Monterey

I was booked into the Marriott, but didn't know exactly where it was, other than being on "Calle Principale". (I don't know Spanish, but my guess is that translates to "Main Street"). It wasn't too hard to find, as I think it is the tallest building in Monterey, being all of 10 floors. Finding the entrance took a little navigating, as there are a number of one way streets, and a couple of 45 degree corners nearby, just to add to the confusion.

I checked in, then took the car off to Pacific Grove, which is all of a 10 minute drive. That is where my employer Jeff is located. Even though it was Saturday afternoon, my guess was that he would be in the office. Which was a good guess. In fact, my timing was excellent, as his son Victor was due to arrive (Victor works for Intel in Silicon Valley), so we went off for coffee and social banter. A pleasant way to spend an afternoon. By the time I returned to the Marriott, the conference registration desk was open, so I registered and headed back to my room to look it all over.

The conference format was three days of tutorials, followed by 3 days of conference. When I made the hotel reservation I was not sure whether I would attend any tutorials, so booked the hotel for 7 nights in case. As it turned out, none of them appealed enough to justify the $300/day cost. So I had three free days - Sunday to Tuesday, inclusive.

Sunday I decided to tour Monterey. I have not done that before, even though I have been to Pacific Grove a number of times. (The two cities run into one another). Monterey is a coastal city, located on (surprise) Monterey Bay (where John Denver's plane crashed when he ran out of fuel!). It used to be a major fish cannery, but that pretty much expired in the 50s. It was also home to (author) John Steinbeck, who immortalised Cannery Row in a novel of that name. His only work that I know about is "The Grapes of Wrath".

Monterey also has an aquarium of note. There is a very deep canyon out in the bay, being many thousands of feet deep. There is still a fishing fleet, though minuscule by comparison with what it used to be. And there is the traditional fisherman's wharf area, which had little appeal to me. That part of town is also the historic part, and there are a number of old buildings around, some in private hands, others as museums. There's also an interesting nautical museum.

Monterey has the uncommon distinction of having been part of three countries. It was claimed for Spain, then became part of Mexico when Mexico won independence from Spain, then part of the US when it defeated Mexico in the Spanish (Mexican?) American war. The Spanish arrived in Monterey in 1770, when an explorer (whose name I don't remember) and Father Junipero Serra moved along the coast from the Gulf of California (in Mexico) establishing mission churches every 20 miles (32 km) or so. That was the distance considered a reasonable day's ride in the 1770s, when this was happening. Many of the Spanish names of well known California cities came from the names of the missions - San Diego, San Clemente, Los Angeles, San Louis Obispo, San Simeon (Randolph Hearst's castle), Monterey, San Jose, Santa Clara and San Francisco. There were quite a few others - these are just the ones I remember. Oh, yes, San Juan Capistrano too.

The original church in Monterey was built in 1770, but it was a temporary structure replaced with the current one, San Carlos Cathedral, in 1792. It's not a church of great architectural significance, but considering that it is still standing after 200 years, in an earthquake area, is quite a compliment to its builders.