Monterey,
Sunday-Wednesday: I
stayed at a nice motel in Monterey - even had a fireplace in
the room. It wasn't that cold, but I had to turn it on.
Monday: I
spent most of the day in Monterey - visiting the Aquarium and
Cannery Row. The Aquarium is the best, but I can't help
but think about the Star Trek movie whenever I visit. Cannery
Row is a bit cleaned up from the last time I visited ~10 yrs.
ago. A few more restaurants and nicer stores and
galleries. I
contemplated buying a print at the Ansel Adams gallery, but
somehow I resisted. I ate a late lunch/early dinner
at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. on Cannery Row. It was ok. Mostly
for the tourists.. which guess I was. I wouldn't go back. I
spent the late afternoon at Point Lobos State Park taking pictures
and hiking around the trails. I only had a couple of
hours before closing, but I had planned to return, so it was
fine. I
had an 'exciting' evening, if you can call it that - in a laundromat
washing clothes with the locals. Mostly, populated by
young singles.
Tuesday: Pt.
Lobos. My
favorite place in Monterey/Carmel. I took loads of pictures
and hiked the easy trails along the shoreline and had a nice
picnic lunch. But
first I had to go shopping at the local mall. I needed
to buy a light long sleeve shirt. Not because it was
cold. But
because i was still suffering from the sunburn I got in the
High Sierras and I needed to cover up. I ate dinner at a thai
restaurant across from my hotel. Again, good but not memorable.
Wednesday: Last
day in Monterey. I decided to check out of my hotel "early" and
have breakfast in Carmel then "window shop" at
the galleries. Had a nice breakfast at a small little
cafe called " Em Le's". Much better than the
Denny's I ate at earlier in the week. Yech. Afterwards
I wandered up and down the village visiting and peeking my
head into various galleries and gift shops. Lots of nice
places with garden "stuff" or decor. I wanted to
get something, but nothing said "Buy ME!" plus
the fact that I parked blocks and a few hills away and the
stuff I liked were heavy. One way to conserve money. Before
I left Carmel, I stopped off at the grocery to pick up something
to cook in camp and other essentials (bottle of wine etc.) By
the time I left Carmel it was about 2PM. The short drive
to Big Sur (26 mi) was very nice - stopped a couple of times
for Kodak moments. Missed a big moment though. The
famous bridge you always see - I noticed to late to make the turnoff.
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comments.
