Wednesday dawned foggy. Most days start foggy in that part of California. What’s funny is that it wasn’t until about Thursday that I realized that our hotel balcony included a pretty good view of Morro Rock.

Anyway, this was our day to head up to Monterey. You’ve seen a photo from PCH on our way up (and the gas receipt from Big Sur). There are more photos to share - I’ll add them here tonight when I get home.

[place holder for lovely scenic photos]

We got to the waterfront in Monterey and I didn’t recognize anything. I have a pretty good memory for places, but there was no way I could figure out where anything was because so much had changed in 25 years. The Cannery Row I knew resembled nothing that I remembered. It is much more built up and super touristy, including a Bubba Gump, which I rejected as a lunch option. We ended up eating at a local diner across the street from the Aquarium that provided pretty good fish and chips.

After lunch we toured the Aquarium, which was very crowded. Jesse enjoyed the fish tanks more than anything. I think we could have stood in front of them for hours and he would have been happy. We did manage to get to the sea otter feeding, but it was so crowded on the platform that I started to get claustrophobic, so we left. Sadly, once we got outside we both sighed in relief to be away from the crowds and agreed that we would try the Baltimore Aquarium some weekend when it won’t be as crowded in the fall or winter.

We got back to the car, after deciding to drive up to my old neighborhood to give Jesse some quiet/nap time before we met Ith for dinner downtown. Once in the car we realized the parking ticket was missing. I finally got so aggravated, that I got out of the car and instantly found the ticket on the ground. The wind must have blown it out of the car when we opened the doors. Beau laughed that it was a good thing I got so mad to get out of the car on that day.

Anyway, we drove up to Marina, the small town that we lived in back in the early 1980s while Dad was at the Naval Post-Graduate School. Marina is still the same, but built up more. The neighborhood is now surrounded by much newer houses. Our old neighborhood looks really run down and old.

So we managed to find the restaurant to meet Ith, who is lovely and charming in person. We enjoyed a delicious Japanese dinner and Jesse was cute to the waitress and Ith. Then Beau drove home so that Jesse and I could sleep.

It was a good day.

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1. I know exactly the neighborhood in Marina you are talking about...my step-daughters lived with their mother there for a year or so.  Nice location though!

   Posted by Gwynne  on  08/05/08  at  04:53 PM

2. It was so great meeting you all!

   Posted by Ith  on  08/05/08  at  05:58 PM

3. Yeah it was great to meet you Ith....
   and thank God we weren’t in the car we passed that had been hit head on.

   Posted by  on  08/05/08  at  06:41 PM

4. oh, and the wind-blown ticket.  Ahem.  As the driver I pulled the ticket from the dispenser and left it on the dash.  When the ticket was missing, ahem, and we were looking in the car and I was checking my pockets, ahem, I was told, ahem, what I should have done with the ticket.  Then, after the someone got mad, got out of the car and saw the ticket, ahem, and someone, not me, put the ticket on the dash, ahem, the ticket was promptly blown to its previous location outside the car..... until then I wasn’t laughing so much.  But thank God for his grace even when we get angry.

   Posted by  on  08/05/08  at  06:48 PM

5. Beau, what head on accident? I don’t remember that. Also, will you forgive me for my attitude about the ticket?

   Posted by  on  08/06/08  at  05:02 AM

6. What head on?  Well, there was that long wait in stop and go traffic, until we passed a demolished car....

   And the ticket?  Well, as I said at the time, thank God you had the “attitude” to get out of the car--and see the ticket.  So what’s to forgive?  the fact that I didn’t have to pay for a full day’s parking? :)

   Posted by  on  08/06/08  at  06:45 AM

7. Oh yeah, that one. See, I was confused because you mentioned it to Ith like she would know what you were talking about. I totally forgot that accident we passed after the dinner.

   Posted by jen  on  08/06/08  at  07:55 AM

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