Fright Night

Dad was glad to navigate his way safely out of the city centre in the rush hour and then we hit the open road, every so often having to take a coastal route along the edge of cliffs - I'm sure it would be a lovely view if there wasn't so much bloody fog!

Having reached Carmel, we decided to do the 17 Mile Drive, which again I'm sure would have been very scenic if it hadn't been for the bloody fog!

Next we drove up to Monterey and wandered through their own Old Fisherman's Wharf - basically a poor mans version of San Francisco's. Then on to Carmel which was a very quaint shopping town - a bit like Bicester Village ... on a hill!

After having a look we drove back to the hotel, via the Safeway's (!) to pick up some more of the Animal Cookies (yummy). On a hunch, we checked on the internet to find out if Santa Cruz, which we had passed earlier in the day, was actually where they filmed one of my favourite films, The Lost Boys. It was and although it was getting late, we decdided to pass up on an evening meal and drive back the 40 odd miles in order to have a look.

The place is almost identical to the location in the film, though no reference is made to the movie at all in the town. We found out later that they were upset at the time because in the film the town is given the moniker of 'Murder Capital of The World', when in reality Santa Cruz had been struggling for a decade to get rid of this tag.

It was quite creepy in the dark and we even walked up the pier, which was very dimly lit - all in the name of research you understand. It was all still there on the Boardwalk - the famous Big Dipper Rollercoaster and the Carousel.

We were getting a bit hungery and were happy to find that because it was the 100th Anniversary of the Boardwalk, prices on fastfood had been frozen at 1907 prices - 75 cents an item - limited to 8 Hot Dogs per person per visit.

Monterey Harbour

Adam filming for "Adam & Steve - The Documentary", coming to a cinema near you soon!

Wheely Good

The Lost Boys Big Dipper