A Bike Tour

8/19 Yes, a bike tour! We have not been on a bike ride in years so, you can imagine that even a short four and a half mile ride is a major triumph for us.

We parked the truck along business route 1 across from the Naval Postgraduate School and started peddling towards Cannery row. Along the way we passed a parking lot that was loaded with old time cars that had been through an auction presented by Russo and Steele. Any of you car nuts have seen this on TV with collector automobiles going for very high prices.

After admiring the hundreds of cars, we continued on our way along the bay towards Canary Row only to come another spot we had to stop and take some more pictures.

Here we found some naked sunbathers out on the rocks enjoying the beautiful day. Many were frolicking in the water while others just lay about on the rocks and in the background were some wonderful buildings built up on the docks.

So many distractions, it’s amazing that we did make it all the way to the end of Cannery Row. We had some pizza down by the aquarium and took some snaps looking up along Cannery Row to prove that we had been there, also because we liked the view.

Did you notice that bit of brown building on the left? Well that’s where Doc lived and worked.

Don’t know Doc? Guess you are going to have to read some of Steinbeck’s work. Doc was his best friend and appears in the novels “Cannery Row” and “Sweet Thursday.”

That was mile 2.25 and the return trip was much the same as we saw on the way out so I’m closing with saying that we got home and realized it’s been years since we did that much biking and we knew it. Also, before I close I have to tell you about the camera we used for the photos. It’s our new phones. We just got the Galaxy S4 and they come with a 13megapixel camera. For general pictures, they sure fit the bill.

Now part of it is an Aquarium

6/23 You’ve heard about Cannery Row, well that has been turned into a tourist attraction which contains a lot of restaurants and gift shops and at the end of it all there is one of the finest aquariums that we have ever visited. It cost a pretty penny to get in, so instead of paying the entry fee, we joined and now we can visit anytime. After all, it’s only about 25 miles from us. They do change the exhibits occasionally and the current big attraction are “Exotic Jellies” which are Jelly Fish from all over the world.

 



Watching these Jelly Fish swim through the water is mesmerizing and we could just stand there all day watching the dance. These were just a few of the many species throughout the exhibit. This was just the start of an amazing day.

Another of the favorite spots for folks to sit and watch were the otters. It seems they never run out of time to play. Do you think it’s because they know they have an audience? To be honest, I’ve seen them out in the bay far enough away that I’m sure they don’t know they have people watching and they seem to do the same antics as they do in the tank at the aquarium. I wonder if they ever grow up.

We continued on through the Aquarium and enjoyed many more of the exhibits including Kelp Beds, Penguins, many schools of fish of which I would love to show some pictures, but alas I put the camera in my pocket and just enjoyed the views so I have none to show you. It looks like we have to go back, now that we are members, and take some more pictures to share. Oh yes, before I put the camera away I did capture some species that had escaped and were running loose. They happened to be trapped on one of the outside balconies and I did capture these photos. I believe they are referred to  as Homo Sapiens Aged.

 

A "Grand" Father's Day

6/14 It has been 3 weeks and a few days since the arrival of our granddaughter Anouk Grace Cooper, born May 22. She came into this world at a whopping 8 lbs. 2ozs. and continues to grow. She and mother  were treated for an infection with antibiotics keeping them in the hospital for an extended period after birth, so it was a bit of a traumatic experience to say the least. They are home and things are going along well and of course she is the most beautiful baby ever born, just ask me. Grandma is having a blast and is doing all the grandma stuff. Me, I’m just sitting back taking it all in and yes, enjoying this wonderful bundle of joy.

Anouk Grace Cooper

We had the family over to the campground for Father’s Day and had a nice quite dinner and of course Anouk did demand her bit of feast, which her mother was able to supply. Afterwards, we stepped outside for some family photos.

The Proud New Parents Jim & Cory

We plan on being here for a few more weeks but we're not looking forward to leaving, I know grandma sure isn’t going to want to leave. Of course you know grandpa can leave anytime (yeah, right).



"Yeah kid, that's your grandpa!"

Ok, I’m going to explain her name just because I get asked a lot. Anouk is a French and Dutch diminutive of the female given name Anna. It is fairly popular in the Netherlands, used but not as popular in Belgium and France.

Yes, I had a GRAND Father’s Day!

A Visit From the Past

6/13 We had a visit from some remaining members of the Ohlone Native Tribe to our little campground here at Pinto Lake in Watsonville. I’ll bet most of you have never heard of them and for good reason. They have not been recognized by our government as a native tribe, however, they are recognized by many and even have their own website http://ohlonecostanoanesselennation.org/ which is kind of cool. Of course their decline is blamed on the Spanish Missions, which destroyed their way of life. Anyway, we had a visit from some of their tribal folks who demonstrated the construction of one of their canoes. I guess it’s one of those boats you just sit atop and paddle.

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).

Side Trip to China

5/17 Not quite all the way to china, just as far as San Francisco. We visited the Asian Art Museum where they were displaying some of the terracotta warriors that were unearthed in China  in 1974. These warriors stood guard near the tomb mound of the great Emperor Qin. It is said that the more than 6000 figures each have individual features. It is said that they used eight face molds but each one had additional clay added to change the features to each face. (I used a lot of “it is said” which translates to this is what is written on the displays) The display had only a few figures to represent the army that was uncovered, but among the display was a General, another high ranking officer as well as some

Calvary, foot soldiers, an archer and horses. This young emperor assumed the throne at age 13 and unified all of china by the age of 49 when he died. We are not saying that he was not ruthless in his approach, but he brought about a standard currency and weights and measures. Not bad for such a short lifespan. There were also some artifacts that came from the tomb of the emperor that would be for his enjoyment in the afterlife, one would imagine. Care for some tea with the emperor?

The display was coming to an end and we were glad we got to see the warriors before they were packed up and shipped to Houston, their only other destination in the US.

We continued our tour of the museum by going to the third floor to see other parts of Asia such as India and Japan. We think back to history and the knights of old with their armor and then we look at those terracotta warriors with their armor, now look at this Japanese warrior and his armor.



While interesting, it certainly brings home that we human beings do seem to like this thing called war. This is one of the finest museums we have ever visited and you can certainly spend a lot of time here. It depends on how much time you want to devote to any particular subject, but we were tired and did not make it to the second floor, we were just too pooped out.

Mission Santa Cruz

5/15 A short foray out from our campground north about 18 miles to Santa Cruz. This was the twelfth of twenty-one Spanish missions built in Alta (upper) California. The mission was completed with a church, quadrangle, two story granary and workshops in 1795. This mission seemed to be doomed from the start. Between earthquakes, fires and pirates this was never a very successful mission. Yes, you did read correctly, I did say pirates. At one point pirate Hippolyte Bouchard, known for plundering the coast of California, was reported off the coast of Monterey Bay and the Governor of the time ordered the missionaries to evacuate the mission. The Indian population left the area shortly after the completion of the mission because of the start of the pueblo (town) across the river. Because the population was down and the mission was out of the way, it really was not very productive. The mission was secularized in 1834. There were several wooden churches built over the years which of course burned down. The current church is brick and adobe. In the 1930’s they built a smaller scaled replica of the original mission which stands today. This is used for weddings and weekday masses.

Across the street from the mission is the Church and school, which is quite large.