Salinas, California
March 17–27, 2022
March 17–27, 2022
I spent a bit over a week in Salinas with my Uncle Charles and Aunt Tamara. Charles is my mother’s youngest sibling and only brother, and I always enjoy reminiscing about my mother with him. We even got to spend some time looking through old photos. I especially enjoyed snuggling with their sweet dogs, Lola and Misha, and trying to win over their shy cats. I took my boys on a number of jaunts in Fort Ord National Monument and Toro Park, both just down the road from the house.
While I spent the following work week at the house and didn’t do much exploring (a much-needed rest after so many months of travel and adventure), my first weekend in Salinas was jam packed. On Saturday, we met up with my cousin, Julianne, and her fiancé, Cory, and walked around the trails at Point Lobos State Park and along the coastline in the cutesy town of Pacific Grove, bundled up against the steady rain (a blessing in drought-ridden California), and got tasty late lunch at Pacific Thai Cuisine. The next day, Julianne joined us again, and we went on an 8.5-mile hike in Pinnacles National Park, also not far from the house. The ancient volcanic landscape is truly majestic, and I enjoyed capturing photos of my family members looking like hiking ants against the cliffs and pinnacles ahead. And we saw a California condor! And I found a pine cone as big as my head!
On the second weekend of my stay, I took the boys to the dog-friendly beach in Carmel-by-the-Sea (to be spoken with one pinky in the air and nose held high, if you please), and we got there by way of the famed 17-Mile Drive. Afterward, I stopped for a glass of sparkling rosé on the patio at Folktale Winery & Vineyards. I took it easy on Sunday, preparing the van and myself for a return to the road after a sweet break with dear family.
Charles and Tamara’s home in a woodsy canyon feels like a bit of paradise (not far from John Steinbeck’s “pastures of heaven,” in fact), but they are considering a change of setting in the future, possibly even to hit the road in a van like mine. Of course, I highly recommend it!
While I spent the following work week at the house and didn’t do much exploring (a much-needed rest after so many months of travel and adventure), my first weekend in Salinas was jam packed. On Saturday, we met up with my cousin, Julianne, and her fiancé, Cory, and walked around the trails at Point Lobos State Park and along the coastline in the cutesy town of Pacific Grove, bundled up against the steady rain (a blessing in drought-ridden California), and got tasty late lunch at Pacific Thai Cuisine. The next day, Julianne joined us again, and we went on an 8.5-mile hike in Pinnacles National Park, also not far from the house. The ancient volcanic landscape is truly majestic, and I enjoyed capturing photos of my family members looking like hiking ants against the cliffs and pinnacles ahead. And we saw a California condor! And I found a pine cone as big as my head!
On the second weekend of my stay, I took the boys to the dog-friendly beach in Carmel-by-the-Sea (to be spoken with one pinky in the air and nose held high, if you please), and we got there by way of the famed 17-Mile Drive. Afterward, I stopped for a glass of sparkling rosé on the patio at Folktale Winery & Vineyards. I took it easy on Sunday, preparing the van and myself for a return to the road after a sweet break with dear family.
Charles and Tamara’s home in a woodsy canyon feels like a bit of paradise (not far from John Steinbeck’s “pastures of heaven,” in fact), but they are considering a change of setting in the future, possibly even to hit the road in a van like mine. Of course, I highly recommend it!
