Deja Vu in Monterey, California

After a little rest, Bruce came home.  The kids and I picked him up from the train station and shortly thereafter, he and I headed out to Mexico to get him some dental work done.  This time, there was some unrest in Tijuana when I was making plans (not so much when we went down), so I made the plans for Los Algodones, just across the border from Yuma, AZ.  So we headed out on a sauntering trip south.

The first time I pulled out the camera was in Weeds at the rest stop.  Mt. Shasta always looks very lovely from this angle.

We drove all day, stopped for the night in Redding, and finally hit the coast and Hwy 1 in Santa Cruz.  We stopped at a marina and got some fresh fruit and watched somebody fly an octopus kite for a few minutes.  Traffic was horrid for a while, so the rest was good.

This time going through Monterey, I was ready for the changes since I had seen them before.  Some of the first changes are the dunes by the bay.  Back in the 1980s, when I lived in Monterey, the beach area between Monterey and Santa Cruz was flat from mining and small beach craft tearing them up.  They have apparently let the dunes rebuild themselves with the help of planting vegetation to help protect them from erosion.  We stopped in Seaside to look at them.

Once we got checked into the hotel and settled in, we headed to Fisherman's Warf for dinner.  We picked Abalonetti's, and there were lots of things that were familiar.  When I lived there and went to the warf on my own to eat, I would usually just pick up something from a kiosk.  I remember the first time I got fish and chips there and was dive bombed by the seagulls.  I knew to protect my food after that.  The only times I went into a sit-down restaurant, I had a date.  The first date I had in Monterey was to Fisherman's Warf.  I don't remember the name of it, but it wasn't at the end of the wharf, and we ate facing the land.  Apparently, Abalonetti's has been in business at the same place since the 1950s.  I'm thinking this might have been the place I had my first date in Monterey.  We had an appetizer of calamari - the nice, tender calamari I've only found in California.  Then Bruce had the sample plate and I had sand dabs.  Delicious.

This is where the cliff I used to sit on used to be.  You can see a few of the rocks that are left.  Asking around, I was told the rocks were starting to fall and it was leveled primarily for safety.  One day, I might walk the "new" promenade that took it's place.

This is the little piece of beach that runs in that little space between where the cliff was and the wharf.

After dinner, we walked along the wharf and watched these guys for a while.

It was cute when one of them hauled out and then got back in.

And we saw gulls, cormorants, and pelicans on one of the rock piles from the old cliff.

The  next morning, I got up and went searching for some old haunts.  I started out with the beach at Carmel-By-The-Sea.  We used to have bonfires there, drink, and hang out.  We didn't really do much swimming because of the undertows.  It's the first beach I ever spent the night on.  There have been some significant changes.  First, there are no longer any bonfires allowed.  I talked to an old surfer who had been hanging out on that beach since the 1980s.  He said the community had really significant controversy about the bonfires.  Apparently, as the housing got closer to the beach, the smoke became a problem.  Residents even measured it to prove it to the city.  There was also a problem with people just kicking sand over their fires to put them out.  That was what we did.  I don't remember anybody bringing water up to pour on it.  Apparently, that doesn't put it out well, and a kid got burned on hot cinders.  They put a boardwalk up and planted vegetation to support the dunes. 

The surfers are still there.  It wasn't a very good surfing day.  It took several tries for this guy to get his wave.  The guy I was talking to was watching this guy to decide if he wanted to suit up and go out.

After hanging out on the beach, I went back into town and just walked along the streets.  I remember going in and out of so many art galleries.  They are still there, and I enjoyed them just as much as I did before.  There is no photography allowed in the galleries, so no pix.  I still couldn't afford any of them, though. 

The bell in the middle of the street is still there.

There is also a bakery that says they have the best cannoli outside of Sicily.  I had to try it.

I didn't have chocolate in Sicily so it may not be a fair test.  This was very good, but I think it was better in Sicily.  The pastry was lighter.

After spending a good portion of the morning in Carmel-By-The-Sea, I decided to take a ride to the Presidio to see what all had changed there.  The first change was that the gate on Franklin Street is now only open at certain times.  I wasn't there at that time.  So, I went around to Lighthouse Rd and entered through the Pvt Bolio gate.  There were a few black-tailed deer grazing in yards.  They were not in herds.

This is the barracks I lived in.  It hasn't changed on the outside.  I didn't try to go inside.  It does still house the Army.  When I was there, the Marines were in the basement.  This yard is where I went to my first end-of-the-world party.

The row of buildings that all look like this is where I spent most of my time.  These were the language classroom buildings.  When I was there, these were mostly Slavic languages (Russian, Polish, and I think there were some Czech classes closer to the tape lab, which is now the EEO office).  Now they are Asian languages, and Russian is the only Slavic language still taught there.  Russian is only taught "up the hill" in the cultural center now.

Soldier's field is where we did PT (physical training).  If I remember correctly, it was 16 laps around the turf for two miles.  It's filled with tents in preparation for Language Day now.

When I went to the Franklin Street gate and turned around to leave (because the gate wasn't open), I saw this sign.  I don't remember any designation for Old Town Monterey back in the 1980s.  It's not really something I would have paid much attention to back then, though.

I tried to go out the Taylor Street gate into Pacific Grove, but it is permanently closed.  They even have a sign telling they're studying the idea of taking down the traffic light at Taylor and Prescott since the gate from the base is closed.  Traffic was light up Prescott, but I didn't get any pictures because parking was into homes.  I drove around looking for my old apartment, but I can't remember what cross street it was on, and nothing looked similar.  I'm sure it's been torn down by now.  I moved out in 1983.  But the first Safeway I was ever in is still there at the top of Prescott.  It was a very emotional day down memory lane.  This was the first place I lived as a legal adult (after boot camp), the place where I met and married my first husband, and lots of other firsts.  I stayed away from Cannery Row, which I learned the last time has become so over-popularized and meant for tourists, being pretty much unrecognizable from back in the day.

We got up the next day for a long, 17-mile drive, starting with breakfast at Denny's, just down the street from the hotel.  Lots of funky cars out in the parking lot.  I went out to ask what was going on because of course, I'm not shying away from talking to strangers.  This was a stop along the Rally4aCause Foundation, or as one of the drivers put it, a way to take a tax-deductible drive down the coast and raise money for a new cause each year.

Since we weren't parking and taking bicycles in, we went in through the Carmel gate.  I don't remember paying to get in, but I didn't have a car, either and was riding with somebody else.  At our first stop, Shephard's Knoll, we met a man who lived there who was walking his dog.  I asked about home visitors and the entrance fee, and he said they pay $500 a year for the "privilege" of being able to have guests that don't have to pay.  They turn in the guest's name to the entrance shack, and their guests show ID and get to come in for free.  This turnout was supposed to show an elevated view of the Bay, but I couldn't find it.

Our next stop was Huckleberry Hill, and you can find your huckleberry here.  Lots of bushes.  Nothing ripe, though, because it's way too early in the season.

The California scrub jay is one of the few jays that doesn't have a crest on his head.  He sure is pretty, though.

Surfers were taking advantage of the waves in Spanish Bay.  They appeared to be having more luck than they did yesterday in Carmel.

This turkey vulture came up while I was scanning the rocks for oystercatchers by The Restless Sea, the fourth turnout.  This section wasn't as restless as others.

Cormorants on a rock

A seagull coming in to join them.

One of the many golf courses along the way.  This one is at Point Joe.

There were lots of daisies at China Rock.

And this is where we got the biggest wave crashes against the rocky shoreline.

Lots of sea lions at Bird Rock

We finally found the birds - cormorants and pelicans and one lone sea gull

And on land, one photogenic squirrel!

From the beach at Seal Rock, you can hike to the Gingerbread House, which is maintained by the Pebble Beach Company.

We finally made it to the most iconic part of 17-Mile Drive, the Lone Cypress.

It's not really alone.

And the Pebble Beach Company has worked hard to keep this cypress tree on this rock.

I really liked the Ghost Trees at Pescadero Point.  The sand and salt have stripped away the outer bark of these trees and killed these branches.  Then, the sun bleaches them.  They're pretty cool.

The rest of the drive is pretty under-impressive.  There's the visitor center, a couple of golf courses (including Pebble Beach), and an empty field.

We went to dinner at the Chinese restaurant where I first learned what a carafe was because my date ordered us a half carafe of wine.  The tables don't even seem to have been moved, and if memory serves, my date (whoever he was) and I sat in this same booth.  I asked the lady, and she said the building has been a Chinese restaurant for about 75 years, and that she and her husband bought it about 20 years ago.  China Garden on the corner of Munras and Webster.  While we were there, a bus with a group of Chinese tourists came in.  She seated them at round tables with lazy susans on them and put multiple dishes on it.  So, they feed tour groups here the same way they feed Western tour groups in China - family style.

I'm glad Bruce is pretty secure in our relationship.  Even though I couldn't remember a lot of the names of the guys I dated, I did talk a lot about dates while we were in Monterey.  We'll be heading down the PCH in the morning, and though I've been on the PCH a few times, more with Bruce than with other dates, this time, we're doing things I haven't done before or have only done with Bruce.

Hello Hong Kong! Goodbye China?

We got up and got ready to catch the train for Hong Kong.  I tried to pack my bag with the new souvenirs, but there wasn't room for everything, so I left a pair of pants that were too big anyway since I've lost so much weight.  We got the suitcase packed, but it took both of us.  The train was uneventful with pretty scenery.  

We had to process through immigration twice.  From mainland China to an administrative area of China, we processed immigration twice.  The last time, I got a little paper square for entering Hong Kong.  They didn't even staple it in.  I had to keep up with it and staple it in when I got home.  Getting a taxi to the hotel took a little work, too.  By the time we got to the hotel, it was 11:00 p.m, and I was really beat.  I was also starting to feel some twinges in a tendon in my right foot.  My companion was wanting to walk along the waterfront, and we were right there, but I just couldn't do it.  This time, she didn't go out without me.

We got up the next morning and had breakfast downstairs.  Fancy restaurant with multiple choices, but the Holiday Inn in Xi'an was better - both the room and the food.  We got the room for the view of the harbor (which was non-existent) and proximity to the Kowloon West Train Station (close enough we could have walked if not for the bags).  We checked our bags in with ALLWAYS, a company that does luggage from the hotel to the airport.  Our tour guide called and came to walk us to the tour bus - which was waiting for us at the Holiday Inn a few blocks away.  Maybe we should have stayed there!  It was a nice tour, but I was underimpressed with the guide and the way the tour was put together.  I don't think this was because I was tired and hurting a bit.  She was a conspiracy theorist who believed the "rock people" of Xi'an (the Terra Cotta Warriors) aren't real.  She did tell us that Hong Kong increases the size of the islands by cutting the tops off some of the mountains and adding shoreline or connecting islands.  I looked it up, and that is, in fact, how Hong Kong increases their area.  Soon after passing the police station that was in one of the Rush Hour movies, we got to the cable car.  We had opted for the crystal car, and we had a skip the line pass.  It was a very nice ride, though it was cloudy.

Our first look at the Big Buddha was pretty hazy.

Once we got to the top of the cable car ride, while we were waiting for everybody else and having our break, ALLWAYS called me and said we had not left our luggage for them.  I had to send them a copy of the receipt I got for our bags.  They went to the wrong hotel.  After the mild panic, it all worked out.  They got it and took it to the airport.  After the "free time", we all met and stood at the public bus stop waiting for our turn to board a public bus to the fishing village of Tai O.  We took a boat ride around that little harbor and up into the waters around the houses.

We were told that the sewage just gets released into the water.  But don't worry because they only eat the fish that are caught in the China Sea.

On our way back up the river, another boat crashed into us.  I never had that happen before.  It didn't cause any damage, and we just pushed the boats apart and carried on our merry ways.

The people on the draw bridge enjoyed watching it, though.

We walked around the little alleys of the village for a while.

And I found some dude fishing - on the river - where the sewage just gets dumped.

Right before lunch.  I passed on the fish, but everything was very good.  

After lunch, we were given more free time to wander the area.  Those of us who had already wandered pretty much all of it stayed in the restaurant and chatted.  Then we left the stilt-building part of the village and lined up at another public bus stop to go back to the Big Buddha.

There's a promenade going up to the Big Buddha that has statues of various Chinese mythological figures.

We finally made it to the Big Buddha.  It's pretty impressive.  Far too many stairs for me to take with my foot hurting and the limited time we had before we had to leave to catch our plane.  I must come back to Hong Kong.  I really want to climb those steps, spend more time around this area, and see other things that I wasn't able to do this trip.

This was my last good look at the Big Buddha on the way back down the cable cars.

We made it to the airport, retrieved our luggage, and got checked in for our flight to Taiwan.  My companion and I said our goodbyes in Taiwan, where we caught our respective flights to our respective homes.  All in all, an excellent trip, and as expected, I had a flare soon after I arrived home.  Not quite enough to need a walker, but it came close.  I was still flaring when I saw my dermatologist, who decided to tentatively diagnose me with Psoriatic Arthritis.  Finally, after about 30 years of various symptoms (starting with my hands), over 10 of those years negatively impacting my ability to walk, I may actually get a diagnosis that explains my inability to walk, my need to stop playing the keyboard/piano, and problems with hand coordination, instead of just diagnosing and treating pain.  While there's no cure, there are real treatments that do more than just manage symptoms.  Wish me luck getting an appointment with a rheumatologist!