17 MILE DRIVE - PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA   Beaches are one of the most popular travel activities and California is the Best Place to see them.  Focusing on our natural treasure, the beach, visit over  250 California Cities by county from south to north in this ever expanding web and see why people fall in love with California.     17-Mile Drive pictured above is one of the many beautiful California Beaches that stretch approximately 1000 miles along California. It passes through the Del Monte forest. Access to  this haven is available at five guard gates in Carmel or Pacific Grove where a fee is charged (was under $10).  The receipt you receive is a voucher to be used like money. Present it to one of the restaurants along the route when  you make a purchase and the entry fee on the voucher is credited to your bill.    As you pass through the shady entry gates of 17-Mile Drive, you are also given a brochure with extensive information and a map that makes a "can't fail" excursion. With all the stops printed on the map and neatly posted on road signs along the route, the popular tour is somewhat like a Disneyland adventure. Popular with tour groups traveling via bus, you can drive your car along the route and see the same people departing the bus in front of you time and again.   There are approximately 20 stops along the well marked route, each with a landmark of interest and paved parking for your vehicle.  From the trademark Lone Cypress tree to the Restless Sea, Seal Rock to Spanish Bay and Spyglass Hill, if the names of these places don't evoke emotion to the active imagination, the sights, sounds and smells should do the trick. Daylight hours are perfect guarantees to get the stunning photos--but don't miss one of the awesome sunsets. A blazing, golden sun falling into the ocean behind the Lone Cypress (trademark) tree is one of California's most romantic pleasures to be experienced. We are not kidding when we tell you it is trademarked.  You cannot use the tree and photos you take of it in promotional materials for anything. If you ask how anybody can own images of nature, the answer is that  you are a guest visiting private property owned by the Pebble Beach Company. They have based their logo design on this tree that on our last visit, was held in place by straps as it apparently was beginning to lean. Our photo of a tree is not the Lone Cypress.    Like the tree, the 17-mile drive is a two lane road which has seen many years of activity. It was once a trail in which covered wagons carried guests from a hotel to picnic grounds along Pebble Beach over 100 years ago. Though a century has passed, some things are timeless in this enchanted forest.  Today, tourists continue to enjoy the crashing waves that hit rugged rocks below vistas where pine trees frame each photo perfectly.  Picnics are still "in" as are strolls along the sand near Seal Rock lookout.  And golf continues to be the number one sport here for over 80 years.    The public courses include Poppy Hills, home of the Northern California Golf Association, the Links at Spanish Bay which is accessible when you stay at the Inn, Spyglass Hill which was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., Peter Hay Par-3 Course and famous Pebble Beach Golf Links with the Lodge, shops and dining.    Here's a partial list of highlights from the 17-Mile Drive tour: Shepherd's Knoll  - provides a vista with views of the Monterey Bay and Gabilan mountains Point Joe - spot where many ships crashed into the rocks, mistaking this for the Monterey Bay Bird Rock -  thousands of birds, seals and sea lions on towering off shore rocks. A pair of binoculars would be helpful to see them in their off coast location.   The Lone Cypress - You probably have seen this tree before. It is the trademark for the resort and actually exists, perched on a rock with a supporting cable to keep it from falling.   Fanshell Overlook - provides a vista to a white sand beach where seals molt seasonally The Ghost Tree - A bleached white Monterey Cypress looks dead as driftwood.  Lighting to photograph is best in the late afternoon. But look around and notice a forest of bleached white trees along the cliffs.  Restless Sea -  powerful, crashing waves at this location are created from the underwater rocks at Point Joe.   Not everyone can afford the luxury accommodations in Pebble Beach. The good news is that there are nearly 20 great hotels in Pacific Grove outside the gates of this upscale coastal community.     Carmel-by-the-Sea < Pebble Beach> Monterey