Our drive took us from tree’d grasslands, through fields of golden grass to Madera.
And why would we land up in some obscure, God foresaken town, off the beaten track??? Because the TJ Sports Bar had a TV and it was World Cup England vs Croatia semi final match. A tense match which saw England lose in extra time, much to the dismay of our ‘British’ mates.
It was a delightful drive down to Monterey, all farming country. We saw huge farms of pistachio nuts, fig orchards, lettuce, herbs and lots of plants and trees we couldn’t identify. Certainly, it was was more interesting than Free State mielie fields. We stopped at one of the farm stalls and bought cherries and nuts, they were delicious.
We struck out on our B&B in Monterey, it was not the greatest and nor in the best area.
We dumped our luggage and headed into town. Wayne and Jean hired bicycles and went for a cycle along the coast to Lovers Point and beyond.
Gray and I took a walk around town and along the coast. We saw a colony of harbor seals in the bay.
Monterey is on California’s rugged coast line. We explored Cannery Row, the one time center of the sardine packing industry, immortalized by the novelist John Steinbeck. We found a vibey strip of shops, seafood restaurants and bars, some housed in the old converted factories.
We stopped at one of the restaurants for a drink and the Diesel’s joined us for a delicious seafood dinner.
Pandas in Africa 