After breakfast, we drove along Scenic Boulevard, a one-way street lined with expensive homes on one side and the ocean on the other. This, again, is a marvelous place to stroll. During the week you will meet friendly locals walking their dogs and surfers taking advantage of the large waves.

The Carmel Mission has charm and some beautiful gardens to visit. Here are some pictures without any further explanations.

Point Lobos, just south of Carmel, is a 554 acre reserve with a number of interesting coves, beaches and view areas for watching the sea pound the coast and various animals make their habitat. The trails are relatively easy to negotiate and we would highly recommend spending at least an afternoon here. We started at Whaler's Cove, so named because of the whaling ships that would anchor here back in the 1860s and 1870's. A path takes you up towards Whaler's Knoll, used to spot whales and alert the ship's crew.

At the south end of the reserve is a parking area where you can see birds, seals and otters in the cove right below you. You do have to get out of your car, but that is about it.

But by all means take the path to Bird Island. You will see beautiful China Beach below. There is a long stairway if you want to tread on sand and even take a dip in the ice cold water. A tunnel connects to the other side of the narrow peninsula and wild flowers abound.

When you continue south you come to Gibson Beach. The border of the reserve is at the far end. This is also the start of some great estates. What a view !

But wait, to our right, further out at sea, is Bird Island. This time of the year it is pretty obvious why it is called that. There were hundreds of cormorants building nests. The trail takes you right to the edge and some of the birds were only a couple hundred feet away from where we stood and watched.

We noticed some of the birds were courting, some mating and some apparently hatching. The nests are made of seaweed harvested by the males. They dive deep to the bottom of the bay and come up with fresh strands to be delivered to his partner.

It had been an interesting afternoon and Point Lobos is certainly on our list of places to visit again.