Pacific Grove

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In May/June of 1988 Kate and I did a cross country trip to San Francisco. She had her KBS conference in Berkeley and I had a Usenix conference in San Francisco. In between we had week long holiday in Pacific Grove (which at the south end of Monterey Bay; Santa Cruz is at the north end). The picture at left shows Kate on the rocks at the bay.

Monterey Bay is the site for Steinbeck's "Cannery Row" and the remains of the Cannery Row are still there in city of Monterey. The fishing industry is no longer, although you still see lots of pleasure craft in the harbors along the bay.

We were really surprised at how cold the water is here, and all along the coast. Kate had hoped to go swimming in the ocean but soon discovered that would not work very well, if at all! There is a current that brings very cold water to the surface. There are beaches, of course, where people enjoy the sun, but dips in the water are brief teeth chattering adventures. We did see some people surfing but they were in full wet suits to stay warm. I recall seeing sea otters in the water and there are a ton of seals. The cold up swell current means the bay is very much alive with kelp forests rising to the surface. Lots of fish there with the otters and seals feeding on them. That sea life explains why there had been a "Cannery Row".

The area we stayed at is called "Lover's Beach" — there was an outdoor wedding one day with a mariachi band. There's a small sheltered bay, lots of rocky shoreline, and a lot of succulents along the shore road where these cute gophers hang out. If you follow the Ocean View Blvd, which becomes Sunset Drive, you'll pass a lighthouse at Point Pinos, and the "Lone Cypress" viewpoint, on your way south around the point to Pebble Beach and Carmel by the Sea. 

Carmel is a mucky-muck rich-folk kind of place. I recall that Clint Eastwood was the mayor then — there's a picture of Kate with a "Law, Order and Ice Cream" poster showing Clint Eastwood in a spaghetti western role. Around Pacific Grove it is very nice, lots of beautiful Victorian homes, but more affordable than Carmel and less hurried than further north. The north end of the bay, Santa Cruz, seemed to be more of a "Grand Bend"/"Coney Island" kind of place with a big sandy beach and lots of carnival kind of rides and tourist traps.

However, we didn't spend all our time in Monterey Bay. One day we drove south along Highway 1, the coastal road, to the Big Sur area. There are lovely views and quiet sheltered bays to explore.

The "Roaring Camp" is an old steam-train adventure in the hillside/mountains just north of Santa Cruz that we visited. This was once a logging area, now it's preserved as a tourist adventure. There remain some big red wood trees. The old train is especially nice if you're into steam locomotives.

The "Winchester Mystery House", over the mountains further to the north of Santa Cruz in San Jose (you're really getting into the south end of San Francisco Bay), is a bit of drive but an interesting adventure. Apparently Sarah Winchester inherited the fortune of the Winchester Rifle company and began a life-long renovation (1886-1922) of this home. Many of the renovations are entirely pointless and absurd — stairs that go nowhere, doors and windows to blank walls. The mystery is what compelled her to do this? There are some lovely Victorian elements to the home: fine wood work and leaded glass.

We did a wine tasting at a shop in Monterey but didn't really "get it". It was early in our career learning about wines. We understood there were some good ones in the area but didn't find them and didn't visit any of the nearby wineries.

One night, near the end of our visit, we went to a folk club/coffee shop in Monterey and saw Carloyn Hester performing. Kate knew of her music (she's one of those early 1960's folkies from Greenwich Village in New York), I did not know her. It was a low key adventure — later in the trip we saw the Pixies and the Butthole Surfers in San Francisco! That was more to my liking.

The area around Monterey Bay is quite interesting. There's lots of beautiful scenery to explore. It was a very pleasant diversion from our time in San Francisco. We had fun.

Photos scanned and blog created April 2022 during the BadAss.II Covid wave and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.