The heading explains the quiet 'round here, so let me update you on where I've been! Monterey/Santa Cruz/Oakland/San Francisco... Let's start at the beginning!
On the road - San Luis Obispo to Monterey
Getting to Monterey from San Luis Obispo, where my last post left off, was somewhat of a drama. Turns out the Amtrak trains are replaced by buses, as the rails are being worked on. This translates into a transfer after dark in a rural Californian Mexican-gang-town. (Something I didn't realise upon purchasing tickets...)
Fortunately I missed my transfer (sorry Salinas and your shady railway station, another time...) and had to be dropped off in Gilroy (garlic capital of the world) in the hopes of catching a late bus to Santa Cruz. Upon hearing my obviously clueless and mildly panic-stricken enquiries at a gas station about finding the bus stop, a man introduced himself and his wife, talking for a while and assuring me they weren't shady (they couldn't have looked it for trying), and insisted they drive me to the (shady) station.
Not only did they drive me, they checked the station was well lit and sussed the timetable for me, making sure the bus wasn't too far off. Romero and Sandra saved my bacon big time, and were only the first in a string of wonderful people I met on this leg of my trip.
I also met this an ancient Chinese guy on the bus who told me all about his book ("you will understand these things more when you buy my book"), recounted tales of lovers from his youth, and sang me a song he had written for his wife - very well, and very loud!
Monterey
After arriving in the dark in Monterey I spent all night trying to figure out how to get to Santa Cruz the next evening without a stopover in Salinas (turns out that as well as being a scary gang-town it's also a buzzing transport hub - thanks, Amtrak). Booking on an $80 USD shuttle later, I set out the next morning to explore Monterey's major claims to fame: its first-class aquarium and Cannery Row, the former heart of Monterey's sardine-canning industry made famous via John Steinbeck. (The irony of the Steinbeck-themed trinket stores...)
The waterfront area and Cannery Row were fairly typical tourist-strip type stuff, similar to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Yet the absence of crazy crowds and the beautiful winter light made it feel very peaceful - and the otters hanging out in the bay were adorable!!
The waterfront area and Cannery Row were fairly typical tourist-strip type stuff, similar to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Yet the absence of crazy crowds and the beautiful winter light made it feel very peaceful - and the otters hanging out in the bay were adorable!!
The aquarium lived up to its reputation and chilled me out after the transport mission! The highlight was probably this guy - surely the ugliest fish in the world:
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| Ocean sunfish |
Next up was a whale-watching mission setting out from Monterey wharf - 4 grey whales migrating south, and a pod of approximately 1500 (!) long-beaked common dolphins.
It was a beautiful day to be out on the water, and the views back to Monterey were gorgeous. That's the peninsula at Pebble Beach (below), home of the AT&T golf tournament, which was starting the next day.
On the boat I met a lovely couple in their mid-60s - Cate and Jim - who invited me to join them for dinner, and stay at their Pebble Beach home. Another couple introduced themselves to say they were driving up the coast the next day, and would be happy to make a detour to Santa Cruz for me.
Needless to say, I have been bowled over by the kindness of the folks I have met on my trip. It's quite an experience to accept hospitality and kindness, knowing that I cannot possibly give anything in return. I'm sure there's a lesson in there. At any rate, this is the lovely Cate:
And a picture taken on my morning walk around the neighbourhood (seeing deer, bluejays and beautiful Monterey pine forest).
Cate and Jim took me for a lovely dinner at their club, and made me feel like one of the family (me: Are you sure you don't mind my staying? Cate: What?! I was just thinking it was a shame both my boys are married!!), stuffing my backpack with treats and tissues when I left the next morning. I was sad to go!
Santa Cruz
My ride to Santa Cruz with the couple from the ferry (Maria and Lee, civil engineer and ex-naval officer) involved a stop for seafood lunch in Elkhorn Slough ("Al-korn Slew"). Lobster bibs ahoy!
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| Maria |
Santa Cruz proved to be a relatively quiet town, although a walk along the jetty rewarded me with sea lions and otters playing in the waves, and the old boardwalk looked fabulous in the wind and surf:
The folk here tended to be super new-age touchy-feely, yet somehow... aloof? The vibe is summed up in the Lonely Planet guide entry for Santa Cruz:
"The City Council spends more of its time debating whether medical marijuana dispensaries should be allowed than figuring out ways to help downtown's homeless population."
Ouch. Maybe I'd just been spoilt by the people I'd met over the previous days/maybe it was the mother-of-all-colds that was setting in... either way, when it came to push on I wasn't heartbroken to leave Santa Cruz behind.
The next chapter in my journey begins in Oakland, San Francisco - but this is an enormous post! So, I'm going to head out to Golden Gate park (apparently there's a museum with a RAIN FOREST inside!!) and hopefully make it to the Mission district for a wee explore. If you've made it all the way to the bottom of the post, well done! I'll report back soon with more Californian tales - soon to be Oregonian, next stop: Portland.
Lots of love,
Sarah
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