Did You Know This about the Monterey Area?

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These might be some Monterey area facts you did not know: Fort Ord is a mecca for mountain biking with more than 83 miles of trails. Gray whales put on a show between December and April, while humpbacks and blue whales fill out the rest of the year. This year is the 50th anniversary of the famous Monterey Pop Festival. October 7 is Poodle Day here, with a parade, cocktail party, and off leash beach play. There are 94 seabird species that live in or near the bay. Largest sea bass caught here was 500 pounds. No more sardine fishing allowed until June, 2018. Thirty marine mammals live in or near the bay. An average adult humpback whale weighs 53 tons! A sea otter has a million hairs per square inch, the densest in the world. Point Pinos Lighthouse built in 1854, is the west coast's oldest lighthouse in continuous operation. The Monterey area is known for their great pinot noir wines. You can still get abalone in a number of fish houses here. They do have a 5pm rush hour traffic problem here. It now costs $10.25 to drive into 17 Mile Drive, unless I tell you my little secret.* The rack rate for a sea view room at Spanish Bay is $840. We often stayed here for about a $100 when I worked at Pebble Beach. If you do not want to lay out $600 for a round of golf at Pebble, try the more modestly priced Pacific Grove muni, with many back nine holes on the ocean. Instead of paying over $100 for a Pebble Beach logo golf polo, stop by their factory store on Cannery Row. I just bought one for $35!! Cycling along the coast is great, even on Seventeen Mile Drive.....until you reach Cypress Point. From there, the road narrows, winds, and is devoid of a bike lane! Pacific Grove has a plethora of second hand or vintage shops, as does Monterey. Do you know the Feast of Lanterns?* If you answer this correctly, you get my secret (above). The first appliance connected to the internet was back in 1982, it was, according to Carnegie Mellon University, a Coke machine! This is the 10th Pebble Beach Food and Wine event, with Thomas Keller, Charles Phan, Guy Fieri, Nancy Silverton, Tyler Florence, Daniel Boulud, among others. Btw, it is this weekend. They will use 300, 000 disposable bamboo plates, bowls, and forks. Eight tons of food will be served. And one ton of butter in 6 refrigerated 18 wheel trailers. Time to head homeward, I miss our little Lexi. I love this area, maybe we should have retired here.

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