th and continue straight to Ocean View. At Ocean View, turn left and drive along the coast.

Ahead and off to your right will be Seven Gables Inn, it is the yellow Victorian. Also to your right and out to sea look for the rocky outlay of Lovers Point.

At the next corner look to your left to see the Seven Gables Inn. Built in 1886 it was one of several stately Victorian mansions located along the oceanfront. This property was purchased in 1982 by the Flatley family who reimagined the mansion as a luxury inn. Over the next few decades, the Flatley's purchased adjacent properties and grew the hotel into what you see today, a 25 room bed and breakfast. With its unobstructed ocean views, this hotel has repeatedly won awards for being one of the more romantic inns in America.

Lovers Point

Continue along Ocean View. To your right will be Lovers Point and the back of the Beach House Restaurant.

Beach House Restaurant and Lovers Point Beach 2017

For over 100 years, Lovers Point Beach has been one of Pacific Grove's most popular spots for shoreline recreation. Surfers love its reliable waves, while kayakers find it a perfect launching spot from which to get out on Monterey Bay and view the coastline and native wildlife. Scuba divers frequent the kelp forests here to get a close-up view of its marine life. Lovers Point Beach is also the starting point for the infamous "Kelp Crawl" portion of the Triathlon at Pacific Grove. But this beach did not always look at it does today.

Let's go back to the time of the Pacific Grove Methodist Retreat. You may recall that in the 1800s the Retreat Association forbade bathing nude, wearing immodest bathing attire, or passing through the streets of Pacific Grove to or from the beach without suitable covering. This ordinance led to the first bathhouse on this beach being built in 1875. It was described as "nothing more than a little brown wooden shack with its large tank that held the cold saltwater from the Bay before it was pumped into individual tubs for bathers. This cramped, cold and decidedly inadequate bathhouse had a short life." (2) A picture of this bathhouse is shown below.

In 1882 the Pacific Improvement Company constructed another bathhouse. This one had 22 dressing rooms and was described as "conveniently placed in a small ravine on the verge of a beautiful little bay, whose sandy floor rivals in whiteness the marble of the Roman Baths." (2) That bathhouse is shown in the picture below. It deteriorated to nothing more than a shell by 1891.

John Lucas Birks leased the land from the Pacific Improvement Company in 1893 and built the third bathhouse on Lovers Point Beach. This one had 60 dressing rooms, and saltwater tubs with both hot and cold baths. But Birks made even more improvements, he blasted out the rocks near the bathhouse to make a larger beach and built a pier. Still the bathhouse quickly deteriorated to almost nothing more than a shack by 1900.

In 1898 Nathaniel Sprague, one time a partner with John Birks, operated a number of glass-bottomed swan boats off Pacific Grove's waterfront. Attached fore and aft were swan heads that Sprague had carved. The boats were large enough to accommodate about 16 adults, seated on benches on either side of the thick plate-glass viewing area. The swan boats continued in operation until about 1972.

Then came William Fielding Smith who acquired a deed to 665 feet of coastal frontage, in 1903. This deed required Smith to build a bathhouse, bathing pavilion, boat house and other resort amenities. Quite different from what the California Coastal Commission would allow today.

Smith opened his bathhouse July 1, 1904. This one had 180 dressing rooms, 25 private rooms with porcelain tubs, hot and cold showers, boat storage, a Box Ball Alley court, movie theater, public platform for dances, and a Japanese Tea House. The picture below shows the transformation Smith made to Lovers Beach and point.

Dr. Clarendon Atwood Foster acquired Smith's enterprise in 1913. Foster added a pool and waterslides, candy store, beach grill, shooting gallery and penny arcade. J. H. McDougall purchased the property from Foster in 1918 and held it until 1934. Unfortunately Foster was unable to maintain of the property during the Great Depression and the area fell into disrepair. The city of Pacific Grove paid $50,000 for the property in 1934, they demolished the old bathhouse and other structures and added a large outdoor saltwater pool was in 1935, a smaller version exits today.

Lovers Point Beach 2017

To you right watch for the southern part of Lovers Point Park. There are parking lots at both the southern and northern parts of this park. But at this location you will find The Grill, which is great for a quick snack.

Or rent a surrey from Pacific Grove Adventures and ride along the
Monterey Coastal Trail.

At the stop sign ahead, turn right to continue on Ocean View Blvd.

The entrance to the parking lot is on your right if you would like to stop and explore this portion of the beach area.

Otherwise continue straight.

To your right will be the Beach House Restaurant at Lovers Point.

Hands down one of our favorite restaurants in Pacific Grove.

Continue all the way to the parking lot ahead. This is northern parking lot for Lovers Point Beach and Park.

Time to get out and explore this area and enjoy the view. Parking is free. If there is a spot open take it!

According to local legend, this park was originally called "Lovers of Jesus Point," back during the time that Pacific Grove was a Methodist retreat camp.

Currently this point has become one of Pacific Grove's best-loved spots for picnics, plein air painting, scenic photography and weddings.

Locals can always be found lounging on the grass or climbing on the rocks. Just be very careful if you decide to explore the rocky outpoint.

Scenes from both season 1 and 2 of the HBO miniseries Big Little Lies' staring Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley were filmed here at Lovers Point. During Season 2 crews of Big Little Lies' transformed this park with a gazebo and pergola that served as the Blissful Drip coffee shop during filming.

Once you have explored the area, turn around and follow Ocean View Blvd. back in the direction you came. Then turn right onto Jewell Avenue. Then turn left onto 19th Street.

Jewell and 19th Street

As you drive through these residential areas of Pacific Grove, you might notice small signs on the houses with a name and date. These list the year the home was built, and the person for whom it was built. Many date back to the late 1800's.

Continue straight on 19th and cross Union Street. On your left the yellow two-story with the lovely oak in front is the Elihu Beard House.

Beard House 139 19th Avenue

Located at 139 19th Avenue, this was built in 1880. Five generations of the Beard family have owned this home and kept it in pristine historic condition.

150 19th Street

As you come to the stop sign at the corner look to your right at 150 19th Street. This green wooden home with pink trim is Toad Hall.

Built in 1904 for Ms. Cornelia Pierce, the name comes from the owners love of the story The Wind and the Willows.

Centrella Hotel 2017

Turn left onto Central. Continue two blocks to the stop sign at 17th Street. We are going to stay on Central, but take a look to your left. This is the Centrella Hotel a two-story Victorian constructed in 1892 as a boarding house.

Across the street from the Centrella is Chautauqua Hall. Built in 1881 as a permanent retreat center for the West Coast Headquarters of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, a Methodist education movement that started in Pacific Grove in 1879.

This four-year course which featured Sunday school teacher-training classes, musical programs and lectures, was one of the only opportunities for higher education in the days before colleges reached outside large population centers.

For years, Chautauqua Hall served a variety of uses for the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle. This continued well into the 20th century until more conventual opportunities for college education developed, then attendance to the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle dropped off and finally discontinued.

Today this hall, which is a California State Historical Landmark, is used for classes, programs, concerts and dances put on by the city of Pacific Grove.

Continue to the second stop sign. Across the street to your left will be the Pacific Grove Visitor Center,

and directly ahead of you the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History.

Turn right onto Forest and pass by one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Peppers Mexicali Cafe.

Continue to the end of the block. At the stop sign look to your left. This two-story Romanesque-style building with sandstone veneer was designed by Watsonville architect William H. Weeks and constructed by Thomas A. Work in 1904.

It originally opened in 1905 as the Pacific Grove branch of the Bank of Monterey. Today this is the home of Sotheby's International Realty.

Turn right onto Lighthouse and continue straight. In two blocks as you cross 18th Street, take a look to your left across the median.

On the corner is a two-story with shingle siding Queen Anne Victorian. This is Gosby House Inn a charming bed and breakfast originally built in 1887. Joseph F. Gosby was Pacific Grove's first shoemaker. He owned the Pioneer Boot and Shoe Store on Lighthouse.

Next door on the other corner, also to your left is the Hart House. This Queen Anne style home was built in 1894 for Dr. Andrew Hart. He had his medical practice on the ground floor and his family lived upstairs. This is a nice example of Stick-Eastlake with the turret, arched entry and plenty of spindles and stick work.

Continue straight along Lighthouse, on your right you will pass the Pacific Grove Post Office.

The historic building was constructed in 1938 with federal Treasury Department funds. Inside there is an oil-on-canvas mural called Lovers’ Point. It is shown in the pictures below. The work of Victor Arnautoff, it was part of the WPA New Deal project, funded by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The piece was installed in the lobby of the Pacific Grove post office in 1940. It is still viewable there today.

In front of the Post Office notice the bronze statue called Butterfly Kids, by Christopher Bell.

Pacific Grove is the self proclaimed Butterfly Capital of the world. Every year since 1939, on the first Saturday of October, Pacific Grove holds its annual Butterfly Parade. This celebrates the return of the Monarch butterfly to Pacific Grove for its annual wintering stop. We will be visiting the Monarch Sanctuary later on this tour.

In about half a mile turn left onto Ridge Road. We are on our way to the Monarch Grove Sanctuary. You should see a sign in the middle of Lighthouse pointing you straight ahead.

Once you pass the Pacific Grove Adult Education Center get ready to make the next left turn onto Ridge Road.

There will be sign on the corner that reads Monarch Grove Sanctuary.

Pass the Butterfly Grove Inn and park across the street in front of the red buildings which are part of the Pacific Grove Adult Education Center.

The entrance to the Monarch Grove Sanctuary is at the end of the driveway to the Butterfly Grove Inn.

The Monarch Butterfly spends its life between southern Canada and central Mexico. They are a tropical insect, and cannot survive in freezing temperatures. So they embark on an interesting migration traveling between 1,200 and 2,800 miles yearly.

Monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains spend the winter in the high mountains of central Mexico. Monarchs west of the Rockies migrate to California's central coast. One of those over wintering sites is here at the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary.

Most migrating species, such as birds and whales, are the same individuals traveling their migration route to and from every year, but migrating Monarchs have never been to their destination before. Several generations of Monarchs will have lived and died since last year's butterflies departed. In the sanctuary, the Monarchs live up to 6 weeks, but a migrating adult can live up to 6 months giving them time to make the 1,200 mile journey.

In 1990 the citizens of Pacific Grove authorized the City to purchase this 2.4 acre grove as a permanent Monarch sanctuary. It has become one of the most important overwintering sites for western Monarch butterflies in California.

Monarch populations migrate in two directions, going south in the winter and returning north to breed and lay their eggs on milkweed plants in spring and summer. Every winter they return to the sanctuary. They can be found here from November through February.

If you happen to be here when the Monarchs are in the sanctuary, look high into the eucalyptus. They hang in clusters with their wings closed on the branches. They look like bunches of brown leaves.

In case you are wondering how to tell the difference between a female or male Monarch, here you go!

There is no fee to explore the sanctuary, but donations are gladly accepted. Take some time to explore the area. The best time to visit to view the butterflies - October through February.

When you are finished, head back the way you came on Ridge Road and turn left back onto Lighthouse Avenue.

Continue about 1/2 mile then turn right at the Yield sign onto Asilomar Avenue. Follow the sign that point toward the Lighthouse.

On your right will be the El Carmelo Cemetery. This cemetery has been a part of Pacific Grove's history since the 1800s. The oldest section has wooden markers. John Steinbeck's sisters Elizabeth Ainsworth and Esther Rogers as well as their husbands are buried there. Across the street from the entrance to the cemetery is the parking area for Point Pinos Lighthouse.

Park here in the parking lot and take some time to explore the lighthouse grounds and tour the lighthouse if they are open.

As of this writing the lighthouse is open Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 3pm.

There is a $5 fee to tour building.

When the United States acquired the Pacific Coast in 1848, there wasn't a single navigational aid from Mexico to Canada. During the 1850s, the Treasury Department constructed lighthouses for the safely of mariners.

Point Pinos Lighthouse is the oldest continually operating lighthouse on the West Coast and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The building, lenses and prisms in this lighthouse are all original and still an active aid to navigation.

When you are finished, continue along Asilomar past the Pacific Grove Golf Links to the stop sign and turn right onto Ocean View.

Continue straight a few hundred yards and turn left into the turnout off Ocean View Avenue.

Park here to explore this area. Besides some incredible views you will also find a memorial to singer and song writer John Denver.

On October 12, 1997, John Denver's experimental plane, a Rutan Long-EZ, crashed into the Monterey Bay near this site . Known for his songs "Take Me Home, Country Roads," "Sunshine on My Shoulders" and "Rocky Mountain High," among others, John was 53 years old when this accident occurred. The following is an interesting YouTube of John Denver's life and his last flight.

But for now, this is where I am leaving you. Until next time happy adventures!

___

All pictures by L. A. Momboisse

GPSmyCity Giveaway 1-year Free Subscription (This Week only 5/22/23 to 5/29/23)

2023-05-22T12:20:00.001-07:00

GPSmyCity is best known for producing “City Walk” apps for almost 1000 cities around the world. They turn blog posts, such as mine, into a user-friendly map that gives easy-to-follow directions to each location in my blog article.

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Here is a list of my Adventures of a Home Town Tourist blogs that GPSmyCity has turned into GPS guides.

Carmel-by-the-Sea California (includes Fairy Tale Houses, Wine Walk, and Scenic Road, Carmel Point)
Monterey California
Point Sur Light Station Big Sur California
Newport Rhode Island
Quebec City

But there are guides and articles for hundreds of cities worldwide on GPSmyCity. To celebrate the 2023 travel season, GPSmyCity is offering my readers a free one-year premium subscription that will give you access to all GPSmyCity guides and articles. From May 22, 2023 to May 29, 2023, you can claim your free subscription using the following code: 24020522.

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Happy Adventures!

Driving Tour 17-Mile Drive Pebble Beach California

2022-12-18T14:38:00.003-08:00

Fan Shell Beach

If you are interested in this driving tour as an audio tour, our companion audio tour is available on VoiceMap here. Our tours are listed under Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea and Santa Cruz. To use VoiceMap, you will need to download the VoiceMap app from Apple Store or Google Play. This app is free, there is a charge for the audio driving tour.

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On today’s driving tour we will follow one of the most scenic drives in the world, the 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, where you will experience an enchanting world full of dramatic coastal cliffs, white sand beaches, iconic golf courses, and cypress forests. Along the way we will visit Bird Rock, Crocker Grove and the Lone Cypress. There will be many opportunities to get out and explore different areas from the Restless Sea at Point Joe, the boardwalk above the beach at Spanish Bay, or the 18th Green at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

At the time of this writing, admission to 17-Mile Drive is $11.25 per vehicle. This price is not included in the cost of the VoiceMap audio tour, however the gate fee is reimbursable with a purchase of $35 or more at all Pebble Beach Resorts restaurants, excluding Pebble Beach Market.

On this driving tour you'll have the chance to:

Whole Foods Parking Lot

This tour begins in the parking lot outside the Whole Foods Market located in the Del Monte Shopping Center in Monterey, California. The address is 800 Del Monte Center, Monterey.

Before we set out on our drive, I always think it is important to have a little back history of the area we will be exploring. Here is the pre-history of Pebble Beach to 1880.

Tile Monterey State Historic Park

NATIVE AMERICAN PERIOD PRE-1542

The Rumsien Native American’s settled this area thousands of years before Pebble Beach was developed. As they lived along the coast, their lives revolving around the seasons. They fished from the abundant harvest available along Carmel and Monterey Bay as well as the inland rivers. They gathered acorns, seeds and berries in the forests and hunted wild game.

Native American Men Fishing
(Ludwid Choris - UC Berkeley Bancroft Library)

These peaceful people made their homes in dwellings of tule reeds and rushes and left behind deposits of arrowheads, scrapers, mortar and pestle fragments throughout the peninsula, some along the Pebble Beach coastline. The most prominent archeological deposits were left near Bird Rock and Dunes Road, Pescadero Point, and Stillwater Cove.

Native American Women Fancy Dress
(Ludwid Choris - UC Berkeley Bancroft Library)

FIRST EUROPEANS 1542

Sailing under the Spanish crown, the first European to enter Monterey Bay was Portuguese explorer, Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo in 1542. As he passed Monterey Bay in mid November of that year, he named it Bahia de los Pinos or “Bay of the Pines.”

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (1499 – 1543) Wikipedia

SPANISH PERIOD to 1821

60 years later, commissioned by the Spanish Viceroy in Mexico, Sebastian Vizcaino's fleet entered the bay December 16, 1602 and named it in honor of the Viceroy of New Spain, the Count of Monterrey.

Sebastian Vizcaino (1548 - 1624) Wikipedia

Besides discovering a bay teaming with fish, land filled with an abundance of wildlife, and trees suitable for making masts for ships, Vizcaino’s men discovered they were not alone. Someone was there before them.

Pacific House Museum Monterey

In Spanish Voyages to the Northwest Coast in the Sixteenth Century, Father Antonio de la Ascension's account of his experience on the Vizcaino expedition is summarized: “The port is all surrounded by settlements of affable Indians of good disposition and well built, very willing to give what they have. They brought us some of the skins of bears, lions and deer. They use bows and arrows and have their own form of government. They were naked. They would have much pleasure in seeing us make a settlement here.”

Though Vizcaino recommended that Monterey be used as a port for Manila Galleons, the Spanish did not return to Monterey until 1769 when Gaspar de Portola was commissioned to colonize Alta California for Spain.

Tile in patio Monterey State Historic Park

Portola would make two trips overland in search of Monterey Bay. The first one from July 1769 to January 1770 proved unsuccessful. Though diary entries by the exploring party reveal that they must have been near what is now called Cypress Point in Pebble Beach.

Fr. Zephyrin Engelhardt, who is known as the "Father of Mission History," complied extensive histories of the twenty-one Spanish mission in Alta California. In his book Mission San Carlos Borromeo he wrote "Around October 2, 1769, Captain Rivera of the Portola Expedition with eight of his men marched southward along the shore of the bay. They crossed Point Pinos, and on the other side discovered...an arroyo flowing down from the mountains, well wooded...They had discovered Carmelo Bay and Carmelo River and Cypress Point." (2)

But Portola did not recognize this as Monterey Bay and continued marching northward. On October 31 the expedition records that they arrived at what they recognized as San Francisco Bay. Realizing they must have passed Monterey, Portola's group retraced their steps and arrived back on the Monterey Peninsula November 28. But alas they again decided that this was not Monterey. After erecting two crosses to mark the spot, they returned to San Diego, arriving January 24, 1770.

Old and New California 1787

If at first you don't succeed...(well you know the saying) Portola set out again from San Diego. Leaving on April 17, and following the same inland route, he arrived at Monterey Bay May 2, 1770.

Close Up of Monterey Area Map 1787

The Presidio of Monterey was established June 3, 1770 and would serve as Spain’s initial military post in Alta California. On the same day, Fr. Junipero Serra founded the Royal Presidio Chapel San Carlos Cathedral, inside the walls of the presidio. This would become California’s first Cathedral and its oldest continuously functioning house of worship in the State of California. Monterey was declared the capital of Alta California in 1775.

Tile Monterey State Historic Park

MEXICAN RULE 1821-1846

After a decades long conflict, Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821. Under the terms of the treaty, all former Spanish territory in California was placed under Mexican jurisdiction and Monterey was established as the capital of the new Mexican Alta California territory. During the time of Mexican rule, the government redistributed the land of Alta California as large land grants to powerful local families, basically those who had won favor of Mexican officials during the bid for independence. These land grants became primarily cattle ranches with the cattle hides and tallow the basis of California’s economy under Mexican rule.

In 1836, Monterey resident Fabian Barretto was grated the Rancho El Pescadero (“Fisherman’s Ranch”) a 4,426 acre parcel that included ports of Del Monte Forest, Cypress Point and what is today Pebble Beach. In 1846, war broke out between Mexico and the United States.

AMERICAN RULE 1846

On July 7, 1846 Commodore John Sloat peacefully captured Monterey and raised the American flag at Custom House Plaza. Mexico ceded California to the United States in 1848 and two years later on September 9, 1850 California became the 31^st state of the Union.

That same year Scottish businessman, David Jacks arrived in Monterey and began purchasing land in the area. But it would be his involvement in the settlement of Mexican land claims in the new State of California that would lead to his becoming Monterey's dominant landowner.

Rancho El Pescadero confirmed to David Jacks 1864 (Calisphere University of California)

After California was admitted into the Union, land grant owners were required to authenticate their claims. This was a difficult task, many land grants ended up sold for pennies on the dollar. And David Jacks took full advantage of this opportunity.

David Jacks 1822 - 1909 (Jack) Wikipedia

By 1864 Jacks had acquired Rancho El Pescadero and the majority of what would become Pebble Beach, from the vicinity of Bird Rock to Stillwater Cove. In 1864 he acquired the Punta de los Pinos Rancho which gave him the rest of the Pebble Beach north to Pacific Grove.

Alright that brings us to the edge of modern Pebble Beach history, so now it is time to get going.

We will be exiting the Del Monte Shopping Center onto Munras Avenue making our way to Highway 1. To exit this parking area you will be making two left turns at two stop signs. The first will be between PetCo and RiteAid. So with Whole Foods behind you, stay to the right along the perimeter of the parking lot. When you get to the stop sign near PetCo turn left. Continue straight. At the next stop sign turn left again. Then use the left lane to turn left onto Munras Avenue.

Stay in the middle lane. Continue through the next stop light and enter Highway 1 South.

After you enter Highway 1 South, stay to the right and follow the sign to Pebble Beach. Then take the first exit, 399A for Highway 68 West toward Pebble Beach. On the exit ramp stay to the left following the signs for 17-Mile Drive Pebble Beach.

At the Yield enter the round-about. Stay to the right and exit the round-about on Highway 1 South Pebble Beach 17-Mile Drive. Do not get back onto Highway 1 (as the car in the picture below is doing) but rather stay to the far right and follow the sign for 17-Mile Drive Pebble Beach.

Stay to the right at the Ranger Kiosk, pay your entrance fee, and get a map.

After the Guard Gate, take the first right and continue up the hill along Sunridge Road.

We have entered the Del Monte Forest of Pebble Beach which is dominated by Monterey pine and cypress.

Right onto Scenic Drive

Pebble Beach Golf Links with Sheep Grazing - Photo 1918 by L. S. Slevin

(Monterey Free Library via Calishere)

Hotel Del Monte 1883 Wikipedia

From Huckleberry Hill, continue straight along Los Altos Drive this will turn into Costanilla Way. We are less than two miles from our next stop, Poppy Hills Golf Course.

On the road way the arrows will point to the left. Ignore this and turn right onto Ronda Road. Follow the sign toward Resource Management.

Following the sign that points right toward Poppy Hills, slow, and turn right using the yield lane onto Sunridge Road.

Follow this road to the left and it becomes Lopez Road. Turn left into the Poppy Hills Golf Course and park in the parking lot in front of the NCGA Golf Course Building.

Samuel Finley Brown Morse (1885-1969) Wikipedia

Poppy Hills

ProVisualizer.com Poppy Hills

Poppy Hills Snack Shack

Once you are finished exploring the area around Poppy Hills, exit the parking lot and turn left back on to Lopez.

Red-dotted line

Turn right onto Sloat Road

Chris Jorgensen House 1910
(Pebble Beach Historic Context Statement pg 65)

Charles Dillman House 1921
Designed by Lewis Hobart
(Pebble Beach Historic Context Statement pg 78)

Harriet Moores House 1921
Designed by Pierpont Walter and Davis
(Pebble Beach Historic Context Statement pg 78)

Olivida Penas 1926
Designed by Frederick Reimers

Olivida Penas

Continue past Olivida Penas along Majella Road. This road was named after nearby Lake Majella.

Lake Majella, Pebble Beach (February 1911 -
photograph L. S. Slevin - Online Archive of California)

Turn right onto 17-Mile Drive

At the stop sign, turn right onto 17-Mile Drive. Then prepare to make a left into the Inn at Spanish Bay.

Follow the sign for Inn and Links at Spanish Bay. At the stop sign use the left turn lane to turn left into the entrance of Inn at Spanish Bay.

Green at Hole #2 Spanish Bay Golf Links

Links at Spanish Bay

The Links at Spanish Bay unveils some of the most spectacular seaside views in Pebble Beach.

Firepit Inn at Spanish Bay

ProVisualizer.com Spanish Bay

Green fees for Links and Spanish Bay at the time of this writing are $315 for a resort guest and $315 plus cart fee for Non-Resort Guest.

Lobby Inn at Spanish Bay

Bing Crosby and George Coleman at Cypress Point

15th Annual Clambake

Game and Gossip February 15, 1955

Gallery at the 18th green at Pebble Beach Crosby Clambake

Game and Gossip February 1951

Clint Eastwood 2016 Celebrity Challenge AT&T Pro-Am
and that is Huey Lewis on the left

Slow and turn right ahead following the sign pointing right toward 17-Mile Drive and Beach and Picnic Areas.

Continue toward the coast and slow and watch for the signs on your right to Beach and Spanish Bay. Turn right into the parking lot and park for a moment.

Spanish Bay Beach is Stop 3 on your Pebble Beach map. It was named after the Spanish expedition headed by Gaspar de Portola. Portola and his men are said to have camped here in the winter of 1769.

Spanish Galleon by Cornelis Verbeeck
(National Gallery of Art Washington, D.C)

At the end of this parking area there is a boardwalk path that leads back to the Inn at Spanish Bay. It meanders through the dunes along the beautiful coastline. If you are interested in exploring this area, I have put a map of the area below.

Boardwalk to Inn at Spanish Bay

When you have finished exploring the area around Spanish Bay Beach, drive to the end of the parking lot, make a U-turn and drive back to the entrance. Then turn right back onto the 17-Mile Drive.

Continue straight. The ocean will be on your right and the Monterey Peninsula Country Club Dunes golf course will be on your left.

Follow the arrows to the right to stay on 17-Mile Drive

Steamer St. Paul stranded on the rocks at Point Joe (1896)

(photograph by Arthur Bolton - Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary)

S.S. Celia is stranded at Point Joe. Courtesy of Robert Schwemmer Maritime Library
(Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary)

Today Point Joe overlooks the 14th tee on the Monterey Peninsula Country Club Dunes course. Across the street are the 13th and 15th hole of the Dunes course.

ProVisualizer.com Dunes

#14th tee MPCC Dunes

The MPCC courses are private courses, so you are not able to go past the sign for the tee, but you might get lucky and watch a member tee off.

Take some time, if you like to get out of your car and explore both stops. Make sure to look out to sea to the rocks where you will find the Brant's Cormorants who like to hang out there.

Also check out the informational panels that explain other interesting tidbits, like did you know that ice plant is non-native to the area?

When you are finished taking in the beauty of this stop, exit the parking area and turn right back on to 17-Mile Drive. We are 1/2 mile from our next turn out, China Rock.

Jung family shell stand at Stillwater Cove c. 1890
(Chinese Gold: The Chinese in the Monterey Bay Region by Sandy Lydon, page 145)

Those that stayed behind expanded their catch to rock fish, sharks, cod, halibut, mackerel and flounder.

Detail of U.S. Coast Survey Map for Pescadero Point, 1876 with Chinese Fishery and house marked David Jacks. (Chinese Gold: The Chinese in the Monterey Bay Region by Sandy Lydon, page 143)

Chinese Fishing Village along 17-Mile Drive near Stillwater Cove c. 1890 (Chinese Gold: The Chinese in the Monterey Bay Region by Sandy Lydon, page 144)

Slow and watch for the China Rock sign. Turn right after the sign into the parking lot. This is stop number 6 on your Pebble Beach map.

At China Rock a small collection of Chinese families set up lean-to shelters which slanted into the rock. Smoke from their cooking fires can still be seen caked into the rock.

Across the road from this parking area is the 8th and 9th green of the Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shore Course.

ProVisualizer.com Shore

Alright, it is time to get going again. Exit and turn right back on to 17-Mile Drive. You will be driving alongside the Shore Course.

11th (lower) tee MPCC Shore (along Ocean Road)

7th green MPCC Shore

Slow and turn right into the Bird Rock Vista Point and park for a moment. This is number 7 on your Pebble Beach Map.

Sea Lion (Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary - Photo by Mike Baird)

Use the pay-telescopes here at this stop to get a close up view of the sea lions hoisting their 600 pound bodies up the side of Bird Rock for some sun. I find it an amazing feat.

As you exit this parking area turn right back onto the 17-Mile Drive. In less than .2 mile, make a right into the Seal Rock Vista Point, which is stop 8 on your Pebble Beach map.

As you look out to sea you will look over Seal Beach to Seal Rock. I don't find it nearly as exciting as Bird Rock. But if you are interested there is a wooden staircase down to the beach.

The reason I stopped you here is across the highway. Do you see the house in the distance with the multicolored roof? The picture below is a close up of the house.

Professor de Lemos (1882-1954)
(Photograph by Johan Hagemeyer - Wikipedia)

When you are ready to continue, exit and turn right on to 17-Mile Drive then take the second left onto Spyglass Hill Road. We are on our way to the Spyglass Hill golf course.

Spyglass Hill Golf Course

As you continue along Spyglass Hill Road. You will be driving between the holes of the Spyglass Hill front 9.

ProVisualizer.com Spyglass Hill

According to Pebble Beach lore, writer Robert Louis Stevenson traversed the dunes that would years later become Spyglass Hills Golf course during his short stay in Monterey.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
(Photo by Henry Walter Barnett 1893 Wikipedia)

Turn left onto Stevenson Drive. Then make a right into the parking area for Spyglass Hill Golf course and park for a moment.

At the stop sign ahead, turn left back onto the 17-Mile Drive. Once we are back on the 17-Mile Drive we will pass the Fan Shell House designed by Mark Mills in 1972.

Mrs. Clinton Walker House (Scenic Road, Carmel, CA - Frank Lloyd Wright)

Banyan Hideaway (Mission Street, Carmel, CA - Mark Mills)

Watch on your left for the Fan Shell house. It features a distinctive scalloped roofline, similar to the lip of a seashell and floor to ceiling windows.

Fan Shell House designed by Mark Mills

After you pass the Fan Shell house, turn left onto Signal Hill Road. Continue to the end of the road.

We are on our way to view the Arthur Connell House at 1170 Signal Road.
The last time I was there in 2022 the address had been removed from the front of the house.

Connell house designed by Richard Neutra

The Arthur Connell house was built in 1958 by architect Richard Neutra and is an extremely rare example of the International-style in Pebble Beach.

Richard Neutra (1892 - 1970) Wikipedia

Richard Neutra was an Austrian-American architect. He spent the majority of his career in Southern California and was considered an important modernist architect.

Back of the Fan Shell House

Follow Signal Hill Road back to 17-Mile Drive and turn left. You will have a nice view of the back of the Fan Shell house. Our next stop is in less than a mile, Fanshell Overlook.

The last time I took this drive I happened by an equestrian tour being given by the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center.

Fanshell Beach

Turn right into the parking area for Fanshell Beach Overlook ahead on your right. This will be stop number 9 on your Pebble Beach map.

If you do arrive here during pupping season from April through June, this is the best spot for observing the moms and their pups.

Harbor Seals (Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary - photo by Dan Linehan)

Cove at Fanshell Beach

ProVisualizer.com Cypress Point

Crosswalk leads to the last 4 holes on the Cypress Point course.

The following two photos by JoAnne Dost are available at Gallery Sur on 6th Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea. We visit Gallery Sur on our VoiceMap Carmel-by-the-Sea's Bohemian Art Scene walking tour.

Cypress Point 15th Hole (Photo by by JoAnne Dost)

Cypress Point Holes 15, 16 and 17 (Photo by by JoAnne Dost)

Hedge Covering Hole #1 tee Cypress Point

Take some time to enjoy the views up the coast here, they are spectacular.
Unfortunately views of Cypress Point Golf Course have been blocked off.

When you are ready, exit the parking lot. Follow the road to the right to return to the 17-Mile Drive. We are on our way to Crocker Grove, a 13 acre nature preserve.

Ahead on your left is the parking area for Crocker Grove. Pull off into the parking area and stop for a moment. Crocker Grove is number 11 on the Pebble Beach map.

Once you are ready to continue, carefully pull back out onto the highway and continue in the direction you were previously headed. Our next stop is in less than one mile, the iconic Lone Cypress.

The Lone Cypress (2005) Wikipedia

Tobin Clark (Villa Felice) house under construction
(Monterey County Planning Department Collections)

As you drive along this section, watch for the stone wall, this is 3252 17-Mile Drive. Over this wall you may get a glimpse of the Mediterranean Revival-style Villa Felice.

Celia Tobin Clark

This home is currently (2022) undergoing renovations with a design by Jun A. Sillano and construction by Harvest Construction.

Next door is Villa Eden Del Mar. This Spanish Eclectic-style homes was also built in 1925.

As you continue driving, stay to the right. When the road forks veer right to stay on 17-Mile Drive.

Gate for Crocker-Irwin Mansion

Crocker-Irwin Mansion (Del Monte Forest New 2012)

Cypress "Ghost Tree"

Walk over to the Ghost Tree, the trunk has been bleached white from the wind. From this area you should be able to get a glimpse of the Crocker Irwin Mansion.

Walking back over to the over side of this stop, or Pescadero Point, look south to see views of Carmel Bay, Stillwater Cove, and Point Lobos.

1953 Road Race (Game and Gossip March 1954)

At the next stop sign, turn right onto Portola Road. As you drive the Equestrian Center grounds will be to your left.

Turn left into the Equestrian Center parking lot and park out in front of the barn. There is a welcome sign in front. This is stop 21 on your Pebble Beach map.

GuyFieri (Hunt & Ryde Wines) and his winemaker Guy Davis (Davis Family Vineyards)

Zacapa Signature Old Fashioned

Glass of bubbly as the sun sets over Inn at Spanish Bay at PBFW 2017

Outdoor Range

At the stop sign turn left onto Alva Lane. Then left onto Cypress Drive and left into the Pebble Beach Market Parking lot.

Park here near the Pebble Beach Market. We will be using this as home base for visiting the Pebble Beach Lodge, Visitors Center, and Golf Links, which are stops 14 and 15 on your Pebble Beach map.

If this parking lot is full there is additional parking behind the market and near the Visitor Center. Before you get out and explore this area, take a look at the map below.

#1 is the Pebble Beach Market with parking between the market and the post office. The first place you will want to visit is #2 on this map, the Pebble Beach Visitor Center.

From here cross the street to #3 on this map which is the Pebble Beach Lodge, shops and numerous world class restaurants. A dining tab of $35 at any of these will validate reimbursement of your Pebble Beach gate fees.

Bust of Samuel Morse

ProVisualizer.com Pebble

Practice Green front of Lodge

The Pebble Beach Lodge, c 1908 (Bancroft Library, U.C. Berkeley via Calisphere)

The Pebble Beach Lodge, c 1912 (Bancroft Library, U.C. Berkeley via Calisphere)

Lodge at Pebble Beach c 1915 (Berkeley Library Digital Collection)

Pebble Beach Lodge c. 1920 (Calisphere)

Be sure to take some time to visit this area, enjoy a drink, appetizer or a special meal. When you visit the Lodge, make sure to take the stairs off the hotel lobby down to The Bench restaurant.

When you are ready exit the parking area and turn left onto Cypress Drive.

Hay Place Restaurant at The Hay

Casa Palermo Spa

If you like, get out of your car here. You will be rewarded with stunning views of the 18th tee, Stillwater Cove as well as Point Lobos in the distance.

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Pictures and video are by L.A. Momboisse unless listed otherwise.

(1) Antonio de la Ascension and Henry R Wagner, “Spanish Voyages to the Northwest Coast in the Sixteenth Century. Chapter XI: Father Antonio de la Ascension’s Account of the Voyage of Sebastian Vizcaino,” in California Historical Society Quarterly 7, no. 4 (December 1928): 358.

(2) Mission San Carlos Borromeo by Fr Zephyrin Engelhardt page 15

(3) Pebble Beach Golf Links: The Official History by Neal Hotelling page 35 - 36.