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Published: March 8th 2009
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They don't call the Salinas River Valley the Salad Bowl of the World for no reason. I just had to touch and smell that dark brown soil for myself today. It seems just about anything will grow here and every inch of land is used for something. I was astonished to read that farmland here goes for $35,000 an acre, that's a bit of a difference than Kansas farmland. We've seen thousands of acres of strawberries, lettuce, grapes, cauliflower, beans, onions, artichokes, and there were many fields where we had no idea what was growing there.
It was fitting that we started the day in the city of Salinas in Old Town at the Farmers' Market. This was different from the Farmers' Market in Ocean Beach because there were REAL farmers at this one. I bought some grapefruit that were sweet without sugar and a head of cauliflower that was bigger than my head. It was fun seeing the different produce and even learning the names of some fruits and vegetables I'd never seen before. (Chinese eggplant and bitter melon to name a couple). The market was a good way to pass the time while we were waiting for the
Steinbeck Center (just across the street) to open.
Joe and I both enjoy Steinbeck's books, and we were anxious to visit the excellent Steinbeck Center. We started the visit by seeing two short movies, one of Steinbeck's life and one about agriculture in the Salinas Valley. The exhibition hall was well done with colorful informative multi-media displays representing different books that Steinbeck had written, his life, and his awards. In the same building was the Agricultural Museum and it was surprisingly interesting. We spent about two hours at the Center, then visited Steinbeck's boyhood home. He certainly didn't grow up poor. After today, there are a couple more Steinbeck books that will go on my reading list.
We headed north to Watsonville enjoying the pretty green hills and more farmland. Going back south on Highway 1 we stopped in Moss Landing because we had both heard about this place and wanted to see it. As we were passing the marina we stopped to watch a southern sea otter swimming about ten feet from the shore. A few blocks away was a building with a small old boat in front of it and we saw dozens of people heading
for it. So like lemmings, we followed these people to see what was so interesting. It turned out to be Phil's Fish Market and people were coming from miles away (San Jose, mainly) to have lunch here. Sounded like a good idea to us so we joined them. We found out that Phil's is a famous establishment. It has been featured on the Food Network and many people regard it as having the best seafood in California. After our small sampler (seafood chowder and crab and shrimp quesadillas) we couldn't disagree. We also enjoyed fire roasted artichokes.
After nosing around Moss Landing we continued south to Carmel and to Point Lobos State Reserve for four hours of hiking along the coast. The reserve's guide says it is "the greatest meeting of land and water in the world." We're not sure about that, but it is a nice place to hike and birdwatch. Point Lobos is also a great place to see many sea lions, seals, sea otters, and today we also saw over a dozen gray whales. The sunny weather added to our pleasurable day.
There is a Dixieland Jazz Festival going on this weekend in Monterey and
we tossed around whether or not to go to that tonight, but we opted for rest. We wish we didn't have to leave tomorrow, but are looking forward to Piedres Blancas and fun with the Deckerts.
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Connie
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I'm glad you enjoyed the Steinbeck Center as much as I did. We also did a Steinbeck tour, mostly in Pacific Grove- there were other houses, and stops. I'm going to have to dig up the map- I'm sure, because of all the places you both have been, Point Lobos was a little pale in comparison; we got to watch otters tending their baby in the water, a thrill for us. Looking forward to your other stops-