California Dazzling: A Roadtrip Vacation Spectacular - Last Update and Final Thoughts 11/8

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Great day! Enjoyed your update.
I am not sold on your comment Germans relax on cruises Magdalena. Have you not read Corinna's trip reports and the bumper cars, skylines and that is just on the ship! Too much to do being offered in your face.

I must try in and out burger it is on my list, I see it on so many US shows. Always on CSI Vegas.

How neat you got to see the Steinbeck museem. Quiet is better than trying to deal with crowds I bet. Looks interesting place.

That town is a ghost town for sure. You can almost see the tumble weed roll by..

How odd the Best Western had no air con. Strange config as well. I like these hotels in the main we stayed at an odd one too once at Lake Placid. Not the best experience of my life. Bears eating from the garbage lol.

That resraturant looks amazing. Worth paying a little more. Steak and souffle? I am sold. I bet you went to bed very happy that night.

Thank you for lovely photos.

 

[glennbo123]

Salinas looks like a nice town, but yes, you can see the decline of the American "main street". So little activity anymore.

What a strange layout in the hotel room. I can't even imagine two people trying to sit in those chairs on the ledge. Odd!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

The food was its usual consistent product, so maybe it was all the six and seven figure geeks (most between 20-34) dining with us or the realization that our amazing trip was coming to a hectic end, but I recall not particularly enjoying this experience.

I'm guessing it mostly had to do with the realization that vacation was almost over. That always colors my mood.

You had to look at the traffic, I forbade you to look.

You are forbidden to look! This sounds very German.

The scary thing was how empty it was. I got the impression that this museum was mainly built for visiting school classes and since it was summer vacation time, it was fairly empty.

I think you nailed it. Sounds like a place your teacher would force you to visit.

Wow, and I thought my road trips were ambitious!

And there I found out that recent research showed that a lot of Steinbeck’s tales in that book are actually fiction and not a real travel report.

Aha! I win, Steinbeck!

Or maybe it's just that she likes to pick and choose what exhibits to pay attention to in a museum and I like to approach one like a book, meaning no skipped pages or chapters.

This reminds me of traveling with my mother. She has to read. Every. Single. Sign. In. The. Museum.

It had one rather bizarre feature though: A massive closet that had a kitchenette in it!

Whoa. That is really weird!

And the balcony had two chairs on a platform:

You can get your shoes shined!

The food was all wonderful and when the server told me that their specialty for dessert was a Grand Marnier soufflé I could not resist and ordered one…

Lots of little Disney Cruise references here!

 

[franandaj]

Some of us wonder whether Germans can truly take it easy when not on a cruise ship!

It doesn't sound like it!

Some might, this not... Or at least this one has a different definition of easy than you, Michael.

I think Fran would have a different idea of "easy" than you as well!

We decided to break up the drive and make sure that we had plenty of time for driving through Big Sur, which is a very lovely and remote stretch of coast line, so today we were only driving down to the Monterey area.

At least you took the safe and easy way instead of the treacherous drive. But then again you wanted to hit Salinas and the other way bypasses it completely.

At some point I started searching possible fast food options for lunch and I located an In-N-Out Burger and decided that we should eat there. I also realized that Google Maps also told me that there was something called Googleplex nearly next to it. And then I realized that that Googleplex is actually Google’s headquarters!!

Interesting. I knew that Google's headquarters was somewhere south in the Peninsula, but that's right where my Mom used to work. I know the area pretty well (or used to). I'm sure it has changed a lot.

part business, part pleasure ... everything from a little awards show called the Primetime Emmys to DL to UNI to Halloween Media Events at Knott's and on the Queen Mary!

Name drop much?

After lunch we saw the new Levi’s Stadium in the distance, which really is pretty far away from San Francisco… I seem to recall not seeing it and just seeing the exit for it, but maybe I am not recalling? I saw it, you did not. You had to look at the traffic, I forbade you to look.

Again another area that I knew 30+ years ago.

Our first destination was Salinas. An otherwise unremarkable town, but it is the home town of the author John Steinbeck.

That's probably the only remarkable thing about it.

I wasn't informed we were visiting here until late in our planning. And while Steinbeck was an incredible writer, I wasn't high on visiting. But I think I got more out of visiting than M did. Or maybe it's just that she likes to pick and choose what exhibits to pay attention to in a museum and I like to approach one like a book, meaning no skipped pages or chapters.

I was wondering where "The Grapes of Wrath" exhibit was.

After the visit to the museum we explored Salinas a little. The museum is at the one end of Main Street, so we walked down there. There were some really pretty buildings, but it was so dead there! A lot of shops were closed or rather cheap places. It was really sad! What a contrast to Main Street at Disneyland!

I've never been that far down Main street in Salinas, but with the Glen Miller Orchestra playing, Fran would have canceled our plans for the evening and got us tickets.

Like a lot of small towns in the USA, Main Streets largely died between the 50s-80s and this is the vibe I got here. Lots of places people used to shop, watch movies, dine, drink etc that were no longer, with some hipster new places trying to gain footing.

I can't even imagine "hipsters" in Salinas.

We then continued to Pacific Grove which is next to Monterey. This whole area is really expensive for decent hotels in the summer time and I had a lot of issues to find something nice. I finally found this place, the Best Western Inn & Suites Pacific Grove. It was hidden away a bit in a more residential area and seemed to look more like a condo development than a hotel.

Pacific Grove is also nearing the expensiveness of Monterey without the notoriety, no wonder you had a hard time finding reasonably priced accomodations.

Looking around we came across one restaurant that I had already checked out online and found a bit too pricey, but then it looked so nice and the menu looked good, so we decided to go there. That’s how we ended up at Fandango pacific grove:

Again, I'm not surprised that the restaurant was pricey but I'm glad you enjoyed the menu.

The food was all wonderful and when the server told me that their specialty for dessert was a Grand Marnier soufflé I could not resist and ordered one… However, only after at first saying that I did not want dessert and then changing my mind…

If it were me, had I known that they had a Grand Marnier Souffle, I would have planned my meal so that I had enough room for the Souffle!

 

[Steppesister]

Beautiful update, Magdalene!

I loved your little tour of the Upper Central CA coast, having spent so much time there growing up. Salinas was a fave of my parents, but yes, it's really changed since my youth. Sad, really. But I think the concept of Main Street, USA has gone by the wayside. BUT, I also think, like Michael alluded to, they are making a hipster come back. Or at least trying to. A lot of gentrification is happening here in P-town, OR. Tons of nice new businesses in the older warehouse bldgs.

The Fandango looked great! I haven't had a really good filet in years. Mmmmm! And souffle! WOW!

Hotel was odd, but looked ok. I think the chairs weren't meant to stay up on the platform, but taken down. Perhaps they were put up there while they hosed the lower section off?

 

[Flossbolna]

I promise I will be back with replies!! But it is getting late here and I wanted to post the next update to get this trip report moving. So I am posting the new update and tomorrow you will get replies!

 

[Flossbolna]

A Dream in Pink! - Part 1

Friday, August 28: Big Sur, Elephant Seals, Hearst Castle, Madonna Inn

Today we were going to drive along the coast to San Luis Obispo. Again, this was a part of California that I had seen in 2005, but Michael had never been there. Since the last time I did a lot of the driving, I was happy to not have to deal with traffic this time and just enjoy the view.

This is where we made a big mistake that I wasn't really sure of. We never actually went into Monterrey or took the scenic drive. I didn't realize that these were so important, but my family (who had all done it) were disappointed that we didn't do the drive. We would have also had to get up very early, but I didn't realize any of that at the time.

Well, since I had been there and done that before, I was of the opinion that neither Monterey nor the scenic drive were really that important...

Of course our departure from our hotel in Pacific Grove was later than we intended it to be, so there you see already how the "get up very early" in Michaels comment above told you why I thought they were not so important...

I started the day with some complimentary breakfast and they had a pancake making machine there, so that was quite good:

I also took some pictures of my breakfast table and the courtyard of the hotel:

And then we started the drive along the coast line. It was really very beautiful and we stopped a few times for pictures.

At some point we came into a village like area and we decided to pick up some lunch there. They had a general store that was selling sandwiches.

A bit on the pricey side, but quite delicious. We also picked up some fancy drinks. There was a State Park coming up soon and we thought we would picnic there. Well, when we entered the State Park, the parking lot was overflowing and the entrance fee to park was $10. So, we decided that we did not want to pay that much just to eat lunch. In the meantime our car started to smell more and more of bacon. Michael had ordered a BLT and they freshly fried the bacon for his sandwich. But we parked somewhere along the road with a half decent view of the sea and enjoyed our lunch.

Michael’s BLT:

A great sandwich and the last time I had dined in my car until last Friday (now a few Fridays ago? took me some time to post the update...) when driving back from WDW in the remnants of Hurricane Matthew when my brother and I stopped at the Wawa -- I bet the crazy Delawarian knows them well -- in Kissimmee and had sandwiches in the car because ... well, they were open and they make tasty sandwiches!

My avocado and cheese:

And our fancy drinks:

We continued the scenic route and were coming closer to a spot called Elephant Seal Beach – where you are supposed to see those seals. We talked about it and Michael said that I should look out if there were any seals around as we would stop then. I looked and told him that there were no seals, it was just a very rocky beach. We drove along the beach and Michael kind of questioned my assessment of the beach and then I realized those rocks were actually seals!! Luckily the entrance to the parking when coming from the North is kind of after you have driven by the beach, so we could still park and walk to the overlook.

The seals were rather lazy.

This one was trying to turn around:

One was actually moving:

And this one was trying to throw sand on himself:

And then one actually appeared out of the ocean:

Yes, these were the seal highlights! Michael gave them some messages for his beloved Cassandra. I hope the seal mail works well…

It was a beautiful beach and amazing to see these sea creatures just lounging around on the sand like tourists here in Florida.

We also met this little critter:

While we were there I saw that we were out of the no mobile coverage zone and back in reality. I took this opportunity to reserve us a tour at out next destination as I had read all kind of horror stories about tours selling out there or if you had not pre-booked you would have to wait for ages (and who wants to do that). So, I thought I was being very smart and prepared! I had not wanted to book any earlier as I had no idea when we would arrive. And it turned out that the next few tours were already booked out online…

So, what was our next destination? The famous Hearst Castle. Built by Randolph Hearst as his vacation home where he would invite celebrities as his guests. It is located on the land where his father had a farm.[That is putting it mildly.] And it is in the middle of nowhere very close to the coast.

It is now a National Park and at the bottom of the hill they have a Welcome Center:

We went in to claim our tickets. Inside it was incredibly hot as they had no air conditioning. However, the nice guy at the ticket counter asked us if we would be interested to swap our reservation for an earlier tour that was leaving in 10 minutes instead of waiting an additional 20 minutes. That was fine with us! And it turned out that the whole pre-booking was really not necessary. I do believe that at other times it might be busier there, but a weekday afternoon in late August was not really busy at all!

Michael went in search of the rest rooms before our tour and came back rather appalled. The restrooms were closed and instead the provided porta potties. There was a long long row of them outside. It was a water conservation scheme.

No excuses for that. The Castle has running water and they have facilities for the workers. To make Guests use those horrible holes at a site where one of the richest, most powerful men in the world wined and dined just isn't a very good message to send. I believe they are using conservation as an excuse to save money. ... Just like Disney would do!

They also told us that we could take bottled water with us on the tour, but the water in the gift shop cost a fortune and we decided against getting any. Of course the drinking fountains did not work either. It was baking hot and we already felt drenched before we boarded the not air-conditioned bus that would take us up the hill.

Continued in Part 2

 

[Flossbolna]

A Dream in Pink - Part 2

The drive up was quite scenic, it is already part of the experience for the visitor of Mr Hearst.

Once you are at the top you get a brief guided tour of some of the rooms in the main house (there are other tours available, too) and then you can wander the grounds for a little bit before you catch a bus down the hill again.

Mr Hearst had a very eclectic style when he built his house. He mainly bought up all kind of old stuff in Europe and had it put together in some way back home. What is now the entrance was once the portal of a church in Spain or Italy:

Inside that style continues:

He definitely had some nice views:

And all in all it is a very impressive building and setting!

There is a very impressive outdoor pool which unfortunately was under construction:

It was not under construction when my friend and I were there in 2005:

Actually, this pool featured in a at that time very famous TV-spot by a German bank. It is two guys who were in school together meeting by chance in a restaurant. The one is a typical show off and immediately shows pictures of what he has achieved (my house, my car my boat). The other one then also shows pictures (my house, my car, my boat and then also my shower, my bath tub, my rocking horse) and then the business card of his banker (my investment advisor):

But we got to see the also very impressive indoor pool he also had:

After the indoor pool we took the bus down to the Welcome Center again. Michael bought a magnet in the gift shop and I some post cards. But mainly we were just melting. We still had a couple of drinks in the cooler in the car and got those to drink, but overall we realized that we just had not enough to drink during that day. We really felt sooo parched! And both of us were very grumpy!

I do remember being hot, tired, thirsty and grumpy quite well. I think I told you that it might be a good idea to not talk to me for a while until I cooled down.

All in all Hearst Castle is an interesting place and a must see if you are in the area. But I have to say that after having seen it twice, I have no desire to return. Even the other tours of other rooms don’t sound that appealing that I feel I need to go there again.

Agreed. The problem with the tours would be the price and the fact you only see a tiny portion of the Castle on each. You really need to take 2-3 different tours in one day to get a full(er) picture and if are going to spend that much, well, you are spending too much!

Continued in Part 3

 

[Flossbolna]

A Dream in Pink - Part 3

We got back into the car for the last leg of today’s drive. We had booked the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. If you read any guide book about this area, that hotel will be featured in it. It is quite a local landmark. It was built by a local building firm owner and he and his wife decorated every room individually to a specific theme. It was one of those things where I felt that you had to do it once to see it and then be done with it – like with Hearst Castle. It turns out that I was wrong!

When we finally got there all tired and exhausted from the long day and the lack in liquids, we were pleasantly surprised with how friendly the lady at check in was. The hotel is more a kind of Motel and has a very small front office and everything in there was kind of pink. We even got a bag with two cookies each – the bag was pink of course!

We then drove to the room that we had been given. We parked in front of our room:

As you see, it had a number and a name:

Unfortunately the pictures don’t do the room justice! They are far too dark. The theme of the room was Mardi Gras and everything was purple and gold and shiny. On top of that the room was also incredibly clean.

This was the wallpaper in the bathroom:

We totally fell in love with the room. Yes, it was totally over the top, but it also was so comfy and inviting.

I could have spent a good week here.

This was our view from our front porch:

We then went on to explore the hotel a little and figured out how to get to the pool, so this is where we went to relax.

pool at night:

After a lovely pool break, we decided that we would try one of the restaurants at the hotel for dinner. They had the Copper Café and a steakhouse. I think we had the menus for both restaurants in the room and had seen that the steakhouse was quite pricey, but the Copper Café seemed okay. So, why drive somewhere when you can walk to dinner. Also, by then we had tried the cookies and they were excellent, so we trusted that the food would be decent.

We got there rather late (I think after 8pm) and had no trouble getting a table. We got the menu:

The tables were set with these colourful goblets:

Oh –and pink napkins as you can see!

I got a tuna melt sandwich:

This was very delicious!

Michael got a steak salad:

He said it was excellent.

They tried to convince us to have a slice of cake from their bakery for dessert. Supposedly their bakery is very famous and they had the cakes on display and they looked amazing. But I was far too full. However, Michael decided to have dessert and got a sundae:

We both absolutely loved the atmosphere of the place and I was surprised when Michael decided that we should go there for breakfast the next day before leaving! I guess you can all understand how much Michael liked this place if he actually suggests that he gets up to eat breakfast! But I liked the idea and we made it a plan!

Food and service and vibe of the place was terrific. The whole hotel had this feeling. I recall seeing a special on it on the Travel Channel at least a decade ago, but never really thinking "I should go here." Well, I want to return ... and stay a spell. ... And try that steakhouse, which has very good reviews too!

I tried a picture of the dining room before we left:

After dinner we looked around a little more. I took a picture of the steakhouse:

And we looked at the gift shops. They were selling those colourful goblets and I was very tempted to get one, but there was the issue of transport. So I decided against getting one. I guess this is a reason for me to return there – and I am sure that Michael and I will return. We really loved the place!

We also checked out the bathrooms. The men’s room has a very unique rock wall… I did not see it, but I can offer you a picture of the also very impressive ladies’ room:

Up Next: Michael finds me a future home and job

 

[dolphingirl47]

We never actually went into Monterrey or took the scenic drive. I didn't realize that these were so important, but my family (who had all done it) were disappointed that we didn't do the drive. We would have also had to get up very early, but I didn't realize any of that at the time.

Well, you always need a reason to return ...

But we parked somewhere along the road with a half decent view of the sea and enjoyed our lunch.

That sounds like a good compromise.

And our fancy drinks:

I am a little amused that you had drinks made in Australia and the UK. I love the Curiousity Cola that Fentimans makes.

Michael kind of questioned my assessment of the beach and then I realized those rocks were actually seals!!

Good job that Michael spotted them. There must have been a lot of seals.

However, the nice guy at the ticket counter asked us if we would be interested to swap our reservation for an earlier tour that was leaving in 10 minutes instead of waiting an additional 20 minutes.

I love it when things work out like this. I love the look of the house and the view is not too shabby either.

The theme of the room was Mardi Gras and everything was purple and gold and shiny.

I would have loved this.

and I am sure that Michael and I will return. We really loved the place!

It looks like an amazing place.

Corinna

 

[Flossbolna]

There are definitely lots of different kinds of pizza in Chicago! We would all be huge if we ate deep dish all the time!

I understand. But one would think that there are other things to eat in Chicago besides pizza.

As for architectural styles, Chicago mostly skipped Art Deco. The 1896 World Fair cemented the Beaux Arts style as the mainstream style. Louis Sullivan had his own style that was a lot closer to Art Nouveau. Then you had Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie Style.

Actually sounds really interesting! My father once was in Chicago on a stop over on his only trip ever to the US where he went to Omaha, Nebraska of all places (I think you might find that interesting as it was on a conference by ICOMOS, which is an international organization for the preservation of buildings. He was very involved with their subcommittee on "Analysis and Restoration of Structures of Architectural Heritage (ISCARSAH)" as he is a civil engineer. The reason they met in Omaha was the examplary restoration of the state capitol there). And I really liked the pictures he brought back from his sightseeing in Chicago.

I loved Vienna when I was there, but didn't get to Nuremberg or Prague.

Compared to Vienna and Prague, Nuremberg is nothing special.... If you are thinking of coming back to Europe at any point in the future, I absolutely can recommend Prague for nearly all different architectural styles.

You maybe on to something there.

So, you relax best on a cruise ship, too?

From the photos, it looks pretty nice.

Salinas was actually quite pretty. It felt like it had a bit of a sleeping beauty sleep.

I could not have resisted this either. Was it nice?

The Soufflee was quite wonderful!

 

[dolphingirl47]

So, you relax best on a cruise ship, too?

Definitely. I have just loaded a bunch of books on my iPad and I am hoping to read most of them on my upcoming cruise.

Corinna

 

[Flossbolna]

Definitely. I have just loaded a bunch of books on my iPad and I am hoping to read most of them on my upcoming cruise.

Corinna

A TA cruise is perfect for that!

 

[Flossbolna]

I am not sold on your comment Germans relax on cruises Magdalena. Have you not read Corinna's trip reports and the bumper cars, skylines and that is just on the ship! Too much to do being offered in your face.

I guess it depends on which ship you go on! But even despite the bumper cars I think Corinna mentioned a lot of sitting in the solarium with a book, too. And I know that for me sitting on the ship looking out over the ocean is one of the few places where I can just sit without having anything to do (Normally I would at least read a book to entertain me).

I must try in and out burger it is on my list, I see it on so many US shows. Always on CSI Vegas.

They are only in a limited area of the US and I am sure that being the local chain for Hollywood makes it appear on the US TV shows so much. I never noticed that, need to keep an eye out for it!

How neat you got to see the Steinbeck museem. Quiet is better than trying to deal with crowds I bet. Looks interesting place.

It was really interesting and I am happy that we went.

That town is a ghost town for sure. You can almost see the tumble weed roll by..

It is so sad, it would make a very nice restoration project. But then you also need the people who then want to go there.

How odd the Best Western had no air con. Strange config as well. I like these hotels in the main we stayed at an odd one too once at Lake Placid. Not the best experience of my life. Bears eating from the garbage lol.

I think that the northern part of California really does not need AC most of the year. But I much prefer no AC to bears eating out of the garbage! Which is really bad for the poor bears besides being rather scary!

That resraturant looks amazing. Worth paying a little more. Steak and souffle? I am sold. I bet you went to bed very happy that night.

It was a wonderful dinner!

Thank you for lovely photos.

You are welcome! Thanks for reading!

 

[Flossbolna]

Salinas looks like a nice town, but yes, you can see the decline of the American "main street". So little activity anymore.

I am sure there are many towns like this all over the place. For us Europeans those main streets look just so "exotic" and it is so sad that they are no longer bustling with life.

What a strange layout in the hotel room. I can't even imagine two people trying to sit in those chairs on the ledge. Odd!

Someone else said that the chairs are most likely just there for storage. But it looked so funny!

 

[dolphingirl47]

But even despite the bumper cars I think Corinna mentioned a lot of sitting in the solarium with a book, too.

Yes, I spent a lot of time just relaxing in the solarium or Two70 watching the world go by and reading my book.

Corinna

 

[Flossbolna]

I'm guessing it mostly had to do with the realization that vacation was almost over. That always colors my mood.

Yes, it does. Somehow it certainly colored that day because there was not a lot happening and it felt like we already were through all the highlights...

You are forbidden to look! This sounds very German.

I just like telling people what they are allowed to do... I should do that professionally!

I think you nailed it. Sounds like a place your teacher would force you to visit.

Not everyone can visit nuclear launch sites. For some reason they seem not to have any handy along the San Andreas Fault... (or do they? I would hope not...)

Wow, and I thought my road trips were ambitious!

He did not have any kids with him, just a poodle: Charlie. So, one dog compared to four kids, I would say you are still coming out ahead.

Aha! I win, Steinbeck!

See!

This reminds me of traveling with my mother. She has to read. Every. Single. Sign. In. The. Museum.

Oh, someone who is on my side there!!! I always make sure to bring something to read when I want to see a museum with Michael.

Lots of little Disney Cruise references here!

A big one coming up in the next update!

 

[Flossbolna]

It doesn't sound like it!

Hey, it is all a question of what easy is!! And I have to say that it is much easier to take it easy when you are not somewhere spectacular where it took you 12 hours to fly to, but instead somewhere which is only two hours away by car or train!

I think Fran would have a different idea of "easy" than you as well!

Isn't it great how we all can have our own ideas about easy!!

At least you took the safe and easy way instead of the treacherous drive. But then again you wanted to hit Salinas and the other way bypasses it completely.

In 2005 my friend Irmi and I drove along the coast from Monterey to San Francisco. It was a nice drive, but we ended up with quite a bit of fog, so did not really see that much. We stopped at a nice pumpkin field though and that was great fun! We don't have pumpkin fields here... (Or we did not in 2005, pumpkins have grown in popularity here in the last 10 years).

Interesting. I knew that Google's headquarters was somewhere south in the Peninsula, but that's right where my Mom used to work. I know the area pretty well (or used to). I'm sure it has changed a lot.

I am glad that I could tell you about how your past home changed over time.

Name drop much?

Who, Michael?? Never, he is modesty in person, haven't you noticed???

That's probably the only remarkable thing about it.

You know, being a tourist it is sometimes really interesting to see the non remarkable places, too. Gives you a whole different appreciation of the place you are visiting. But at least I know now that Salinas is a place that I have seen and don't have to make a point to get back there.

I've never been that far down Main street in Salinas, but with the Glen Miller Orchestra playing, Fran would have canceled our plans for the evening and got us tickets.

So, that's the kind of music she loves?

I can't even imagine "hipsters" in Salinas.

Actually, there was one bakery in an old gas station that sounded really good when I had looked for lunch options in Salinas in my planning stages of the trip. That sounded very much like the one hipster place there. I tell you, hipsters are everywhere!!

Pacific Grove is also nearing the expensiveness of Monterey without the notoriety, no wonder you had a hard time finding reasonably priced accomodations.

Yes, this whole area was just not fun planning. But I really liked Pacific Grove.

Again, I'm not surprised that the restaurant was pricey but I'm glad you enjoyed the menu.

It was pricey, but actually I felt it was worth it, not touristy pricey.

If it were me, had I known that they had a Grand Marnier Souffle, I would have planned my meal so that I had enough room for the Souffle!

That would have been smart...

 

[Flossbolna]

Beautiful update, Magdalene!

Thanks Liesa!

I loved your little tour of the Upper Central CA coast, having spent so much time there growing up. Salinas was a fave of my parents, but yes, it's really changed since my youth. Sad, really. But I think the concept of Main Street, USA has gone by the wayside. BUT, I also think, like Michael alluded to, they are making a hipster come back. Or at least trying to. A lot of gentrification is happening here in P-town, OR. Tons of nice new businesses in the older warehouse bldgs.

The thing that I really noticed on this trip is how quick change is in the USA. Here in Europe you have villages that have always been in the same place, people do not move a lot, hell it is not so long that people were not even allowed to move as they wanted from a village into town for example. However, in the USA in the span of 200 years so many villages and towns have appeared, grown and again disappeared. Just like in the gold country. Or along the railroads.

We saw some of that Main Street gentrification in Anaheim, when we visited the packing district. Not really a Main Street, but kind of the old commercial center being revived. It is interesting that this is happening now and I wonder if it is something that will come to less hip places as well? It seems to be similar to the development of pedestrian zones in towns here in Germany. It started in the 70s (Munich got their pedestrian zone for the Olympics in 1972) and slowly moved to more and more places. The larger town in the area where I grew up got theirs in the mid-80s and it made such a difference for reviving the town center.

The Fandango looked great! I haven't had a really good filet in years. Mmmmm! And souffle! WOW!

It really was a great meal that we did not plan for or expect.

Hotel was odd, but looked ok. I think the chairs weren't meant to stay up on the platform, but taken down. Perhaps they were put up there while they hosed the lower section off?

Yes, I am sure you could take them down. It just looked so funny!

 

[Flossbolna]

Ok, let's post another update!!