On the Road 1
It's been a month since I've written anything on this blog. Excuse #1 is that we've been on a road trip. Excuse #2 is that I have a new laptop and have been learning my way around it and how to get on the internet at the various motels at which we lodge. We old folks are slow learners. You can teach an old dog new tricks but it takes a bit longer.
We have traveled out to the ocean from Seattle, then all the way down the Washington and Oregon coasts and followed the California coast down to Big Sur. There have been many highlights. The exotic names of Bodega Bay and Half Moon Bay beckoned. I hadn't been to Big Sur since sometime in my late twenties. I thought it would be nice to see it one more time. The towns turned out that they were just other tourist places with nice ocean scenery. But the coastline scenery was spectacular. Monterey we had visited before. We spent most of an afternoon on Cannery Row, one of the most touristy places of all.
One of the highlights of the trip so far was backtracking to Salinas, in the heart of agricultural California, to visit the John Steinbeck Museum. I first was introduced to Steinbeck's novels in 1949. I took to him right away. Now that I think of it, he wrote about times that are far away from current times. He was much closer to the Great Depression and World War II as was I. Anyway the museum was fabulous with many rooms, each devoted to a specific novel or time period. There were mock ups of dwellings, such as Hooverville shacks from The Grapes of Wrath, or Doc's lab from Cannery Row. Many quotes were on the walls; artifacts from the time period and place abounded. Screens showed scenes from movies made from Steinbeck's books, or from plays. Sometime readers read sections from his books. It was a wonderful experience, spending a couple of hours in the museum. I have read many of Steinbecks novels but I was surprised at how many I had not read. Something which I must remedy. Soon. Afterward we ate lunch in a cafe where Steinbeck occasionally ate. It's now called Sang's.
More from the road later, now that I've semi-mastered the beast.
We have traveled out to the ocean from Seattle, then all the way down the Washington and Oregon coasts and followed the California coast down to Big Sur. There have been many highlights. The exotic names of Bodega Bay and Half Moon Bay beckoned. I hadn't been to Big Sur since sometime in my late twenties. I thought it would be nice to see it one more time. The towns turned out that they were just other tourist places with nice ocean scenery. But the coastline scenery was spectacular. Monterey we had visited before. We spent most of an afternoon on Cannery Row, one of the most touristy places of all.
One of the highlights of the trip so far was backtracking to Salinas, in the heart of agricultural California, to visit the John Steinbeck Museum. I first was introduced to Steinbeck's novels in 1949. I took to him right away. Now that I think of it, he wrote about times that are far away from current times. He was much closer to the Great Depression and World War II as was I. Anyway the museum was fabulous with many rooms, each devoted to a specific novel or time period. There were mock ups of dwellings, such as Hooverville shacks from The Grapes of Wrath, or Doc's lab from Cannery Row. Many quotes were on the walls; artifacts from the time period and place abounded. Screens showed scenes from movies made from Steinbeck's books, or from plays. Sometime readers read sections from his books. It was a wonderful experience, spending a couple of hours in the museum. I have read many of Steinbecks novels but I was surprised at how many I had not read. Something which I must remedy. Soon. Afterward we ate lunch in a cafe where Steinbeck occasionally ate. It's now called Sang's.
More from the road later, now that I've semi-mastered the beast.