Another Day in Paradise

July 16, 2011

Today was another beach day.  This time I took lots of pictures!

I really don't need to say any more.

On the Hunt for Steinbeck

July 15, 2011

Today I went on more explorations of John Steinbeck's life.  I found his house, where he was born and his grave.  I also found many things in between, including the tide pools he used to look for specimen in with his marine biologist friend.  : )

Here are some pictures of what I found.

The house where Steinbeck was born.  It is now a restaurant, but it wasn't open when I was there.

One of the many murals around town in honor of Steinbeck on the wall of the building that was one of the frequent stops of Kate in East of Eden.  Many of the buildings he wrote about are still on Main Street, although they all have different businesses in them now. 

Steinbeck's grave in the cemetery in Salinas.

Back to the beach!!  Here are the tide pools that Steinbeck would go to with his good friend Ed Ricketts who had a biology lab in Monterey next to the cannery building that is now the aquarium. 

Rain boots in the tide pools!  Unfortunately I didn't find any cool animals in here.  Just a lot of crabs...

The Mouse House

July 14, 2011

Today I went down to Monterey in the morning to ride my bike on their long bike path along the beach.  It was so beautiful, but I didn't take any pictures.  I decided to just enjoy to views in the present, and not try to capture every beautiful scene through a camera lens. 

After my bike ride I just went back to the place I am staying, called the Mouse House.  Thankfully there are no real mice in the house!  I spend the afternoon/evening sitting out on the lawn reading, writing cards and taking pictures (the no picture morning only lasted so long!!). 

This is the house I stayed in.  So beautiful and relaxing!

There was a water tower behind my house, I don't think that is where my water came from, but maybe!!

My favorite tree on the property, it is so pretty!

This is the driveway/entrance to the property.

And the amazing mountains and fields that surround the property.  I can see John Steinbeck writing about the fields and workers.  This picture looks like a cover of one of his books.

This is such a great place to come and get away.  I have enjoyed the peace and quiet and solitude.  But I also love that it is so close to Monterey and the ocean!

Monterey

July 13, 2011

I am in love with Monterey!!  Today I went to the aquarium and explored the area around it, which is Cannery Row.  It was so beautiful!!  I loved the aquarium.  They had some great exhibits which showed the fish/animals that live in the central California area. 

This is the entrance.  The aquarium was built in an old cannery, so the outside looks like a factory.

One of the things I loves about the aquarium was that it was built around the ocean.  They pump the sea water in and get all of their fish/animals from the ocean right around them. 

One of the big exhibits was all about jellyfish.  They really are amazing and so beautiful!

Turtles.  I love them.  And they loved the light on my camera.  They would follow it around, so I got a bunch of great shots of these guys.

Rays are super cool too!  They didn't have any that were very big, but they are so much fun to watch! 

This is a sea horse.  I love these guys.  They look just like seaweed.  I had never seen one of these before a trip to the Long Beach Aquarium, and I was so amazed by them.  I was happy to see more of them in Monterey! 

Here is what Cannery Row used to look like.

And here it is today!  It was so much fun walking down the streets imagining how it used to be. 

Salinas

July 12, 2011

Today I stayed in Salinas and explored.  I went to the National Steinbeck Center and looked around their downtown area.  I loved the museum, but other than that, there isn't much to do in Salinas.  : )  The museum was great, I learned so much about John Steinbeck who was from Salinas and wrote many of his books and stories about the area.  I bought a book about all the areas that he wrote about and have seen quite a few of those places already.  I also have his book "Tortilla Flats" to read while I am here, which is set in Monterey, where I'm headed tomorrow!!

This is the National Steinbeck Center.  It was great!

This rock was outside the museum.  Steinbeck loved Salinas and the surrounding areas, and I think that through his books he really did open it up for the world to see. 

VACATION!!

July 11, 2011
I set off today for my vacation to Salinas/Monterey area/San Francisco.  It was not too long of a drive, only about 4 hours.  : )  I had a great time on the road, only stopping a few times to stretch my legs, get some In-n-Out and for gas.  The day started out pretty foggy, it even looked like it was raining as I left Ventura to drive up the coast. 

But it cleared up pretty quickly and became a beautiful day!!

This is an ad for "The Farm", a working farm with giant farmers...

well, just the giant cardboard farmers.

 On the 101 North the whole way.

Which is also the historic El Camino Real. 

(These light posts were every mile, or at least it seemed like they were!)

Almost to Salinas, which is my first stop, and the place I will be staying for a week. 

I can't wait to get there!!

On My Way

July 10, 2011
Today I headed out for my vacation, getting to my first stop, Ventura to visit my family.  : )
While I was there Hannah and Georgia showed me all their plans for a carnival they are hoping to have soon.  They have games and prizes all picked out and ready to go.  It was so cute!  I made up a new game, trying to throw a bead necklace onto Georgia's head, and it became a big hit.  But after I tried once, I had to be the one having necklaces thrown at my face for the rest of the night!  : )

Here's Georgia being very serious as I try to make more necklaces onto her neck.

And Hannah with all of her prizes.

They are so cute!!