California - Day 16 - Salinas, Monterey, Pacific Grove

Salinas/Monterey KOA, Salinas

Wednesday, 16 March 2022

I had an ambitious schedule planned today - errands and chores plus some sightseeing.  At least the weather was better than yesterday's.

today's route

My first stop was at the Bit O' Blarney Grooming, where I dumped off the dogs for a seriously overdue bath and brushing.

I passed a place with a sign saying "Wood Stock Firewood," and wondered if the business belonged to an ex-hippie.

Then Lily and I went into Salinas to a vet's office to get her claws clipped - also seriously overdue.  I drove in from Prunedale on US-101, which has been designated the John Steinbeck Highway.  Salinas, pop. 163,542, is home to the National Steinbeck Center.  Unsurprisingly, this is where Steinbeck grew up, and some of his most famous books were set in this area.

From there I stopped at a laundromat for a while, needing to wash the dogs' bed covers, hoping they'd smell better along with the dogs.

I passed the Salinas High School, established in 1882, and I'm sorry I couldn't find an uncopyrighted photo online, because it's really beautiful - a sort of Spanish mission style.

I'd intended to leave the dogs at the groomers while I ran down to Monterey, but they called and asked me to pick them up because both dogs were vomiting and having loose stools.  I was sorry for the dogs, sorry for the groomers and sorry for me for having to put them back into the RV.  Though I guess they'd gotten it all out of their system, so to speak, because we didn't have any more trouble.

We drove the 15 or so miles south to Monterey, pop. 29,500 and elev. 25'.  Very picturesque town and I'm guessing pretty wealthy too.  Now the canneries and way of life that Steinbeck wrote about are just tourist attractions.

I passed the US Army Presidio at Monterey, which is a military base though most of its personnel live in nearby Fort Ord, which I'd also passed.  In fact, I can't figure out from online information just what this presidio is or does.  But it's sure there, and in a beautiful location.

Also housed there is the Defense Language Institute, where my former husband was taught Russian as part of his time in the Air Force during the Cold War.  He said he was one of the crew that intercepted and translated Russian military communications while flying over the Pacific Ocean.  Given the current world situation (invasion of Ukraine, e.g.), I'm guessing other USAF personnel are still performing that function.

The streets in Monterey were narrow and crowded with cars and tourists and I couldn't find anywhere at all to park.  The dogs and I really wanted to stretch our legs, so I kept on going down the road.

The town of Pacific Grove has 15,090 folks (2020) and looks like it's a very wealthy community.  It wasn't so much the houses, which weren't particularly fancy, as it was the municipal golf course right in town and the setting right on Monterey Bay. 

The map above is a little washed out, but maybe you can see that Pacific Grove is sitting at the tip of a peninsula that juts into the bay.  Right there is where NOAA has its Southwest Fisheries Science Center.  I passed it on 2 sides as I followed Ocean View Blvd. around the coastline.  And a moderately spectacular coast it is.

I tried to take photos of the waves crashing and I hope you can see that in these photos.

I'd intended to stop at Point Pinos Lighthouse, intending to park and take a walk from there.  But they're undergoing restoration and the whole facility was closed.

I was barely able to see it (this is an internet photo) because of all the trees in the way, but this lighthouse was built in 1855 and is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast.

Instead, we parked in an area that may have belonged to the golf course, but I didn't see any forbidding signs and hadn't been able to find anywhere else.  We walked along the street by the golf course down a block to the shore.

You can see what the ocean breeze does to the growth of these trees.

Despite the sound of people hitting golf balls upsetting Gracie, we all had a nice walk along this area.

Driving back through Pacific Grove and Monterey, I passed the entrance to the famed 17-Mile Drive.  It runs, I think, from these 2 towns (I couldn't figure out where one stopped and the other started) down to the small unincorporated town of Pebble Beach.  Along the way it passes 5 golf courses and other scenic areas, and they actually charge people to drive there.  It's a toll road for which I'd have to pay $11.25, so I voted no.  But if you're curious, here's their website.   https://www.pebblebeach.com/17-mile-drive

I took a different route back north, wanting to see more of the ocean and, since I'd go through Castroville, maybe some artichokes.  And I did.

North of Monterey was Sand City and, true to its name, the Pacific Ocean/Monterey Bay was right there next to the road.  It was really pretty.  But as I drove north I had my view completely blocked by enormous sand dunes which aren't nearly as picturesque.

And sure enough, at Castroville, "Artichoke Center of the World," I saw fields of plants that looked just like artichokes.  I'm used to seeing only one or two at a time in someone's garden, so entire fields of them was almost disorienting.  Castroville has about 7,500 folks and a festival celebrating artichokes each year in June.  I'd like to go sometime - it sounds like fun.

When we got back to the campground, I put all the dog beds out on the picnic table to air out a bit, even though it was well into the afternoon by then.  The dogs didn't much like lying on the floor (who would?) but I didn't want to put the clean covers back on the beds without at least making a stab at some fresh air.