Monterey, California
October 20, 2012
Sometimes I think I like travel, sometimes I think I
don't. This time I liked it.Last week I went for a three-day weekend
with my wife and daughters for a joint celebration weekend of birthdays
in September and October (and thus no column last week).. We rented a
house we had never seen in Monterey, California. It was, as expected,
right on the water. Perfection! It was not walking distance to downtown
as we had sort of expected, for reasons that now seem unclear. :-( Not
too impressive on the outside :-(, but very nice on the inside! In
short, the typical vacation home rental. We had a couple of lovely
hour-long walks on the beach and would rent there again, for a large
group. It would be too large for just my wife and I. In addition to the
walks we had a very adequate dinner at PF Chang's, shopped for some
lovely home-cooked meals at Whole Foods, watched some free On-Demand
movies in front of the gas fireplace, and rented a surrey for four. We
had to return the first one when the peddle fell off, but otherwise had
a lovely ride from the rental place to the end of the bike path. I
treated myself to a massage at the spa at the plaza. Alas, their hot
tub is outdoors. Normally a wonderful idea, with its breathtaking view
of Monterey Bay. Alas, on a very hot day, with no shade, my heart meds
(which cause me to sunburn very quickly) kept me out of the hot tub. As
did forgetting my swimsuit back at the house. They had swimsuits for
sale, and, had there been some shade, I could have added one to my
already extensive collection. It was a minimum three-night stay, so we
didn't leave until Monday morning. I had to teach at 11:15, so we left
at 8am. We got home in plenty of time, but, to tell the truth, my head
wasn't in the game. Amazing how we can forget that it takes time to
re-acclimate after travel. I love travel around Northern California,
but I still harbor a desire to see London, Venice and Paris at least
one more time each.