monterey peninsula

My work sent me on a (very long) two days to Monterey and like all work trips, I made the most of it. Monterey is about three hours southwest of Sacramento. 

I don't initially look forward to long drives but once I'm on the road I always find a new appreciation for California's expansive and diverse landscape. On my route from Sacramento to Monterey, I passed through Silicon Valley, where I saw a Lexus Google satellite car (presumably one of those self driving ones), the abundant agricultural lands of the Salinas Valley invoking imagery from Steinbeck's East of Eden and finally the Monterey Bay coast, which after three hours of driving felt like a breath of fresh air. I live in the valley where the only body of water I have easy access to is a river so, when I see the ocean, I perk up with excitement. Every. Time. 

This is the furthest I've driven my car, unlike my previous car (may it rest in peace) that I only had for 3 years but put tens of thousands of miles going up and down, left and right of California multiple times. 

A trip to the Monterey Peninsula is not complete without visiting Carmel-by-the-Sea (the official name) and you cannot resist its charm. I want to be one of the old rich people who live in this beautiful town that’s filled with expensive stores and quaint art galleries. I would have to be old and rich to live here otherwise a fun single woman in her thirties will shrivel up and die of having to go to bed early because everything closes early, the lack of interaction with people under the age of 50 and the lack of seeing men we might be remotely attractive to and having other young people who act like a drunken fool so you don't look so bad—all the essentials of a healthy thirties life. 

Downtown Monterey at night.

When I took this shameless “selfie”, some psychological fear briefly reared its ugly head and said to me, “This is how it’s going to be for the rest of your life, traveling alone and you’ll have to take “selfies” to get any photos of yourself on your vacations.” Then I killed that thought--killed it good with booze positive thoughts.

Whenever I visit a city, I always try to eat at a place that is specific to the city. In Monterey, I went to Restaurant 1833, a James Beard award nominee for best new restaurant in 2012. Because I'm a sucker for things that say "nominated for", I had to go. The restaurant is the historic Stokes Adobe and you can dine in various rooms (e.g. the living room, the loft, the library, etc.).

Of course, I had to visit Monterey's only brewery, which was conveniently located at my hotel! (The Portola). Peter B's only serves their beer. I had their IPA and an artichoke grown in the Salinas Valley. I enjoyed the beer, the artichoke not so much. It turns out I only like marinated artichokes.

While we are on the subject of food and beer, I've started another blog focused on beer and food. I came up with this idea last week when I was looking for an old blogpost I wrote about a beer and had to sift through dozens of posts just to find it. The blog, called "The Back Pages Beer and Food Blog" (backpagesbeerandfoodblog.blogspot.com) is to function as a log of all of the beers I drink and restaurants worth noting. I can look back on what I liked and didn't like and because I have delusions of grandeur I believe the public should read about what I think. I will post everything I post there to this current blog but likely in a shorten revised form.