We had an amazing time in San Francisco and could have happily stayed a lot longer. Leaving the Bay Area marked that point on a great holiday upon which you realize the corner has been turned back toward home. There was a bit of sadness to this day, as unwelcome realities awaited us back home.
Sam played games on his Kindle and Kenny had one last relaxing soak in the Jacuzzi as parents cleaned the apartment and loaded the car. Photo by Blake.
Living in Colorado, we don’t get to experience the sea often enough, so we decided to take the coastal route for much of the drive south to Carpinteria. Photo by Sarah.
We stopped in Monterey for lunch with a nice view of the bay and yummy seafood. Photos by Blake.
Our original trip itinerary had us spending a couple days in Monterey, with intentions of getting out on the sea, going to Monterey Aquarium, visiting Carmel, and just walking on the beach. We really liked what we saw in just a couple hours there and wished that we had kept Monterey on the schedule somehow. Photo by Blake.
Sam and John Steinbeck. On the plaque is a passage from Steinbeck’s 1945 novel “Cannery Row” that describes Monterey’s historic industry and culture: “Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tune, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream. Cannery Row is the gathered and the scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honk tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flop houses…” Here’s Sam thinking, “Hey that doesn’t sound like the touristy, new-agey junk shops and beach gear retailers I’m seeing today!” Photos by Blake.
Deep blue sea. The rest of the day’s coastal drive was immensely beautiful but fraught with inexplicably slow drivers in places with straight roads and no view. Photo by Blake.
Hearst Castle. The buildings and grounds (165 rooms and 127 acres of grounds) were commissioned by William Randolph Hearst. We didn’t have time to visit, so this is a view from the road. After a stop at an In-N-Out Burger, we rolled into Carpinteria at about 8:00 pm. It was good to see Shawn and Alexis again, and to meet their daughter Emerson for the first time.
No comments:
Post a Comment