Category: Video

Traveling by Train to Lake Como, Italy

It was the first week of November and I was seating in a lakeside cafe in Lake Como, Italy. It was 54 degrees Fahrenheit; the sun was shining and the small city was crowded with tourists. Since the month was just starting, I could only imagine how crowded this popular tourist destination was during the summer. I was eating shrimp ravioli in a saffron and cream sauce while working my way through a half carafe of Italian Chardonnay. I’d been in Italy about five hours, and I was as happy as a clam. Lake Como was beautiful beyond belief and after spending four days in the gray rainy dreariness of Zurich, Switzerland to be sitting in the sunshine watching beautiful girls pass by I felt like I had won the lottery.

Yet it wasn’t easy to get here. While I had spent several hours online getting all the required documents and certifications that I needed to travel from the United States to Switzerland to meet all the COVID restrictions, I spent almost as much time getting the documents that I needed to travel from Switzerland to Italy. Because Switzerland is neutral, and Italy is part of the European Union, I had to acquire a complete new set of documents.

The main form that I needed was called the EU Digital Passenger Location Form also known as the dPLF. You can find the form at this web address https://app.euplf.eu/#/ .

The form is fairly simple to fill out. It’s only three pages long and has sections that include your permanent address, where you’re staying in Italy, how you’re entering the country either by train or by plane, how long you’re going to be there, what countries you’ve traveled to in the past 10 days and also if you were vaccinated. And then it has a declaration stating that you are vaccinated or have had a rapid test to prove that you do not have COVID. I filled out the form online and then downloaded the PDF onto my phone and also onto my computer. There is also a “Green Pass” QR code that you can use. This is the Italian version of the Swiss “Green Pass” which allows you to enter restaurants or concerts or museums. However, I found it very difficult to download even in its QR form. Unless you’re a citizen or are planning to stay there for a long time, the short-term passenger finds when they download the Italian Green Pass that it is only good for a couple of days and then you have to reapply for it. Instead of downloading their green pass, I just carried around my American passport with my vaccination card and that allowed me to get into any place that I needed to go.

So a warning for anyone who’s traveling to Italy from another part of Europe by train. No one will check your digital pass for the EU when you board the train. You must show it to the conductor when he comes through which was 30 minutes after I had boarded the train and we were already 20 miles down the tracks. When we crossed from Switzerland into Italy, the train stopped at the nearest station, and it was checked again. The conductor wanted to see my dPLF document and my vaccination card, because just like Switzerland they take this very seriously. If you don’t have the required material they will kick you off the train at the next station, and on many trains that cross borders there are armed police to enforce rules.

As you cross the border from Switzerland into Italy you will notice a very funny thing that happens. Switzerland is a very organized country. Its grass is cut, fences are fixed and there seems to be no trash anywhere. It’s not only a beautiful country, but also a well-maintained country as well. I saw little to no graffiti anywhere the entire time I was in Switzerland. Italy has a completely different mindset that is more relaxed about graffiti, the care of their lawns and their fences or their trash pickup. It’s as noticeable as night and day as you cross from Switzerland into Italy. Italy is a gorgeous country, it’s just a different way of life.

I had bought a ticket at the main train station in Zurich. The train from Zurich to Lake Como is about 3 hours. Traveling to Europe, you can be told if you’re an American that you need to buy a EuroRail pass online before you travel to Europe. That is not true at all. Europe is full of trains running in all different directions. Local trains, regional trains, and high-speed trains that cross borders. Trains are the main way that most people travel in Europe going from one place to another. It is not difficult to buy a train ticket, and the savings that you will get by buying a European Rail Pass in America online are not that significant. I personally just find it easier to go to the train station and buy the ticket that I need instead of worrying about which train my Rail Pass will allow me to get on.

I chose an excellent hostel that was located very close to the train station and was only four blocks from the main city square and two blocks from the lake shore. The hostel I chose is the Ostello Bello Lake Como Hostel and their address is Viale Fratelli Rosselli 9 Como, Italy 22100. I prefer staying in hostels as opposed to hotels for a couple of reasons. One they’re cheaper and two there is a built-in community of people who are doing the exact same thing that you are. It is an easy way to meet people. You already have something in common and they may have wonderful advice on places that you need to go see and things that you should do. I rented a single room with an ensuite bathroom. I’m just too old to share a dorm room with three or four other people. The room that I had rented was lovely with a view of a private garden and a bathroom with plenty of hot water.

Ostello Bello is a chain of hostels all throughout Italy, and you receive a discount of 10% to 20% at the other locations when you book through them. They have locations in Como, Florence, Milano, Rome as well as others though out the country. The hostels are all different in size and accommodations but the staff in each one is very friendly. I highly recommend them.

The town of Lake Como is not very big. The city centre is probably 10 blocks by 10 blocks and filled with cobblestone walkways, old churches and timeworn buildings but also filled with tons of restaurants and modern upscale shops. The city was founded by the Romans as a holiday getaway for the ultra-rich of Rome, and the gorgeous scenery of the lake and mountains is unparalleled with blue skies and snow-covered mountain peaks.

In my next blog, I write about all the things to do in Como from museums to visiting the ancient lakeside town of Bellagio.

Till then Ciao!

All photos and film by James Carey. Copyright CareyOn,LLC 2022.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM TRIPS WITH JAMES 2021

Christmas in Zurich, Switzerland

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! And thank you for following us this year. Hope 2022 is much better for you and yours!

Trips With James

Lake Como, Italy – A Short Film

An Amazing Italian Lake Vacation!

A short travel video of Lake Como, Italy from this year! A blog about traveling in Italy during COVID will be loaded soon. Happy Holidays 2021.

James Carey

Copyright 2021 – a film by James Carey @ CAREYON,LLC

A Cost of Freedom, a forgotten film finds new life!!

Old Short Film Wins New Awards

For followers of the blog, you may know that I am a film maker and theatre director. I am very pleased to announce that my short film that I just released to the international film festival circuit just a few weeks ago has already won an award in one festival and is a finalist in another.

(There is a link to the film at the bottom of this page.)

REALE FILM FESTIVAL IN MILAN, ITALY

A Cost of Freedom was a short film conceived in 2004 and shot in 2005. The story is based on a short story by Italian writer, Luigi Pirandello, called War. Pirandello lived from 1867 to 1934. Pirandello’s basic story is a group of parents riding on a train after World War 1 all talking about how their sons died in the war. Some are proud, some are hopelessly sad, some are just hopeless. The story when I first read it in college has always provoked deep emotion in me about the futility of sending young men and women to war, while the makers of war never seem to fight themselves.

PRISMA FILM FESTIVAL IN ROME, ITALY

I was moved to make the film when I read about young men and women who were not US citizens but grew up in the States legally (green card holders) that volunteered to the various services when we were attacked in the 2001 World Trade Center attack (9/11). It has always been the policy of the US Armed Services to give full citizenship to these green card soldiers if they die in combat allowing them to get a military funeral and their families the few benefits that the armed services give out. Yet, when the Iraq War was started by the Bush administration they needed a lot of new soldiers because we were now fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq at the same time. President Bush got the law changed to now not only offer US citizenship to the dead soldier but to their immediate families as well. A lot of young green card holders saw this as a way to create a pathway to citizenship for their families so they joined the war effort. I took Pirandello’s story and mixed it with the stories of young non-US citizens fighting for us in Iraq to make a film which I felt paid honor to those sacrifices but also laid bare the hypocrisy of this system of using non-US citizens to fight in our wars.

ACTORS MORRIS SCHORR AND THERESE MCLAUGHLIN

Yet when I started to make the film, I found different people reacted to my little antiwar film script in very different ways, especially when I needed a real army uniform for one of my characters. The actor I chose for that part was actually a reserve officer but to use his uniform he had to get permission from his commander. To my everlasting surprise, the commander not only approved the use of the uniform but also gave us access to many other unit elements like official flags and posters and emblems.

ACTOR JOSE ANTONIO

And that has always been the reaction to the film. People have seen past my limited view of my own film to the human elements of love and grief and pride in these real life stories and Pirandello’s brilliant original short story.

ACTOR ABRAHAM CHAIDEZ

The film came out in 2007, a time where there was really no place to view short films. There were festivals back in the day, but it was an expensive and time consuming effort to get your films around the country and the world to be viewed with no real idea that it would be screened. So A Cost of Freedom just sat on a shelf for almost 16 years until a young film editor named Tal Anderson re-edited the film for me and updated the sound and some minor effects. Since its re-release, the film has won a Best Drama award at the Reale Film Festival in Milan, Italy and is now a Finalist at the Rome Prisma Independent Film Awards Festival (in Rome, Italy).

I want to congratulate my cast and crew from back in 2005 especially my producer, Vivian Best, who is now a famous feature photographer, plus my new film editor in 2021 for their hard work and efforts. The praise and accolades should have been there long ago, but at least people are now seeing and enjoying this story told by a lot of very talented people. There is a link to the film below –

Yours, James Carey – Filmmaker of A Cost of Freedom!

https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/638267918

https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/638267918

A Visit to Zurich, Switzerland in the COVID Age.

Visit to Zurich Post COVID

The city of Zurich, Switzerland may seem like a strange place to visit in winter, but the offer of a really cheap roundtrip ticket kind of sealed the deal, so off to Zurich I went. But in the age of COVID travel a few things are different than they used to be.

A Day in Zurich – A Short Film

First, every different country will require some form of COVID vaccination proof and that includes countries that you are just passing thru waiting for your next plane at the airport. My flights were through London Heathrow and then onto Zurich. Britain requires you to fill out a form called the Passenger Locator Form that you can find at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/passenger-locator-form-how-to-guide. This will tell you everything that you need to know about the form and what information that you will need to provide. You have to do this within the 48 hours before you take off or the airline will not let you board the plane at all. There is no debate about this – no form, no fly. The UK will process it quickly and let you know if you pass. If you are full vaccinated you will have no problem but you must upload a digital copy or a photo of your vaccination card with the form. You need the plane number and your arrival time and takeoff time. They will give you a QR code you can use on your phone but I suggest to also take a paper copy along just in case. Remember this form is only for passing through Britain, if you are planning on staying that is an entirely different process so check ahead. You may still need to quarantine for up to 10 days if not fully vaccinated and you will have to pay for tests and other fees on top.

Limmet River

Because Switzerland is not part of the EU, I also needed to get permission from Switzerland to enter and stay. You can find out all the needed information from this official website of Switzerland – https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/en/home/krankheiten/ausbrueche-epidemien-pandemien/aktuelle-ausbrueche-epidemien/novel-cov/empfehlungen-fuer-reisende.html – here you will find information on requirements and a link to the form that you have to fill out. They also have a handy link called Travelcheck that can take you through exactly what you need to do step by step. Remember the form must also be filled out and approved before you can even get on the plane or a train to enter the country. They will also give you a QR code but take a paper copy along as well.

Cathedral in Old Town

Switzerland also gives you a separate Vaccination QR code so that you are able to go into bars or restaurants or theaters or concerts. Any place where people gather inside. I must stress that all stores and restaurants and bars in Zurich check this QR code religiously. You cannot enter into any establishment and stay unless you can provide them with vaccination proof. I could never quite figure out how to download that code although that QR code and the information are also on the Switzerland site. The official name of that department is the Federal Office of Public Health or the FOPH. When people asked for my QR code I kept showing them the one on my entry document which always came back negative, and I was even asked to leave a restaurant once when I could not provide it to them. However if you carry your American passport and your American vaccination card around, they will accept that and you will be able to get in any place and do normal things. Just don’t lose it!

Lake Zurich fountain

And one more thing before we move onto what it’s like to visit Zurich. Please wear your mask! The Swiss do not play around with this. You are required to enter any establishment with a mask on and if you do not they will ask you to leave. If you want to argue or fight with them about your right not to wear a mask, they will just call the police. Please remember this is not the United States. This is a separate country with separate rules that their people follow in order to get along. You are expected to follow those rules. It doesn’t matter what you believe or how you feel about the subject. You are required to wear a mask indoors. Now when you sit down to eat you can take your mask off, but you must wear your mask even when getting up to go to the bathroom.

Limmit River

Now after all that required research and form filling out, did I find Zurich to be a a good place to visit? The answer would be yes. I was using Zurich as a jumping off point to cross into Italy which has its own separate rules and regulations about COVID and traveling in Italy which I will cover in my next article. Yet the city of Zurich is beautiful, very historic and a very modern city with all the conveniences that you would want in terms of transportation, entertainment and things to do and see.

Zurich Operahaus

Zurich is a global center for banking and finance. It lies at the north end of Lake Zurich in northern Switzerland. I chose to stay in a part of the city centre which is called Old Town because it is truly where the city was first founded as a military outpost by the Romans around the time of Julius Caesar. Old Town is very picturesque and runs on either side of the Limmat River. Here you will find historic buildings that reflect the deep and rich past of the Swiss like the 17th-century Rathaus (town hall) or massive clock towers and giant cathedrals.

Old Town at night

I flew into Zurich International after dark and while most people in Zurich speak English, the official language of this part of Switzerland is German. French is the preferred language on the side of Switzerland closest to France. Despite the fact that English is a prominent language there are no signs that are in English. Everything is in German, so at first I was confused trying to find my way around. There’s a large train station right outside the airport with trains and subways and trams running in all directions. I finally with the help of strangers found the correct train that leads into Old Town and also the main railroad terminal for the city of Zurich. Coincidentally the train station is located on the most prominent and upscale shopping street in Zurich which is Bahnhofstrasse.

Fountain on Lake Zurich

I chose to stay at a highly recommended hostel which provided me with a private room and bathroom for about $100 US a night. The hostel was on the other side of the river from the train station about a 10-minute walk. The hostel is called the Old Town Hostel Otter and is recommended by both traveladvisor.com and booking.com. It still had all the standard aspects of a hostel with a public kitchen and shared dorm rooms and bathrooms but also offered private accommodations. There’s also a fully stocked and friendly bar downstairs. Their check in process is a little complicated so I will leave it to their website to try and explain that to you, but I do recommend them as a high-quality hostel. You can find their website by searching on Google or information and ratings about them on traveladvisor.com or booking.com.

View from Uetilberg

I was in Zurich for three days. The first day I did nothing but walked the quaint cobblestone streets and narrow alleyways of Old Town. I wandered up and down ancient streets and over bridges coming across interesting alleyways, upscale stores, little churches and giant cathedrals. I did not hire a tour guide or use any particular tourist map of Old Town. It’s not real large and very hard to get lost in because everything is centered off the river which splits Old Town down the center.

Lake Zurich

The next day I walked along the promenades that line both sides of Lake Zurich discovering marinas, parks and interesting neighborhoods plus the impressive Zurich Operahaus. I also went sightseeing on Bahnhofstrasse and admired the pre-Christmas window displays of the high-end stores that reflect every famous fashion brand. It was fun to watch the chic and well-dressed Swiss as they rushed from place to place as I sipped my café latte in one of the many cafes and coffee bars that line both Bahnhofstrasse and the alleyways of Old Town.

View from Uetilberg

On the third day I just went to the train station to make sure I knew what train I was taking to Italy the next morning, and on a spur of the moment decision, I took the S10 train to Uetilberg Mountain. Uetilbeg overlooks the city giving you panoramic views of Zurich, the lake, and the surrounding area. It was beautiful this time of year and I imagine in summer it is breathtaking.

View from Uetilberg

The cuisine choices of Zurich are broad and mostly good. I found everything from Asian to hamburgers to jazz bars and first rate restaurants. If you’re looking for something good to eat, I am sure that you can find it in Zurich, but it won’t be inexpensive. The Swiss have maintained their own currency which is known as the Swiss franc and currently the exchange rate is $1.15 US to 1 Swiss Franc.

The temperatures in the first part of November were in the 40’s F but there was no snow anywhere except on the mountain tops in far distance. Make sure that you have an umbrella just in case because the weather on the lake can change at a moment’s notice from sunshine to rain and back again in a matter of minutes. Time in Zurich runs on a 24 hour clock as opposed to our 12 hour clock in the United States. So what Americans would consider as 1 PM would be 13:00 in Switzerland and in most of Europe.

Enjoy Zurich, it’s a great city!

All photos and short film are by James Carey @CareyON, LLC.

Zurich, Switzerland- A short video

A day in Zurich!

I hope you enjoy the video. A blog on traveling to Zurich in the age of COVID will be coming in the next days.

Whale Sharks @ The Georgia Aquarium

The Amazing Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, GA

A city that I visit frequently is Atlanta, GA, and one of the places that I have never been in Atlanta is their world-famous Georgia Aquarium. So one winter afternoon I walked over from my Airbnb condo in mid-town Atlanta to this amazing complex and was absolutely enthralled with how it is set up, the size of their main aquarium and the five giant whale sharks that they have swimming around.

Georgia Aquarium is a public aquarium and is home to hundreds of species and thousands of animals across its seven major galleries which contain over 10,000,000 US gallons of water both fresh and saltwater.

The Whale Sharks are a major attraction since they are so rare in captivity. They are members of the shark family, so they’re not mammals like whales. They are a slow-moving filter feeding carpet shark and they do not hunt or eat other fish. They will not attack you. They do eat plankton like whales, so they have that in common along with their size.

They’re not whales but they are the world’s largest fish. These huge creatures can grow up to 40 feet long but despite their size, whale sharks are often referred to as gentle Giants. The largest known whale shark ever recorded came in at around 62 feet long.

And for those of you who are offended by aquariums, these sharks do not do tricks. No creatures in the entire facility do any kind of tricks for humans or human audiences. The aquarium is an observation and study space for all creatures both freshwater and saltwater. Whale sharks are not well known as they keep to themselves and are usually solitary. These five make up the most whale sharks in one place anywhere in the world that are in an aquarium setting.

The aquarium is not inexpensive to get into. My ticket ran me $39.00 with online service charges because during Covid this is a non cash facility only accepting debit and credit cards. You must buy your tickets in advance and only online.  Tickets may be purchased at this address. https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/tickets/

Parking is another $18.00 per car. However inside they have a full restaurant and bar offering cocktails, wine and many local craft beers from the Atlanta area. They have a petting area where children and adults can touch and feel the texture of starfish and various other sea creatures. They have albino alligators; they have flesh eating piranha from the Amazon River, they have fish and sea snakes and sea eels from all around the world plus they also have a freshwater section for fish that you would find in streams in North America. Of all the aquariums that I have visited including Long Beach, CA’s Aquarium of the Sea this is by far the most extensive and largest aquarium facility I have ever seen.

They also have an extensive collection of Penguins from various parts of the world and they are considered one of the best facilities for rescue and treating injured and orphaned fish and sea mammals in the world. Oddly enough, they are considered the top rehabilitation facility for rescued orphan and injured California sea otters.

An as an added bonus for $350.00 you can go scuba diving in the main aquarium area with an experienced diver as your guide. There are no sharks in this particular tank although they do have a very extensive Shark Tank filled with nurse sharks, hammerhead sharks, and tiger sharks. All of these are deadly predators.

This is one fun day to spend with the fishes! This is something that the whole family can enjoy or a couple looking for something different to do on a romantic outing or just a solo trip by yourself to enjoy the amazing Georgia Aquarium.

The aquarium is located at 225 Baker St NW Atlanta GA 30313. Phone number is 404-581-4000. Website is www.georgiaaquarium.org.

Laurels for Divorce During Pandemic

I am sorry for the delay in my short feature on Zion National Park in Utah. The final article is coming soon.

Online Virtual festival dealing with films that are about the Pandemic and its effects.

I have been taking care of the overwhelming response that my short film, Divorce During Pandemic has generated. In the last 3 weeks, my film has been accepted into 5 festivals and been invited into over 300 more. Now films have to pay a fee when you submit to a festival but when get accepted there the possibility of awards plus notice and the opportunity for other work if people like your film. So to be invited to over 300 festivals is very rewarding but also time consuming to read about each festival and decide to attend or not plus stay within the festival budget for a small film with no stars, just very good actors.

Famous festival based in La Jolla, California

The logos that you are seeing as part of this article are the laurels that you receive from a festival when your film is selected as an Official Selection. If you win an award, then you get another laurel stating what you won. The laurels may not seem like much but they are what the industry uses to let people know that this film is doing well or worth seeing. Many more films receive no laurels than get one.

Festival promoting film work in south Georgia, USA.

So this platform will return to travel related articles very soon, but as the progress of this film continues, we will also let you know about that as well.

Festival in Istanbul, Turkey

Thank you for your continued support and understanding.

Yet another festival in Istanbul, Turkey.

James Carey, Senior Writer,Tripswithjames.com and Director of Divorce During Pandemic.

The Making of Divorce During Pandemic!

Shooting a short film during Covid 19!

When you are a director of either film or theatre, or any other type of live or filmed performance art form, the ultimate excitement is to be able to do your project with a truly excellent group of professionals. Professionals who are dedicated to their craft and actually know what they’re doing. That was my experience recently when I shot the short film Divorce During Pandemic, a short film script that I had written based on real events and I had the opportunity to turn into an actually short film.

Crew shooting a close up of the lead actor.

Of all the types of directing that exist in the performing arts, directing film is the ultimate experience for a director. In any other form of live performance as much as the director wants to control the final product they cannot, because it’s live and the final product will change every single performance. Live performance is up to the live performers not to the person who conceived it or directed it or produced it. Yet with film, the director gets to choose how to tell the story because they control the edit of how the film will look. Now of course they had to get the correct shots and coverage in order to be able to tell that story but once you have that you can tell a story out of sequence, or you can change the narrative of who the story is about, or really the possibilities are limitless given the imagination of the director and the amount of footage that they shot.

Director of Photography Fernando Madero framing a shot.

Divorce During Pandemic is exactly that. It’s a true-life story of what happened when a married couple that is breaking up exchanges divorce documents during the early weeks of the pandemic. That could be sad, but the situation could be surreal as well, because the couple is wearing masks and gloves and practicing social distance. The film could be funny or a comment on not only the breakup of the marriage but the distance that’s created between a couple when they’re forced to wear mask and gloves to deal with each other. So in the editing room I was presented with the opportunity to either make a dark comedy or a sad tale of two people struggling to move on with their lives. I’m not going to tell you which choice was made you’ll just have to wait to see the film. Yet the opportunity to work with skilled professionals – a director of photography, a sound mixer, a camera assistant, a grip, a production manager and first assistant director who were top notch and a team of producers who gave me everything that I needed to shoot my movie under budget was amazing. Who could ask for more!?

The director discussing the next setup with the DP.

Yet we had the added element of shooting during a world changing virus, so we had to be concerned for the safety of the cast and crew who were truly heroic in shooting this short. My producers provided us with all the PPE that we needed and tried to keep following social distancing, but shooting a film is so all encompassing when you are doing it that it is hard to always remember to stand 6 feet apart. Yet, we managed and all are safe and well, and the film looks great.

The talented Laura Walker (The Wife) waiting for her next take.

So the film is currently in post-production as we do color correction, fix the sound, and work on the opening title and closing credits. Hopefully, the film will be on the festival circuit in the next few weeks and we’ll be talking about it more here at TripswithJames.com. I would like to take the opportunity to thank my cast and crew for the outstanding work that they did that day, and to thank them for the amazing ultimate experience of directing – shooting a film with professionals on a script that you have written and watching it all come to life beautifully ! What more could have film artists ask for? My answer – absolutely nothing!

The gifted David J. Phillips plays The Husband.

More to come on Divorce During Pandemic in the coming weeks!   

Special thanks to Corbin Timbrook, Shelby Janes, David J. Philllips, Laura Walker, Fernando Madero, Garrett Stone, Reece Miller, Genaro Magana, Kirk Bruner, Attic Studios.

Daily Video – July 20, 2020 – Fort Ord Beach, Monterey, CA.

Sound of waves at deserted Fort Ord Beach located at Ford Ord Dunes State Park, Marina, CA

Fort Ord Dunes State Park is a relatively new California state park that protects the beach and dunes for a four-mile stretch south of Marina State Beach. This is an excellent beach with a remote feel below undeveloped bluffs that offers some excellent beachcombing. The parking area is on the former site of Stilwell Hall, a 52,000 square foot officers club and hall that was part of nearby Fort Ord military base. The main part of the base, which was decommissioned in 1991, is a large inland tract with hiking trails and wild open lands that is now Fort Ord National Monument. Access to the Fort Ord Beach requires quite a walk from the parking lot on the bluff to the beach below. Head south from the lot along the gated paved road until you see a trail on the right and then hike down the sandy gulch. If you don’t want to make that trek, then you can walk out a boardwalk trail to the bluff’s edge and a viewing platform. The Monterey Bay Coastal Trail runs parallel to Highway 1 for this entire 4-mile park and continues north and south to make a great bike ride.

Getting here is a little tricky. Find Divarty Street near Cal State Monterey Bay in Seaside then head west and follow signs that say Fort Ord Dunes State Park.

Or take the PCH in Marina take the Imjin Exit, you can only go east at the top of the exit ramp. Drive to 2nd Ave and go right. Drive to 9th Street and turn right. Follow 9th around the traffic circle and cross back over the freeway and you are at the parking lot for the beach and the Dunes Park.

Do not swim there because of very strong rip tides and currents. Be careful. There are no life guards at this beach at all. Yet this is a very beautiful beach without many people and beautiful sunsets over Monterey Bay.