Almanac Travel: Col’s USA Music Trip – Day 1

 

 

Col & Brian Wise waiting to board our delayed flight

 

Brian and I finally arrived in San Francisco after a two hour delay in Melbourne due to the late arrival of the United flight from America. Total flight time ended up around 14 hours which wasn’t too bad.

 

Harry McKay ducking his head through the doorway.

 

With a full complement of passengers on board the flight was a relative smooth one without any major hick-ups. The food was welcome  and serviceable, the movies had many very good options to select from, and consequently I had very little sleep during the flight. A couple of very tall Carlton footballers including Harry McKay were squeezed rather tightly into seats nearby. I wondered with a supposedly high salary of why Harry was not seated in first class!

 

Clearance through customs and security at San Francisco was a breeze;  from touch down to collection of baggage took about 45 minutes. The  wait for the hire car took nearly the same amount of time.

 

It was quickly noticeable by Brian and myself, as we stepped out of the building to collect our car, how hot the weather was  in San Francisco. Driving between SF and Monterey the temperature reached a top of 107degrees F and that’s hot especially after a Victorian winter. The countryside was very dry. Lots of rolling and undulating hills with patches of trees, some eucalyptus, not unfamiliar with much of our countryside. Primarily farming and agriculture land.

 

After a two and a half hour drive we reached Monterey and looked forward to a shower. Unfortunately we were unable to check into the hotel as the rooms had not been made up. We learned it was also the Labour Day weekend in California which explained the number of tourists and visitors crowding into the streets and shops in Monterey and Cannery Row.

 

Still very hot but dropped from the stifling 107degrees we caught the free old tourist trolley bus around the sights etc of the two townships. Both Monterey and Cannery Row have an extensive history but mainly remembered for whaling and fishing stations set up there around Monterey Bay. John Steinbeck immortalised Cannery Row with his novel of the same name. The Beats, such as Ferlinghetti, Kerouac, Ginsburg, and Burroughs had associations with the area also, and if you are of my generation you remember the Monterey Pop Festival, one of the first ever pop/music festivals to be produced , and featured the likes of Jimi Hendrix, The Who and many others. There is a pamphlet/map that provides a good overview of the history of the region.

 

Our motel in Monterey

 

We had a quick look around before the heat became overbearing and we headed to the closest coffee shop for a drink. Unfortunately – chock a block and it was quite a while before we received our drinks.

 

 

Main Street Cannery Row

 

 

Our accommodation is good with plenty of room and French doors opening out to a verandah. Too hot to sit out there. No air conditioning, a fan moved the air around room to create drafts and it was not long before the room was comfortable.

 

A shower was absolute bliss, after which we rested , then sorted bags out our bags and general pottering around before heading out to Fisherman’s Wharf. Lots of people around, quite a carnival atmosphere and plenty of eateries to choose from we were ready to eat.

 

 

 

 

 

As we approached the waters edge we were puzzled by a loud barking noise, getting closer we soon realised it was coming from the 100s of seals in the water or settling on and sleeping on the rocks and beach for the night. The sight, sound, and smell was a sensory stimulus to all in the vicinity.

 

 

 

 

 

After checking out the eateries we made our choice and enjoyed our first meal on American soil for some time.

 

 

 

We are off to Big Sur tomorrow before a return to Monterey via Salinas for ma visit to the John Steinbeck museum.

 

Take care everyone.

Cheers.

Col

 

More from Col Ritchie can be read Here

 

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