All Things Steinbeck

So, I am going to try different styles for these first few posts.  I need to see what works with what, as with the Y'Stone post, that lends itself well to wordy posts.  Some that I have might just be more picture based.  I am letting the posts do what they want.

Beach in Monterrey CA

So, since I left Yellowstone, I have gone on to major trips.  The first one was a year ago this Halloween.  I went to visit my dear friend Ashley out in Monterrey California.  Ashley and I have been friends for years, since our Waldsee days.  And she know of my deep love of John Steinbeck, especially of Cannery Row which coincidentally enough is in Monterrey.  So armed with my vacation pay, I hoped on a plane and headed for the coast and headed to Monterrey the Mecca for my Steinbeck lovin' heart.

Oooh look a courtyard, California is chalk full of them, and they are pretty with gardens.  So the first thing I did was walk to the harbour just to get my bearings, and of course to call my bestest friend.

 Yep, a harbor, boats, pretty much a standard view from my trip.  This was by Fisherman's Wharf.  I spent a quite a bit of time here, it was a wonderful spot to drink coffee, read, write or enjoy the gorgeous weather.

John Steinbeck

The best thing was that everything that I wanted to see was in walking distance. So that meant I could walk to Cannery Row.  Now, I was expecting a commercialized Cannery Row, I had no delusions that it would not be a tourist destination.  And it delivered, but it still had a feel about it, too me at least, that reminded me of the book and what it must have been like back in the days of sardine canning. 

Old Cannery Boilers

At the very end of Cannery Row, in an old cannery building is the Monterrey bay Aquarium.  It is a wonderful place, very open, and designed well, that and they have programs and speakers there all day.  I watched on sharks, it was very interesting.  The rest of the row is lined with shops and restaurants.  There are some museums and the old buildings are fixed up and are part of a walking tour.  

The other thing about Monterrey that was awesome was not only was there a city wide "path of history", but on almost every block in Old Monterrey, there were public gardens.  And I love gardens, so of course I went though each one at least twice.  Taking pictures of flowers is one of my favorite things to do.  Ashley and I also went to Carmel-by-the-Sea (did you know that Clint Eastwood used to be mayor there?), Salinas-to the Steinbeck Museum, and Pacific Grove.  Carmel-by-the-Sea, was a little tourist, boutique, ridiculously expensive town.  Had a great beach.  The Steinbeck museum in Salinas will probably have its own post dedicated to it.  

Full Moon Rise, seen while whale watching

While in Monterrey I went whale watching.  It was an amazing few hours on a boat.  We didn't see much, but we did see 2 whales and several dolphins.  And if you look in the water when the boat is leaving the harbor, you can see hundreds of jelly fish, now what could be cooler than that?