{Monterey}

“Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream. Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses. Its inhabitant are, as the man once said, "whores, pimps, gambler and sons of bitches," by which he meant Everybody. Had the man looked through another peephole he might have said, "Saints and angels and martyrs and holymen" and he would have meant the same thing.”

 John Steinbeck, Cannery Row

Who am I to argue with famous author John Steinbeck who grew up 30 miles from Monterey and Cannery row and had a love affair with this area, gathering much of the material for his books here (this has always fascinated me in itself as I also grew up near here, and have read his books).  

Monterey is in a word...beautiful.  The shops, the Cannery Row wharf, the aquarium, the ocean, the sea lions, the coastline, the quaint and beautiful town.  I think John Steinbeck would describe it differently in real life, and as you walk around you can't help but see why this author loved it here.

While Kurke was living his dream, the boys and I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  We remember when this opened in 1984 - the year we got married.  It was extra exciting because the Packards - of Hewlett Packard - donated a huge amount to make sure it came to fruition.  We took Ryan and a new baby Brittany there a few years later and now all these years later we visit again and find it to be just as amazing!  It is literally voted the top Aquarium in the U.S. every year.  Amazing programs, amazing things to look at and experience.  It's not just for kids.  We had a great day there and Taylor and Trent both thought it was awesome-sauce!!

 

 

 

 

 

Jelly's!!  I could not stop taking pictures of these.  They are so delicate and move so gracefully.  Beautiful!

 

 

Cannery Row - We had alot of fun with Kurke's panoramic camera feature on this trip.

Wonderful dinner, overlooking the ocean and the sea lions on the rocks, at The Fish Hopper.  While sitting there we had a rare sighting.  I was looking out and I could see dorsal fins - alot of them - going up and down in the water.  I told the guys it must be a big bunch of dolphins.  As they got closer they were identified as a big pack of Killer Whales.  WAY COOL!!   Pretty soon the whole restaurant was out of their seats and standing at the windows watching.  The manager of the restaurant said he had never seen that before in the years he has been there.  It was something to see for sure, they were big.  We are LUCKEEEeeeee!!

Evening walk on Pebble Beach - which is, of course, right by the golf course.  Well, the course wraps around the beach.

 

 

Kurke pointing out some of the golf course holes.