One hot January day

Ever since Nancy found out that the American Tin Cannery Outlet Center was pet friendly, she has wanted to pay them a visit.  Our tentative plan was for her to do that while I was checking out the nearby Monterey Bay Aquarium, but I never got around to seeing the Aquarium, and now our time here is nearly at an end.  Since today is the last full day we will have the Fiat, we decided that the outlet stores would be at the top of our list of things to do and that all three of us would go.

We have driven by the building almost every day we've been here, and the high pedestrian traffic in the area around it led me to believe that it was as busy inside, but that is not the case.  At least half the spaces were vacant.  The even bigger surprise for me, though, was Candy World.  Can you imagine, an outlet store for candy!

We then went to a used book store so that Nancy could replenish her stock of reading material.  Sadie and I stayed in the car and I took pictures out the window of the buildings across the street.

By this time, it was already past noon and we were hungry, so I suggested a pizzeria in Seaside that had caught my eye several times lately.  If you have ever lived in southern California, you have probably heard of them, but for me, it was a delightful discovery.  The place is called Me-n-Ed's.  They've been in business since 1958 and have restaurants in 32 cities, with 15 locations in Fresno alone.

While we sat in the car waiting for our pizza to bake, we heard drumming.  I went to explore and found a drumming circle in one of the vacant spaces in the strip mall.  They had the double doors propped open and when I looked in, the sound waves felt like someone was drumming on my chest.  My curiosity satisfied, I beat a hasty retreat.  As I got back in the car, the drumming stopped, so I proudly announced to Nancy that I had just told them to knock it off.

We took our Tuscan Harvest pizza back to the RV and finished off all but two slices for lunch.  Bet you can guess what we had for dinner.

We then went to the beach.  We had no choice.  Really.  It was almost 70 degrees and sunny and we probably won't get to go again before we leave.  I'm sure you understand.

Day 113
Monterey, CA

Daily Mileage:  0

Carmel, redux

On our second day in Monterey, we explored Carmel in the RV.  At the time we thought we were only going to be here another day and wanted to see as much as we could before moving on.  Carmel, however, is one of those places like Bennington, Vermont, that were fully formed long before the advent of the horseless carriage, much less the motorhome, and it felt like I was driving a 108 foot wide battleship through the 110 foot wide Panama Canal--doable, but only just.

Once again, having almost reached the end of our stay, we returned in the Fiat for a better look.  Various errands distracted us until early afternoon, and we arrived to find we were late for the party.  The sidewalks on Ocean Avenue were packed, and even in a Fiat, there was no place to park, so we moved on to the beach.  This proved to be just as crowded.  We drove almost the entire length before finding a empty parking spot.

We did our major walk for the day down on the beach.  We hadn't gotten close enough to see it on our first visit and we were pleasantly surprised by how large it was.  It was the only chance I had today to get out the camera, but the beach was actually so big, it was hard to get really interesting shots.  Here are a few that did pass muster.  The golf course in the background is the world famous Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Day 112
Monterey, CA

Daily Mileage:  0

Another day, another wave

Photo of the day

Day 111
Monterey, CA

Daily Mileage:  0

An encounter with a poet

We had stopped at this spot to watch the waves for a minute when a man came up behind us.  He excused himself to get our attention then introduced himself as a local poet.  He was beta testing a poem, so to speak, before presenting it to the world at large.  Would we listen to it and tell him what we thought?

Nancy is not much of a people person, so I was going to brush him off when, to my surprise, she piped up and said we would.

He pulled out some folded sheets of paper.  My first thought was, how many sheets?  My second thought was, how small is the type?

He unfolded the paper and put the two pages in the proper order, adjusted his glasses, and began reading in a soft Russian accent.  The last line made me laugh which he took the wrong way, so I quickly reassured him that I though it quite good.  Nancy agreed and told him she particularly liked his delivery which put him at ease.

He asked where we were from and when we told him, he said that he had been to Alaska once many years ago and that as a young man he had read Jack London who was very popular with Russians.

Then, quite unexpectedly, he gave us his poem.

A moment later, I surprised him, and myself, by asking for permission to take his picture.

Rudolph Tenenbaum, Poet

Day 110
Monterey, CA

Daily Mileage:  0

Big Sur

If someone said Big Sur, the image that popped into my head was always the Bixby Bridge, although in all honesty I had no idea that it even had a name until today.  Beyond that, Big Sur was just a jumble of associations I had built up over the years--hippies, spectacular scenery, serenity, New Age retreats.

Today, Nancy and I drove down to Big Sur, only to find out after we got back that Big Sur stretches 80 miles from Carmel to San Simeon and we only drove the first third of it.  While we stopped frequently to admire the view and take pictures, we obviously still have no idea of what Big Sur really is.

A little bit of Big Sur

Bixby Bridge

Bixby Bridge

Point Sur

Point Sur Lighthouse

A whole lot of birds

Day 109

Monterey, CA

Daily Mileage:  0

Like our own private estate

Everyday here starts with a walk on the fairgrounds.  Parts of it are very parklike and we often have the place completely to ourselves.

Scattered throughout the grounds are wood carvings.  It took us some time but I think we have finally spotted them all.  My photo of the day is one of them.

Day 108
Monterey, CA

Daily Mileage:  0

Going back for more

It was overcast, the perfect day to return to Moss Landing and the sea lions.  I used a tripod and shot almost 10 minutes of pretty fair video.  Afterwards, Nancy and I stopped for some deep fried artichokes at the Lighthouse Harbor Grill.  I thought they were quite tasty but, hey, they were deep fried!  Nancy thought they were just okay.  She also thought the service was too slow--it was-- and wonders how they stay in business.  I thought the place had a lot of character and wouldn't mind going back.

It was probably our last visit.

Tonight, we were back at the fairgrounds at sunset.  I stepped outside the RV and snapped this.

 
Day 107
Monterey, CA

Daily Mileage:  0