17 Miles?

Or is it?  We decided to pony up the $10 fee to explore 17-mile Drive in swanky Pebble Beach.  First we asked the lady at the visitors center if it was really 17 miles.  She said it's just the name of the road, like First Street.  So I was determined to find the answer to this burning question and had Ron set the trip odometer.

For our $10 contribution, we received a nice map with points of interest marked.  Here are just a few.

Bird Rock - not just for birds

There were plenty of sea lions hanging out at the lower levels.  Maybe they're trying to avoid all that bird poop.

But some over-achievers worked their way up to join their cormorant friends.

This guy is obviously very proud of his accomplishment.

The drive passed by some pricey real estate, but I was drawn to this colorful house.  I bet it's been there for a long time.

Probably the most popular stop on the drive is for The Lone Cypress.  This iconic symbol of the California coast, and specifically Pebble Beach, has been perched on this rock for over 250 years.  According to the signage, Monterey Cypress Trees can live to 300 years old.  Let's do the math.  You better hurry if you want to see it.

Attempting to prevent, or delay, a tragedy, they have added cables and rocked up the base.

If 'Lone' bites the dust, maybe 'Substitute' could take over.

But just look at this - no rock wall, no cables.  It's like nobody cares about poor, ignored 'Substitute.'  Soon he'll just topple right off the cliff.

The next stop was for Ghost Tree.  You probably won't believe me after that 'Substitute' story, but I'm not making this up.  According to the handout, Ghost Tree is a Monterey Cypress that was bleached white by the sun.  Surprisingly, there were several trees at this stop that fit the description, so I picked this one.  It looks pretty creepy.

Ron wanted to see the world-famous Pebble Beach Golf Links.  I was surprised they just let us walk into the lodge and out the back where we had a view of the 18th green.

And the 18th fairway.  How could you keep your mind on golf with this view?

We exited 17-Mile Drive at the Carmel gate so we could take a quick drive around Carmel.  It's so precious!

The shops seem to try to outdo each other in cuteness.

Now for the bad news.  At the end of our tour, I forgot to check the trip odometer, so we'll never know how long 17-Mile Drive really is.  ;-(