Day 2 – Friday
We were excited to jump on our bikes and explore the Monterey Bay area. Lucky for us the bike path went right by our condo complex. It was a beautiful sunny day, but a little chilly. Since we only had carry on suitcases, I didn’t do a very good job of packing. I forgot to bring a sweatshirt so Bruce took off the one he had on and gave it to me. That is my husband. He literally gave me the shirt off his back. And then I needed a little something more to wear over it besides my jean jacket or heavy coat, so he ran in and got another pull-over for me. Good thing he came prepared!
A little farther down the path we came to the wharfs (wharves?) Monterey has a commercial wharf with cute little shops and a working wharf with fresh fish and boats. As we neared the end of the working wharf, we heard barking and saw people looking over the edge. The water was full of seals (which I was sure were sea lions). They were swirling around and flopping all over each other in the water. It almost looked like they were swarming. Someone later told us it was mating season. And someone else told us they were migrating. So we don’t really know what was up, but they were sure fun to watch. There were even lots of seals under the wharf on the wood.
We rode out along the Cannery Row and read the interesting story about it. Apparently this was one of the first places that they fished sardines and then canned them. They actually fished so much that at one point there were “none” left. Biologists determined that it was partially from over fishing and partially because the water gets warmer or colder every 25-ish years. I can’t remember which temp the sardines like, but when it gets to be the other temp they leave to find more comfortable water. And while they are gone, anchovies come and take over the area until the sardines come back.
We stopped at various points along the way just to watch the water crashing over the rocks. Kinda like we do in Kansas. Not.
We rode through the little town of Pacific Grove and decided to have lunch on Lovers Point at a place on the beach cleverly named The Grill at Lovers Point. After we ate our burgers a little friend came over to see if we had any leftovers. He was so cute. Bruce fed him a few french fries. (I know you are shocked we actually had any of those left!) Then I fed him some lettuce. He seemed to love them both.
It felt like we were gone all day, but we actually only rode 8 miles and were home around 2:00. Since it was such a nice day I thought it sounded like a great idea to read my book on this little bench overlooking the ocean. You could see it from one of our decks and it wasn’t far. As I headed towards it, I realized that there was no path. I climbed over the wall and had to walk on these succulent looking plants. I hope that wasn’t illegal. It felt illegal because there were signs all over in various places talking about caring for our fragile seascape by staying on the path. Once I finally got to the bench I realized that there actually was a path but it came from the other direction. Oops! I climbed up on the bench and read for about 15 minutes. I had not realized how cold that wind was coming off the ocean. I decided to finish my book in the comfort of my living room with the door open a little so I could hear the ocean. Guess I’m a fair weather beach girl.
After I finished my book and Bruce finished watching the Kansas State Swim Meet through the wonders of technology, we cleaned up and drove to downtown Monterey for dinner. Bruce had seen an article about this new cold brewed IPA beer brewed right here at Alvarodo Brewery so we headed there. We sat at a table in the bar with a nice couple from Salinas. He owns a construction company and I can’t remember what she did. After they left 2 guys joined us who were in town for a frisbee golf tournament. Of course Bruce asked them if they knew Luke Humphries. They did. They were fans and watched his youtube channel. Sadly, when Bruce ordered his beer (you know, the whole reason we chose that restaurant) the waitress came back and told him they had just sold out. Bummer!
After dinner we walked around town a bit, mostly looking for an ice cream shop. We found one called Revival. They had all kinds of unusual sounding kinds of ice cream so I asked if they did samples. The guy told me they don’t do samples, but if you get something you don’t like, they will replace it with something different. Fair enough. We ordered a double dip of Bee’s Knees (see below) because it was their specialty and a dark chocolate kind that was their take on Rocky Road. When we got down to the chocolate part I didn’t like the taste of it – it tasted like the kind of ice cream that you’d eat if it was all you had in your freezer, but not the kind you would eat if you had just been told that you could get a replacement. So I went back to the counter and asked if they were serious about a replacement. I ended up just getting another scoop of Bee’s Knees (which was fantastic) because I would have been super embarrassed to have to get a second replacement.
