Tag Archives: Monterey

Hump Day

Hump Day is the term we typically use with a bit of excitement in our voice.  Its the home stretch, it’s rounding third.  We can see the weekend and we begin to make plans.  Unless you are on vacation.  Then Hump Day is the day you realize you are headed back to reality sooner rather than later.

We have reached Hump Day.

We decided to keep things low-key and piddle around Monterey.  Opting for travel by foot rather than car was a good choice and kept us fairly close to the hotel.  A few cups of crappy hotel coffee started the day and we decided to just throw on some layers and strike out for a morning adventure.  I think we got our first taste of “regular” weather.  A little cool, grey and foggy.  It doesn’t make for a great hair day, but it was nice.  Different.  A quick stop in a cafe for more daily fuel and we were headed to Lover’s Point.  The City of Monterey has a great pedestrian and bike path that hugs the coast for miles.  It is a great way to see the city without too much navigational effort.  Every turn offered a different view of this beautiful coast line. It’s so odd to see the otters and seals napping in what must be the coldest water in the world.  Of course, now that I have seen the warning signs for Great White Sharks, I will only be imagining the temperature of the water. We were enjoying the stroll so much, we just kept going.  The paved bike path turned into gravel but stayed right on the water’s edge through a beautiful neighborhood in Pacific Grove.

After a quick clean up, we wanted to take in a super touristy lunch and do some people watching.  Off to the Wharf.  You know the Wharf, the Strip, the Pier… every coastal town has one.  A few t-shirt shops, a fudge shop and seafood restaurants that serve triangle shape fish.  The grey morning had given way to a sunny warm day.  A big fish sandwich, a few cold beers and lots of people watching while we soaked up the afternoon sun.  Note from the author – If ever you see Me and Mr. P having lunch and drinking a beer in the sun, and you walk by in a ridiculous outfit or with a ridiculous dog in a ridiculous outfit, we are certain to talk about you.  More otters and seals and even some little tikes at surf school (guess their parents don’t read signs) joined us along the beach at the Wharf as we took in our fill of the touristy scene.

It was time for some digital therapy so we found a cigar shop with WiFi.  Mr. P worked on his blog post while I posted some pictures on social media.  Let me take a brief moment to describe my relationship with social media.  One a scale of 1-10, I would rate myself about a 4.  I have the accounts and I scroll through them most days.  Post pictures of my kids, my dog and of course Mr. P.  And maybe watch a cat video.  That’s about it.  Now, let me take another moment and tell you what I hate about social media.  The Perfect People.  Posting everything about their perfect life.  Food, children, husbands, decorations, crafts, and even gym pics.  And then there is the daily affirmation, my favorite.  This is where they assume we must feel crappy about our lives compared to theirs and they feel obligated to share some hope for us.  I say all of this because for this one week I have become one of the Perfect People.  I have posted more pictures, said things like great and beautiful so many times its nauseating, but I can’t help it.  I have a one week pass to Perfect People land and I am going to use it.

Back to Hump Day.   The day was coming to an early end at a great local sushi bar called Crystal Fish.  Nothing fancy just a little bite and some wine.  We need to rest and focus.  It all begins tomorrow.  The journey to Shangri-La.  The Holy Land for my Mr. P.

The Great Detour

Breakfast at the Ten Inverness Way B&B brings our fellow travelers from Massachusetts and Austin, Texas together.  With a slightly perceptible judgement that Shannon and I were “related”given our home town revelation, the affable conversation soon turns to progressive proclamations – “Austin isn’t diverse enough!” is only TRUMPED by “Barack Obama is my hero!” – time for Stevie to depart and with confederate pride in check, I excuse myself from the table.  Packed up again, our mighty Toyota steed carries us along California Route 1 to Stinson Beach.  Life is full of forks in the road and the inevitable wonders of what may had the other direction been chosen…… then again, alternate routes occur in our existence that we don’t even realize – our plans to follow the curvy glorious coast soon screech to a halt by a bright yellow Detour sign.  Obeying the command, we turn left and begin a leeward tack required to scale the mountain.  Stopping at each interval, our view of the ocean and the distant coastline  grows more remarkable as the elevation escalates.  From the top of precipice we begin a roller coaster ride through soaring trees and edge along cliff drops that threaten certain oblivion.  Reaching the end, a bag of chips settles our stomachs and highway 101 and San Francisco await.  Siri and Shannon navigate us through the Robin Williams tunnel that ends with a visual crescendo of the Golden Gate Bridge in the foreground.  Onward we push through until Route 1 appears again that steers us towards the coastline.  The weather continues to amaze and offers scenic stops at beaches along the way.  Repelling stairs is required to reach the sand  and the crashing waves in the coves.  We’ve enjoyed seeing many of Cali’s fruits and nuts during this journey and the beach offers another version as Shannon soon queries, “is he naked?”  Adorned only in a large hat that protects his scalp leaving Big Jim and the Twins exposed to the ravages of the sun, one of the local indigenous personnel proudly exhibits his tanlineless physique!

Half Moon Bay is our lunch stop and the Ritz offers a beautiful respite.  A walk outside afterwards reveals the golf course that teeters on the edge of the crashing surf below.  The trip continues through Santa Cruz traffic and pea-soup fog until Monterey soon looms in the near distance.  The Monterey Plaza is a beautiful hotel and after a 5K run to stretch and explore, we dine in and end the day with growing anticipation of what lies ahead.