When You Say Monterey, I Say Carmel!

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When people are headed to Monterey, most of us really mean Carmel, or Pebble Beach. Hardly anyone goes to Monterey. Even fewer actually stay in Monterey, where the charm is definitely lacking compared to her more elegant big sisters, Carmel and Pebble Beach. Yes, Monterey is an ugly duckling of sorts, but perhaps it deserves a closer look. Monterey is home to the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, Fisherman's Wharf, and the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary. It also hosts the famous Monterey Jazz Festival, known the world over.
Some hidden gems include: Dennis the Menace Park, a favorite of my kids when they were younger, the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail, the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Old Monterey (downtown), and even two golf courses.
Monterey also boasts many boring facts. The population is just under 30,000 people. Cannery Row was renamed to honor author John Steinbeck in 1953, the old name was Ocean View Boulevard. Famous residents include(d): Doris Day, John Denver, Ansel Adams, Jack London, Robinson Jeffers, Sinclair Lewis Upton Sinclair, Leon Panetta, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mayor Clint, Frank Zappa, John Steinbeck, Herm Edwards, Pete Cutino, and Mike Aldrete (former SF Giant). The famous Jazz Festival, started in 1958, has hosted great performers such as Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, Billie Holliday, and Louis Armstrong. The Festival was the brain child of San Francisco disc jockey Jimmy Lyons. The Who at the Monterey Jazz Fest And perhaps the world's most famous tree, the Monterey Cypress stands guard on Seventeen Mile Drive, Pebble Beach, just a seven iron away. But Monterey Jack Cheese was actually originated in nearby Carmel Valley. Another famous inhabitant, the California sea otter has become a threatened subspecies. Monterey was established by none other than Father Junipero Serra and the explorer, Gaspar de Portola in 1770. Even fewer people know that Monterey was the capital of Alta California from 1777 to 1846 under both Spain and Mexico. Have I sufficiently bored you to tears? Monterey will just always be the poor little sister to glamorous Pebble Beach and romantic Carmel by the bay. Nothing you and me can do will ever change that.
Fast forward to 2024. What's new?
Local settings from around the Monterey Peninsula have provided the backdrops for more than 180 films and television shows, including Basic Instinct, East of Eden, Play Misty for Me, Lassie Come Home, Rebecca, Star Trek: The Voyage Home, Treasure Island and most recently HBO’s award winning mini-series Big Little Lies.
Monterey County has 349 vineyards, 82 bonded wineries and 65 tasting rooms. The wide range of climates allow Monterey County to grow over 30 different wine grape varietals. It has become much like the other wine regions in California, busy!! Monterey County is the largest grower of Chardonnay in the United States and the largest grower of Pinot Noir in California. I did not know that.
The Bixby Bridge in Big Sur was built by prisoners eager to earn "good time" off their prison sentences. It is one of the world's highest single-span bridges at 714 feet long by 260 feet high.
Nearly a quarter million tons of sardines were processed on Cannery Row in 1945, the year John Steinbeck's Cannery Row was published. Cannery Row was previously named Ocean View Avenue. In January 1958 the street was renamed to honor John Steinbeck’s well-known novel.
17-Mile Drive through Pebble Beach is one of only nine private toll roads in the country, and the only one west of Mississippi. And I know a secret way to get in, without paying!!! And we got to see our good buddy, JB!!
Time to say good night!

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