Exploring California
So R and I are now at the long-awaited escape from the wedding preparations.
We had already spent a week in Sunnyvale, where I tried to clear some work and allowed R to acclimatize herself to the unique was of California. During the last weekend, we made day trips to San Francisco and to Monterrey, which were both excellent trips.
Our San Francisco day trip was a little short because I was recalled back to work to sort out some urgent issues. We did however make it to Castro Street, the gay district of the city. The area was bedecked with rainbow-coloured flags, which I found out was the adopted icon for gay-pride day. So we had lots of fun trying to spot gay couples, which wasn’t too difficult. Dinner at a local restaurant seemed a little strange too because it appeared that straight couples were a minority here - a pair of gay men eating next to us were talking out loud about who they slept with.
On Sunday, we drove to Santa Cruz, Monterrey and Carmel - all on the coast south of San Jose.
At Santa Cruz, we arrived just in time to catch a gay pride parade, which was colourful scene in all the wrong ways. Big men prancing around in tutus and garish makeup, hairy ones dressed in mermaid costumes and bikinis. I wish I had some photos, but I screwed with my camera battery at the wrong time and my entire flash card was hosed.
Santa Cruz boardwalk was also fun - it’s a archetypical seaside resort scene with roller coasters and rides and food stalls. With the bright sun and clear blue skies, it was a beautiful day to be outside.
Monterrey turned out to be a beautiful seaside town, with a nice wharf. The waterfront road was lined with nice houses - all looking very expensive. Just off Monterrey is the famed 17-mile drive through the exclusive estate of Pebble Beach. It is a large tract of private property that holds within in the Pebble Beach Golf Course as well as multi-million dollar private homes. Each residence in that estate seemed like a mansion. Nonetheless, the $8.50 entrance fee seemed a little steep for an hour’s drive in someone’s back yard. Highway 1 offers a lot more spectacular vistas at other places.
Carmel was a charming town, filled with art galleries. The quiet streets were lined with quaint buildings that sold charming trinkets, tucked underneath shady oak trees. Nearby was the Carmel Mission (Mission San Carlos Borromeo), and also the final resting place of Fr Junipero Sierra. The Spanish-styled adobe church was constructed on the site of the original California missions established in the late 18th century.