Tourists

Our campsite in Watsonville has been the perfect place to spend Christmas. It turned out to be a lovely day for us, the first year we have been away from family, thanks to modern communication technology.

To celebrate the wonder of not being involved in any planning, shopping, organizing or decorating, and because I have managed to avoid hearing Christmas music in the malls, I added a red glass Christmas ball and two silk poinsettia blossoms to the camper décor.

I cooked lamb and rice balls and cabbage in a  sweet and sour sauce made with homemade cranberry ketchup, a delicious gift from a friend. For dessert, pastries bought at Kelly's French Bakery in Santa Cruz. Having dogs guarantees much walking, in the clear and windy afternoon, we explored a rolling park on Pinto Lake, watched kids playing with their new toys, and rented a movie from the local Redbox, Jersey Boys, which we enjoyed.

This morning is bright blue and cold, even some frost (bad for the local agriculture.)  We decided to stay another night in this convenient and comfortable rv park, drive down to Monterrey and come back at night. Having read John Steinbeck's, Travels with Charlie, I realized, when standing on Cannery Row in Monterey, looking at images of Steinbeck on walls and labels, that I remember almost nothing about that book and little about the history of this area.

I also realize I do not recognize many of the plants, such as this beauty. Does anyone know what it is?

The view from Monterey Aquarium is exquisite, Cannery Row and Fisherman's Wharf are total tourist attractions, and as such, fun. The streets, on this holiday weekend, were crowded with people from all over.

I enjoyed walking along, being offered samples of clam chowder from the different restaurants on the wharf. Trying four samples in a row, all delicious, I was struck by how different each one was. Luckily, I didn't have to chose because, with Alfie and Rosco as our walking companions, we chose a  restaurant with an outdoor area where the boys are welcome.  We had  mediocre lunch and a lively conversation with another family, complete with a beautiful black lab who was sitting in a chair at the table.

On the way back "home", along roads lined with artichoke plants, we stopped at one of three produce stands along a stretch of Rte 1. Each was advertising avocados, artichokes, kiwi, citrus, almonds. I am my father's daughter, I find these fruit stands irresistible. We bought all this. The persimmons are just the way I like them, dead ripe and honey sweet. The artichoke is huge.

Tomorrow we move on again. Now I am going to eat a grapefruit.