Eski Foça

We've gone to Eski Foça (also known as Phocaea) at least 2-3 times now (see I've already lost count).  It's an easy day trip from Izmir and entirely accessible via public transportation.  The bus can be a bit crowded and it takes over an hour, but the town is very quaint and the crystal clear waters are always a joy to walk along.

The area is known for its local population of endangered Mediterranean Monk Seals.  It also is rich with history, including Homer's Siren Rocks.  Other attractions include a local castle, old windmills, boat tours, and a small public beach.

During our visits we mostly walked around the harbors, looking at all of the fish and sea urchins along the way.  One day a man had caught a starfish and let the kids look at it.  Another time some kids had pulled up a sea urchin for us to look at.  While sparse on shells, the area is great for observing natural life in the water.

The kids mostly just like going to the beach though.  Even the time we went in February, they had to get in the water, and the "only up to your knees" rule lasted about 10 seconds.

 

 

 

 

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Ilica Beach, Izmir, Turkey

Ever since we discovered that we would be moving to Izmir, I've had my sights set on going to Ilica.  Today being a Turkish holiday, we set out to make that happen.

We left Karşıyaka, gathered some supplies for the day, and made our way via metro to the buses in Farhetin Altay that depart for Çeşme.  I was surprised to see that these were not the normal dolmuş buses that take you to Urla and other place.  No, these were actual tourist buses, with air conditioning, comfortable seats, and water served to you on your journey.

I was further surprised by the view and the speed of the trip.  I knew the Izmir-Çeşme road was faster, but was surprised to see that it went up through the mountains.  We got to see Izmir from above for the first time, which was a real joy.  We made it to Ilica within an hour (I was thinking it would be 30min longer) but I missed our stop and ended up in Çeşme.  But immediately after hopping off the bus we found a small dolmuş that went where we needed to go.

The boys were absolutely overjoyed to make it to the beach - probably because of our unintentional detour.  We got of at Ilica Central and walked from the seaside cafes down to the beaches.  There was a large stretch of them, and from what I could tell, most were public.  The nicest ones of course were private, but still there were ample beautiful ones to sit down at free of charge.

Our first order of business, however, was finding a bathroom for Aiden and a changing room for the rest of us.  We walked until we found one, which charged 2,5TL for us all to go in.  After that, we walked back down to a place that had little seaweed (there was a bit of it the day we went, but it was avoidable).  We laid out the blankets and the kids took off for the water. 

We stayed and played for nearly 3 hours before getting changed and starting the adventure of finding our way home.  I knew the bus had to go back to Izmir - and frequently - but I wasn't sure where.  So we handled things Turkish style and asked some travel agency at the Sheraton hotel.  I was proud of myself for understanding his directions in Turkish, and set off.

We found the bus we needed, but had an hour until our departure, so we wandered back down and found a cheap place that served kofte sandwiches.  We grabbed some ice cream to complete our day before heading back and catching our bus home.

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Kilyos, Istanbul

 This week we finally made it to Kilyos.  I had been wanting to go for a long time, but I never quite knew how to get there on my own.  It turned out to be pretty easy, though admittedly it is a little far.  We took the 25E from Ortaköy to Sarriyer, and from there caught the 151RE up to Kilyos.  It took about two hours (including the transfer), but it was a very pretty bus ride all along the Bosphorus.

Once we got off the bus, it was a short walk to the beaches.  All along the way there were markets and shops selling beach supplies.  We got a few snacks and toys for the beach, then continued on our way.

We ended up going to a place called Nonstop Beach.  Normally it is 15TL to get in, but Tuğce negotiated with the people at the beach and got us in for free.  We got there around 9:30-10:00, and the beach was almost completely empty, but they were also still cleaning it.  There was a bit of seaweed on the beach, but we were still able to have a good time there.  The biggest problem was that there were little bugs in the shallow water.  Once you got further out into the deep water, they were not a problem, but it really made wading unpleasant.

We spent almost 6 hours there.  The boys loved the water and it was hard to separate them from it.  Before we left, I also got to go for a short walk along the beach.  I was able to check out a few of the other beaches in the area from the shore, and it looked like Solar Beach and a few others would be nice destinations for our next trip up.

All in all, it made for a bit of a long day (and we all got pretty sunburnt) but it was definitely worth the $2 bus fare to go to the beach for a day!
 

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Caddebostan Beach/Park

With spring approaching and the weather getting nicer, I started looking into the beaches surrounding Istanbul.  I found that there was a free one near Kadakoy called Caddebostan, so the boys and I set out to find it one afternoon while Nate browsed a nearby bookstore.

The beach wasn't very hard to find.  We took the 4 Bostanci bus about 7-8 stops down, got off too early, and walked a bit.  The beach itself was a bit of a disappointment though.  It was dirty, with a lot of seaweed and jellyfish washed up near the shore.  It made for good pictures nonetheless.

There's a nice park that runs parallel to the beach though, and that made for a nice afternoon walk.  The park is huge, grassy, and had a nice playground on it, though it was a bit crowded on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

There was at least one other beach further down too, but we didn't quite make it that far.  The boys got a bit tired and crabby, so we headed to a nearby McD's for some happy meals and then headed back to the Iskeli via taxi.

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Point Pinos, CA

I don't remember when we first went to Point Pinos, but it was a nice place to drive out, park, and walk along the shore.  It was more rocky, and there wasn't much sand there (it was covered by crushed shells), but there were tidepools everywhere, filled with hermit crabs.  There was a light house just up from the shore.  The beach there was rarely crowded, and you could sometimes see whales off the coast.

A view of the Pt. Pinos lighthouse (from a whale watching trip)

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Point Lobos State Reserve, CA

Point Lobos was probably one of my favorite places to go during our entire stay in Monterey.  Few other places allow you to see and experience so many landscapes in a single location: the beaches, the rocky shores, the pine forests, the rugged, dry cypress terrain.

I spent many afternoons walking the trails and taking pictures while Nate hovered around the textbooks.  During this trip, we Elena and Madeline had come to visit, so the three of us set out for an afternoon of hiking.   We made a full trek around the park, parking in the free parking area along side the road, near the park entrance.  We walked up the main trail and followed the Carmelo Meadow Trail until we reached Whaler's Cove.

 

Whale skeleton on display at Whalers Cabin

We took the Granite Point trail along the cove and stopped by the Whaler's Cabin.  Inside were displays on the history of the park and the area, and outside they had whale bones on display.

We continued to follow the trail around Blue Fish cove and the outer edge of the park.   The scenery is simply gorgeous: rocky shores, bright blue waters, pine and cypress.

  

  

We continued along the outer edge of the park until we made our way to the South Shore trail.  This area is far less wooded, but still quite rocky.

Sea urchins in one of the tide pools

We stopped and climbed on some of the rocks, spotting a seal sunning itself.  On this trip, we also stumbled upon a bunch of bright purple sea urchins in one of the pools.

China Cove

We continued along the trail until we reached China cove.  I think it's one of the most beautiful spots in the park.  There's a little cave that you can really see in my picture, a sandy beach, and the water is shallow and fades from emerald to blue.

From there we followed the trail until we reached the larger beach on the other side of the cove.  We paused for a few minutes then took the South Plateau trail back to the entrance and headed home from a long day of hiking!

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Asilomar, CA

One of the many beaches near the Monterey area, Asilomar was often a place we took friends and family.  Though there were few shells, the rocks harbored tons of small crabs and other small sea life.

The rugged shores were pretty, though not close enough that we went often.  It nevertheless provided a different atmosphere from the flat beaches near the city, and even on dreary days, provided a nice place to walk and watch the waves crash against the shore.

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Seaside Beach, Monterey, CA

One of the beaches I visited most frequently during our stay in Monterey was the Seaside beach.  It was located near a shopping center (including a Borders and a Target), had free parking, and offered a pretty view of the hills around Monterey.  If you wanted to, you could even walk from there to Monterey entirely along the coast, though I admit I never made that venture.

By the end of our stay in California, I had moved into a place that was in walking distance of the beach, and I made that trek rather frequently.  I have to say, that was one of the nicest parts about living there.  You can't really beat living within walking distance of the beach.

These are some of our first pictures of the beach, taken only a few days after we officially moved to CA, together, as a married couple.

 

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First Trip to Monterey, CA

View from Fisherman's Wharf

I made my first trip to Monterey over Thanksgiving Break back in 2003.  Nate and I had a lot of things to take care of in advance of me moving out, and moreover, we wanted to see each other.  We hadn't time or money for a honeymoon, but when you're moving to paradise, it's easy enough to take a few days off and just enjoy.  So that's more or less what we did.  Of course Nate still had Army duties to attend to, but we still took some time to soak in some of the sights together.

We visited the beach at Monterey a few times, and walked around from there to the nearby parks (which were filled with Canadian geese and koots, which to this day are the most awkward looking little birds I have ever seen in my life).  And we visited the scenic and touristy little shops at Fisherman's Wharf.  I also got a tour of the base, was called Mrs. Davis for the first time, and we bought my all-time favorite hoody (which Nate is wearing below) on this trip.  :-)

The beach in Monterey

Us at Fisherman's Wharf

Nate found Osama

A koot.  Is it not the most awkward, disproportionate bird you've ever seen?

The beach in Monterey

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