Monterey was beautiful.   We stayed in the guest house of our friends on the top of an Austin/Hill Country Area-like  hill overlooking what looks like the valleys the Jodes first saw when entering California (Grapes of Wrath) except with the shimmering blue Pacific Ocean in the distance.  Sometimes there was fog in the distance, but even the night sky was clear.  I jog/walked the road up to their home and at one point was on a 45 degree angle.