Carl Henning

We came across the Pigeon Point Lighthouse quite by accident. The GyPSy Guide was finished by the time we got this far north.

Author John Steinbeck was a native son of the Monterey peninsula. There are a lot of references to him in the area. We opted for the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas. We were uncertain if this would be worthwhile. It was. Of course, we were aware of some of his novels (and the resultant movies), but there was a lot we didn’t know. Did you know his first wife (of three) was Carol Henning? We didn’t.

Yes, another mission. There were 21 missions in California separated by one day’s walk. Franciscan Father Junípero Serra started nine of them including Carmel Mission.

Our GyPSy Guide alluded to the 17-mile scenic drive at Pebble Beach. This turned out to be a great drive with birds, seals, and scenery. Apparently there are golf courses here, too.

Meandering up the Pacific coast, we spent a few days in Monterey. We were here in 2017 and you will want to go back to the post Coastal Critters for the jellyfish and anchovies videos from Monterey Bay Aquarium.

We passed the Hearst Castle a couple times (going to and from the elephant seals) before I concluded I would take the Grand Room Tour. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of William Randolph Hearst was “yellow journalism” which Wikipedia defines as “newspapers that present little or no legitimate well-researched news while instead using eye-catching headlines for increased sales.” They never mentioned this during the tour probably because this type of journalism has gone extinct.

After Santa Barbara we picked up our GyPSy Guide for Big Sur at San Luis Obispo. He suggested leaving the Pacific Coast Highway to visit Moro Bay. We did and were rewarded with views of seals and a partial view of Moro Rock. Back on PCH we passed San Simeon and Hearst Castle to see the elephant seals.

The Spanish settled Alta California by building missions and accompanying presidios. Alta California included what is now California plus Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. Alta (Northern) California contrasts with Baja (Lower) California. Presidios were military fortresses. We’ve visited a fair number of missions across the west. Today was Old Mission Santa Barbara near the California coast.

I’m a huge baseball fan. I have a goal of visiting all the Major League Baseball stadiums. Today was number 13 (because I can’t count two of them that are no longer used (Cleveland Municipal and the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome). So 17 to go, but I’ll get one more this week.

No, not that Madrid (the one in Spain). This one is in New Mexico and it’s pronounced MAD-rid. Boomed on coal mining; busted when railroads switched to diesel. Became a ghost town. Then the hippies moved in. Then the artists. Now even some families. Current population: 225; down from multiple thousands. We tried to stop here a couple days ago, but the town was over capacity with the Fourth of July parade. Today we made it a destination.