The Monterey Peninsula, Heart of the Central Coast

Golf Day!! And for Barb, Spa Day!! Monica on the other hand was just going to get the blog up to date, sit by the pool a bit, and maybe read a book.

The Del Monte Golf Course is one of the Pebble Beach Golf courses, the other more well-known being Spanish Bay, Spyglass Hill and, of course, Pebble Beach itself. After having breakfast at the very small clubhouse - since this isn't one of the main courses in the rotation everything is a bit smaller and more rustic - Larry and Norm got their bags and their cart and teed off.

 

Since Larry and Monica's room overlooked the 17th green and 18th tee, Monica planned to get back to the room about the time they would be playing by to get some photos. Strangely enough, the timing did actually work out! Not only did she get a couple of photos of them, but Larry got one of her, too.

Monica on the balcony talking to one of the guys' playing partners.

 

Once they were done - not a bad round for each of them, and they didn't lose enough golf balls to make much of a difference in the suitcase weight going home! - we took a taxi into the town of Monterey to look around a bit.

Monterey was originally a working town, with the main industry being fish canning, particularly sardines. Cannery Row is now one of the most famous (and touristy) parts of town, since it was immortalized in John Steinbeck's novel of the same name. Mr. Steinbeck has also been immortalized in Monterey, with a small square named after him.

The bust of John Steinbeck at Steinbeck Square

 

We strolled from Fisherman's Wharf down to Cannery Row and back, a distance of almost two and half miles - nothing, of course, to us if you've been following our previous blog posts. The bay is home to all sorts of wildlife, including sea otters, harbour seals and sea lions. Here are a few photos:

Fisherman's Wharf is just one restaurant and candy shop after another, with a few restaurants also having fish markets attached.

We settled on dinner at Crabby Jim's based on the posted menu and the delicious sample of clam chowder being offered outside. And it turned out to be quite a good meal!

Larry with his first Dungeness Crab of the trip!

Monica couldn't resist the crab either, but she had hers
with some shrimp and scallops.

Another great day in southern California, with yet another interesting day trip planned for tomorrow. The famous 17 Mile Drive around the peninsula and the possibility of seeing some of the world's most famous golf courses.