Wednesday 3rd June - How the Other Half Live

Today, we had a lovely lazy start, with breakfast around the table with Cathy and Hal, before driving off to explore the Pacific coast between where we are here, near Santa Cruz, and Carmel. The low cloud and sea mist soon cleared, giving us beautiful views of the deep blue sea just beyond the dunes which lined the shore in some places. At times, whilst driving a bit inland from the coast, the road was lined with crop fields which stretched, seemingly for miles, astonishingly flat and the rows of plants so straight and neat. Large groups of workers, bent double, harvested the strawberries. We speculated that they may have been Mexicans, willing to work in the hot and difficult conditions.

Monterey more than lived up to its reputation as a resort for the rich and famous, or at least, the ‘wanabees‘ and the whole town certainly had lots of character. We first visited ‘Cannery Row’, of John Steinbeck fame, and then took an old streetcar to Fisherman’s Wharf where restaurant owners were eagerly exhorting us to try free samples of their clam chowder. Fisherman’s Wharf used to be just what it’s name suggests but the old fishing buildings are now either restaurants or shops, all very colourful. Here are two photos of the Wharf:

On the way out of town beautiful, opulent houses overlooked the jagged rocks which lead down to the golden sand of the little coves where seals sunned themselves on the rocks. Sea otters also frequent this area, but they must have been in hiding today, as we didn’t see any.

We had lunch in Carmel a bit further down the coast in a most unusual café with a completely round room. An entire years income could be spent in moments in Carmel. Let’s put it this way - we saw no charity shops. After torturing ourselves, looking at merchandise we could never afford, we drove back via yet another quaint village, Capitola, with colourful houses clustered around a small harbour. Both towns visited today were certainly 'California' as you might imagine it to be - beautiful large houses with manicured gardens obviously occupied by monied people, lots of colourful flowers, trees and the wonderful Pacific coastline.

We ended the day with a delicious dinner, cooked by Hal, then told stories and had many laughs before heading off to bed.