USA 2006: Las Vegas & California
(continued)
The Gallery Cafe at the Pebble Beach Golf Club overlooks the practice putting green
Point Lobos State Reserve juts out into the Pacific Ocean and provides a seascape that inspired Robert Louis Stephenson's Treasure
Island. Viewable from here are the wonderfully playful Californian sea otters
The whale-watch vessel, Sea Wolf II, provides one of the best viewings of humpbacks we have seen. Although the trip only locates two
whales, a mother with its calf, their spectacular manoeuvres close to the boat provide a very memorable experience
After a morning's whale-watch cruise, followed by an interesting visit to the Monterey Maritime Museum, we have a late lunch at
one of Monterey's eating institutions: the Old Fisherman's Grotto - famous for its pasta and seafood, particularly its clam chowder
and crab. We thoroughly enjoy the delicious hot crab sandwiches with the clam chowder. The sandwiches come with fries and there is
lots of crab. Charming service and a very filling meal - we have to resist the very tempting desserts. But, after exploring the pier
and walking to Cannery Row and the Aquarium, we return to the Grotto for Creme Brulles; the waiter presents Jeanette with a rose.
During
the Second World War, Monterey was the sardine capital of the world with over thirty fish canneries located here. Following overfishing,
the canneries have been replaced by shops and restaurants that line Cannery Row - a street named after John Steinbeck's evocative
portrait of the rough-and-ready men and women who worked in the canneries