Guess Where We Had Lunch?

6/12 Here we sit in the front parlor of the boyhood home of John Steinbeck waiting for our lunch to arrive. While we are waiting, we look around and see many items that would have adorned the old home including portraits of his parents. The home has been restored to its former glory (assuming that it did have a former glory) and I have to say it was very well done. As you can see.

This restaurant and gift shop are run by volunteers with only 3 paid positions (Manager, Chef & dishwasher). All of the dishes are made from locally grown produce. The house is just a few blocks from the National Steinbeck Center located in the center of Historic Salinas. As for the lunch, it was delicious and the ambiance made the price seem “worth it.”

The Center was very well laid out and we thoroughly  enjoyed it. Basically, the exhibits were laid out in the time line of Mr. Steinbeck’s life. He was quite the literary giant, and his writing drew from his life in and around the Salinas Valley. I’m throwing in the photo of the Model T because it reminds of a story often told by my father who was but a year older than John Steinbeck.

My father’s story tells of his trip in a similar car from Michigan to California, but I’ll save that for another time. As you walk through the exhibits, you get a feel for what Mr. Steinbeck experienced and what brought about the stories that he wrote. You could feel the grit in those tales and understand how the local folks could actually go out and burn copies of the “Grapes of Wrath” when it was released. There is an exhibit for each of his literary works, with bits playing from a screen play or just someone reading from a story. A visit to that center certainly opened my eyes to more insight into the man, John Steinbeck than any discussion in any of my English classes back in my school days. I do remember that I disliked reading his works in school, perhaps because they were so gritty or not whimsical. I’m not sure if I now want to go back and re-read some of his books or just try to bring my writing up to his level (nice to have a dream).