Cannery Row.

I have wanted to visit Monterey for almost all of my married years. That's going on 11 years folks! Many authors and photographers have been inspired by that part of our coast and I wanted to see it with my own eyes.

I got to see it!

The city itself was much more crowded and busy than I imagined because I had pictured a smaller, beach-bum type of town. We took so many wrong turns and got lost often but that didn't take away from the beauty. I love visiting places that have a distinct history. Part of Monterey's history is sardines and you can't get much more distinct than that. Our favorite stop was the aquarium and it did not disappoint, even though we took a few wrong turns there too.

Here are bits of one of Steinbeck's quotes about the area,

"Cannery Row... is a quality of light, a tone, a nostalgia, a dream."

I certainly saw that quality of light on the cheeks and hair of my children as they explored.

I felt that tone that can only be felt when you are close to where sky meets sea.

I had my nostalgic moment when we got lost (again) and I begged to go into the antique mall on the corner. There I stumbled upon the dishes I grew up with, oh that Butterfly Gold!

(Vintage Pyrex collectors and fiends would LOVE that place! Just get lost a few blocks up from Cannery Row.)

Than, many a dream came true when my biggest boy's blue eyes were inches away from a creature that is very much loved out here.

Not a bad trip if we can compare it to a famous writing, eh?