winifredcreamer

One Last Festival

The weekend before our departure from the Monterey area was the regionally-well-known Artichoke Festival. Trivia fans know that Castroville, CA is the Artichoke Capital of the World. (The festival is sometimes called the Castroville Artichoke Festival.) We were pleased to hear the festival would take place live and in person, and were determined to attend.Continue reading “One Last Festival”

On the way to the beach

We set out for Zmudowski State Beach, just north of Moss Landing, where the Salinas River meets the ocean. There’s a sign that points off the highway, and the road goes left, right, left, right, through field after field. The long zigzag brings us to a quiet, sandy area, good for a long walk toContinue reading “On the way to the beach”

Discovering Ft. Ord

A disused Army base, Ft. Ord National Monument, now is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and is open to the public. From Ft. Ord Dunes along Monterey Bay (see banner photo for this post) to hilly inland scrub, it’s a huge park, more than 14,000 acres. We’ve explored the long stretch ofContinue reading “Discovering Ft. Ord”

Quirks of Beachcombing

We usually look for sea glass at the lowest of low tides, when gravelly patches appear that often hold glass fragments right at the waterline. When we saw there were no more low tides this month, we decided to try something new. We’d go to the beach after high tide, as the water was recedingContinue reading “Quirks of Beachcombing”

Letting go of our mooring ropes

Having mulled over what I love about this area in my previous post, I have to face what it will take to get us on the road again. We’ve made ourselves comfortable here; after all, we will have been here 3/4 of a year. Unweaving the strands of connection that tie us here will takeContinue reading “Letting go of our mooring ropes”

My favorite things, Monterey edition

In just under four weeks, we’ll set out from the Monterey Peninsula, where we’ve spent eight months sheltering from Covid and its aftermath. We’re not leaving the US yet, but moving on to Bainbridge Island, Washington, for the month of August. Much as we are looking forward to exploring a new region, and taking aContinue reading “My favorite things, Monterey edition”

We step into museums again

After more than a year at home, punctuated only by grocery shopping and outdoor walks, we made a step toward normality by visiting some indoor sights in the Monterey area. There are lots of places on our list, museums, the famous Monterey Aquarium, the Carmel Mission, and the many historic houses that predate the USContinue reading “We step into museums again”

Wildflower Time

April and May are wildflower time in the Monterey area. One of the things I like best about the central coast is that calla lilies grow wild, and it is possible to have these exotic flowers growing in your front yard or growing wild in empty lots. Memorial Day weekend this year is forecast toContinue reading “Wildflower Time”

Tourists in San Francisco

We decided to be tourists for a few days and went up to San Francisco. We stayed at the Argonaut Hotel, across from Fisherman’s Wharf and next to Fort Mason, a large park. Visiting San Francisco confirms that I want to wait on European travel until next year. Our hotel is right by the cableContinue reading “Tourists in San Francisco”

We could live in Pacifica

We decided to go to San Francisco as tourists for a few days. Neither of us has been there on vacation, though we both visited more than once to attend professional meetings. We took most of the day to drive north along Route 1 along the sea side of the peninsula that is home toContinue reading “We could live in Pacifica”