More on Monterey Part 2

26 October 2018


There must be something magic in the water around the Monterey/Carmel area. I said yesterday that Betty White (96) and Doris Day (96) and Clint Eastwood (88) all live around here and today I went into a laundromat and met this lady. She's 101 and told me her favourite country is New Zealand.  The manager was helping her to operate the rather complicated machines they have and she was telling the manager she worked in radio when it first started.  

101 years old!!

Then ......then......wait for it.......she hopped in to her car and drove away! Holy shit! What an amazing woman....so many would have resigned themselves to old age care long before this.

My new hero

After the laundromat I called in to a Vietnamese restaurant just down the road from my motel. I've been smelling lovely odours emanating from there for days. Cannot resist any longer. Spring rolls and Beef Pho. Tasted as good as it looks and no I didn't eat it all.

I've now had a nap and am packing my bags ready for an early get away to drive to San Francisco and my favourite bridge. Yeah you are.....you know you are :)

More on Monterey

26 October 2018


Today is going to be a work/rest day. My washing needs doing as I leave tomorrow for San Francisco. I'll be driving there but leaving my rental car on the southern side of the city and I'll Uber to the hotel. I'll pick up a new rental after my stay on the northern side. Parking in San Francisco is expensive. In fact my hotel charges $67 a day - that's nearly $95 Aussie dollars.  I won't need a car in San Francisco as I'll probably get a hop on hop off bus ticket. I've been to San Francisco before and the thought of driving there does not appeal.


Here are a few more Monterey photos. I will be sad to leave you Monterey.

Cafe on Fisherman's wharf where I had lunch

Chicken/walnuts/blue cheese - so tasty

Big honking fat boy on the Bay

The Mrs

Fisherman's Wharf

Seals in front

Carmel to Big Sur and back again.

25 October 2018

What a glorious day!! My tummy is better (after 3 days)  and my foot is 90% better. The sun is shining. Its warm outside and the sea is so extra blue blue blue.

Set off today to visit Carmel by the Sea. This town is so unbelievably quaint and beautiful and is, according to locals, the home of Doris Day and Betty White. Also Clint Eastwood was mayor. So..... you can see quite clearly that I was just the young thing about town. hehehe

The Cypress Inn below is part owned by Doris Day (if you are under 50 Google her). The inn has been described as the "pet friendliest inn in the pet friendliest town in America"

It's always Christmas here

I headed south on Highway 1 to visit Big Sur. 
Highway 1 runs from Orange County to Mendocino County and is 655 miles long. This Highway is a tourist destination in itself and you will have seen it in many movies, most recently in Big Little Lies. Great show. The highway was closed for a long period this year due to a landslide near Big Sur but happily for me it's now open.

Highway One - snakes its
way around the coastline

Landslide the closed Highway 1 this year
Stock Photo

Landslide from the top
Stock Photo

Stock Photo

Big Sur is a beautiful stretch of coastline. I didn't venture too far as my mobile carrier went down and that means my GPS is out. If I'm driving on the wrong side of a cliffside road I don't need to be lost as well. Twice today I got into the wrong side of the car again. I'm even lost INSIDE the vehicle.


I headed back towards Monterey and sat behind a large camper van most for the way.  This kept my ride slow enough so I could enjoy the view. At one the stage the traffic came to a standstill and there were several police cars in attendance. A large power cable that ran above us from the top of one power pole to another pole on the other side of the road had come loose and was hanging precariously above the traffic. The very high camper van in front of me was directed to do some pretty fancy manoeuvres to avoid hitting the hanging cable. I so wanted to take a photo with my phone but with all those police around I dare not. I'm not sure if they are as strict here as in Australia. Anyway, some drama I was finally a part of. Now that's enough :)

I was hanging out for a steak so I made my way back to Fisherman's Wharf and had a great - expensive - meal.  The view was lovely and it topped off a great day.

This was wonderful but even now
I can still smell the garlic.

I felt guilty - I drank water

Beautiful view

Fisherman's Wharf Monterey California

23 October 2018

I awoke with a stomach ache and erred on the side of caution and decided not to venture out till lunchtime.

It's another beautiful coolish day out but sunny and perfect for a walk. My foot is responding nicely to the icing and only wearing my joggers so I thought I'd put it to the test and walk to Fisherman's  Wharf.

I passed this store on the way. Made me laugh. Now all you Harry Potter tragics know where to take your dirty owl to get cleaned.

I walked to Fisherman's Wharf - a place I love - and wandered around the shops and restaurants. I checked out the cafe/restaurant used for filming Big Little Lies. Unfortunately the stomach ache hasn't resolved itself so I won't eat there today. Don't want to eat ever again :(

I saw the sign below outside a restaurant and was a little but amazed...and a little bit impressed....and a little bit amused that there wasn't a sole in there (unless they had one in the fridge ready for cooking lol). It's a brave stance in this day and age - or a silly one.

I started to feel unwell again and called an Uber to take me back to the motel. He got stuck in roadworks and couldn't find me so I gave up and walked back..... rather quickly.

As I was walking again I heard sirens and there was a fire engine and a cop car and an ambulance in a big hurry. I was a bit dismayed when I finally got to my motel and found them all parked outside!! I only had 2 questions - what had happened? And why didn't they stop and give me a lift?

Whatever had happened was clearly over and only the fire engine and the cop car were still there.  I missed all the excitement yet again!!

I took it very easy for the rest of the afternoon as still feeling queasy. Wonder what I ate?  I ventured across the road to the Del Monte shopping Centre and purchased a variety of medications that hopefully will make me 100% again. I'll settle for 90%.

Chilly day in Monterey Brrrr

22 October 2018

WOW!! Didn't wake up till after 9 am. The last few days my sleep has been all over the place so I hope this has reset my clock.

It was another chilly day and the forecast is for more cold weather.  I did check the long range forecasts before I left and chilly wasn't on the horizon so I didn't really pack any warm clothing.

I ventured out in THE CAR and with the aid of my phone GPS found my way safely to the Super Walmart. I picked up socks, leggings, a jumper and a jacket. You watch the sun come out now lol.

I made my way in THE CAR to Canning Row and walked up and back, window shopping and beach watching. The last time I was here there were big crowds but it was very quiet today. Maybe the cooler weather keeping people away.  As I have said before, Monterey is my favourite place and Canning Row has such a great feel about it. Loving being here.

  

I stopped at Louie Linguini's for lunch and it was just wonderful. I had crumbed shrimp and calamari and snapper with chips and coleslaw. Might need to go back there again before I leave.

After lunch I went for a bit of a drive around and then returned to the motel - nap time. All this driving on the wrong side of the road is wearying. Concentrating so hard my eyes nearly popped. I don't even turn the radio on as it may distract me lol. I don't want to get over confident but I am feeling a bit more settled with the driving. Monterey isn't exactly huge and the traffic isn't really overwhelming. A good place to get some practice.

Pismo Beach, Cars, Buns and Monterey!

19 October 2018

A slow start to the day but I went for a walk to the beach as the Clam Festival was supposed to be starting today. This was slightly misleading because all that was happening on the Friday was an evening wine tasting and not being an imbiber it was no good to me.

Never tasted Salt Water Taffy
and as you had to buy it in
 huge bags, I still haven't

I decided not to take the challenge but
 I know a few people who would give it a go!!

I stopped for lunch at Memphis Mo ribs joint and was very pleasantly surprised. Not much from outside but  great decor and atmosphere inside and the ribs were wonderful..... and cheap.

Memphis Mo's

Just under $10 - so tasty!!

Seems fair enough - if you're a fish

Memphis Mo's - great
blues music playing too

I walked around for a while but I'm having trouble with my right foot - arch pain. The result, I think from walking a lot in flat shoes. This foot is a bit wonky anyway due to a motor cycle accident in my shady youth. I'll ice it and wear joggers from now on.

Back at the hotel and  I got on line to see how I was going to get to Monterey the next day.  My options were 

1. Amtrak train - will take 6 1/2 hours with two changes (oh no!!)
2. Bus - no, just no.
3. Hire a car. Will - make that should - take 2 1/2 hours.

In 2011 I drove a van through every mainland state of USA and 4 provinces of Canada and I started off very scared and did well considering. On the plus side I had Lee with me as navigator and to shout at me if it appeared I was morphing back to Aussie driving. I feel quite anxious driving alone over here but have bitten the bullet and have hired a car which I'll pick up tomorrow. Eeeek!!

On the positive side it is a lot cheaper than in Australia.

20 October 2018

I was picked up at 11 am by Enterprise Car Rental and taken to their office in Grover Beach.  They showed me the car I was to take and we got all the paperwork done and I loaded the bags into the boot/trunk. Then I spotted the back tire - see below.

The Hyundai I was
going to have and ........

....the reason I declined it

I ended up with the Nissan and was happier because  it looked like it was in better overall nick.

I was lucky I only had to glide onto the road and into the traffic and managed to keep the fear off my face.  It's certainly strange suddenly sitting on the opposite side but as long as you are in traffic it's not too bad. "left is long" and "right is tight" kept me safe last time so I'm hoping it will this time too.  

Once I got going I ignored my need for a bathroom stop because I wasn't quite sure how to get off Highway 101. Having said this I DID get off twice when I didn't intend to and had to work out how to get back on again. All this without stopping lol. Once my USA driving memory kicked in I felt better and as soon as I saw a Denny's sign I managed to manoeuvre my way there and stopped for bathroom and lunch.

Denny's at Atascadero CA

Went for the steak as this is
breakfast and lunch and could
 quite possibly be dinner too

I continued driving and got into the swing of it, using my phone as a GPS and hoping like hell the battery wouldn't die before I got to Monterey. There was nowhere to pull over to retrieve my charging leads but I made it at 10% battery life.

I'm staying at Kings Inn Carmel Hill and its 100% better than the place at Pismo Beach. I'm feeling happy as I will be here for 7 nights and Monterey is my favourite town in America.

There's a Shopping Centre over the road so I stocked up on necessities - tea, milk, coffee, salad, chicken, cereal and some cheese (may need a bandaid - read the label ). I don't want to be eating out all the time.

Hehehe!

I went for a walk after dinner but this bloody foot is playing up. May need to give it some TLC for a few days. Lucky I have the car.

21 October 2018

I actually had a sleep in and made myself breakfast in bed. It was a lot healthier than some of the things I've been eating :)

It was 30 C in Pismo Beach yesterday but got quite cool here over night. I had to find a jumper to pull on during the night. I awoke to this........

It hung around till about 11 am but it's quite pleasant out now.

Today is a housekeeping day. I found a laundromat in the road behind the motel and threw my washing into a machine and it wanted me to put in 35 quarters!! I'd been saving my quarters for this purpose but 35!!!??? That's $8.75 for one machine. I found a smaller one that only took $4.75 and was still big enough for my needs.

While my washing was whizzing around I went to the Gluten Free Bakery next door and got a coffee and asked for a Cinnabon style scroll. I haven't had one yet this trip. The guy said he would warm it up for me and I said no thanks ... I like it cold. He told me he was going to warm it and again I said no. Then he said "well I won't sell it to you, you'll have to pick something else. It tastes better warmed". Made me sort of look for the camera and so I chose a cup cake with icing. Warm THAT, you bastard!! Shades of Fawlty Towers.

I loaded my washing into the car and got into my seat. No steering wheel! Exited the car and this time got in the correct side Sheesh!!

I left the laundry and turned onto the road and because I was still thinking about this crazy man I suddenly realised I was on the wrong side. A car coming flashed his lights and I quickly corrected. No real danger but I will make sure I concentrate 100% from now on.

I'm back at the motel and have made a yummy chicken and salad lunch and - as you can see - have caught up on my blog.

I intend to have a quiet afternoon icing my foot and watching The Haunting of Hill House. I will scare the pain out of my foot!!