Summary of time:
· Fresno Fair
· San Juan Bautista Mission and the San Andreas Fault
· Monterey Bay, 17 Mile Drive, Carmel
· The Sheep Growers – a Basque dinner
Handy hints –
§ Be content to take things as they come, don’t worry if running behind your schedule, it may mean you experience something new and different.
§ Embrace the weather, be prepared for anything.
Every year Fresno has it’s Fair in October, it’s a mix of Agricultural show – young farmers showing off their skills, and the sheep/pigs they’ve reared, you ever get to see some new animals (lambs, claves, chicks and piglets born at the show), as well as produce from the local farmers – citrus fruits, apples and grapes galore. There are even the largest pumpkins, along with produce grown by individuals.
There are the exhibits that you would see at a local village show, arts and crafts, but also there is the Fair – rides, children’s play area.
Midweek its quiet, but also with the threat of rain, most people were not coming out. Liz and i decided we would go and look at all the exhibits that were undercover. It was certainly interesting to see differences in produce and cultural from back home. 2/3rds of the way round, it started to rain, but not too heavy, but by 3 it was coming down heavier, and heavier. By the time we left, not shortly after, there were huge puddles on the ground, and driving meant avoiding the large sections of water that were not getting down the drains quickly. I had got drenched, but what’s a bit of water.
I got to experience the medical service of the usa, and the costs involved in getting medication. The actual purchase of my thyroxin medication was not a problem, but it was getting a prescription so i could get the tablets. It took visiting 2 Urgent Care surgery’s to try and find the best price, and then wait to see a doctor – a 5 minute visit, i confirmed when i had last had labs (blood tests), less than 6 months previous, and proof from my doctor the level of medication i have taken for 3 years and the charge....$100!!!! Oh for the National Health Service....free visit to the doctor and my medication is free. I was lucky, the type of medication i take is on special at Walmart – 3 months’ supply for $10 instead of nearly £30.
By the weekend the weather was much better, back to the early morning fog, and then clearing up for a glorious day, the Valley had experienced higher than normal levels of rain, and it was much needed. Liz and i headed off to the coast and Monterey Bay, an area with lovely sandy beaches. We drove through many areas of crops – 2nd crop tomatoes, artichokes (there is a town that calls it the centre of the artichoke world), citrus crops. On the way to the coast we stopped at San Juan Bautista, to visit the Old Mission (just as you would see on the old western movies) and it is still active today. It was interesting to see it from a historical point of view, but also its current mission. The additional thing to be seen here is the San Andreas Fault...in 1906 there was a violent earthquake which shook the greater part of central California, and much damage was done to the sidewalls of the Church. You can see the two different plates. We got a great sandwich from the Mission Cafe.
Back on the road we headed up to Monterey Bay, there were big long beaches of sand, there were sand dunes up to about a mile from the beach, we passed Sand Town (who thinks up these names?!?!?). We headed to the waterfront, and found the sealion’s, on the harbour wall. You could get with a foot of some of them, as they were right up by the fence. There were little ones playing in the water at the edge. We even got to see a rescue, a woman had been ill whilst diving just off shore, 2 fire engines, paramedics and a rescue boat.....
We headed off to see The Cannery – this is now a lot of shops, restaurants, hotels and an Aquarium. These old cannery factories have been converted, but they are kept historical, walking along there are information boards giving historical info, info of local residents past and current, artiste studios, and also about the local wildlife. We thought we may have seen a sea otter on the floating seaweed, but not certain.
Then heading through Pacific Grove, we found the Butterfly Garden where next month (Nov) the Monarch Butterflies will descend to rest over the winter. The Grove Sanctuary is composed of Monterey Pines and Eucalyptus trees, which is sheltered, and has a moderate temperature during the winter. We were just too early to see the butterflies.
From Pacific Grove we headed onto the “17 mile drive”, which is a very select area of living, with golf courses, but also some dramatic coastline, as well as the Monterey Cypress. There was a bit of a breeze which sent the waves crashing, and just added to the dramatic coastline. The golf course pride themselves are been “Scottish-style”. Driving around there were some very big houses; at one point we took a road off the main path (we did a loop back) and were surprised at the number of houses that had for sale signs...proves no one is exempt from struggling in this economic climate.
The drive brought us out at Carmel, a pretty small town, with gorgeous small cottages – originally artiste houses and they are trying to stay and retain the theme as well as the beauty of the town. We didn’t have time to stop and wander as the day was passing, and we didn’t want to drive too much in the dark. We stopped in Los Banos for dinner at “Wool Growers”. This is a place to stop at for dinner – a Basque dinner, plenty of food, for a very reasonable price. The origins of the dinner is from the day of the sheep farmers, who used to come into town every couple of weeks, and would have hearty meals.
Dinner was, with red wine:
1) Soup with veg and lamb – we were brought enough for 4
1) Beans
2) Salad
2) Potato Salad
3) Lamb Stew
4) 3 Lamb Chops and Chips
5) Ice Cream
There was more than enough for the two of us the bowls they bought came full more than we can eat. We were sat on a long table, some of our fellow occupants were deep in their own conversations, but we did get chatting to some locals, it was amazing to learn that this was a normal busy night. I did take home one of the Huge Lamb Chops, which i didn’t finish.
· Fresno Fair
· San Juan Bautista Mission and the San Andreas Fault
· Monterey Bay, 17 Mile Drive, Carmel
· The Sheep Growers – a Basque dinner
Handy hints –
§ Be content to take things as they come, don’t worry if running behind your schedule, it may mean you experience something new and different.
§ Embrace the weather, be prepared for anything.
Every year Fresno has it’s Fair in October, it’s a mix of Agricultural show – young farmers showing off their skills, and the sheep/pigs they’ve reared, you ever get to see some new animals (lambs, claves, chicks and piglets born at the show), as well as produce from the local farmers – citrus fruits, apples and grapes galore. There are even the largest pumpkins, along with produce grown by individuals.
There are the exhibits that you would see at a local village show, arts and crafts, but also there is the Fair – rides, children’s play area.
Midweek its quiet, but also with the threat of rain, most people were not coming out. Liz and i decided we would go and look at all the exhibits that were undercover. It was certainly interesting to see differences in produce and cultural from back home. 2/3rds of the way round, it started to rain, but not too heavy, but by 3 it was coming down heavier, and heavier. By the time we left, not shortly after, there were huge puddles on the ground, and driving meant avoiding the large sections of water that were not getting down the drains quickly. I had got drenched, but what’s a bit of water.
I got to experience the medical service of the usa, and the costs involved in getting medication. The actual purchase of my thyroxin medication was not a problem, but it was getting a prescription so i could get the tablets. It took visiting 2 Urgent Care surgery’s to try and find the best price, and then wait to see a doctor – a 5 minute visit, i confirmed when i had last had labs (blood tests), less than 6 months previous, and proof from my doctor the level of medication i have taken for 3 years and the charge....$100!!!! Oh for the National Health Service....free visit to the doctor and my medication is free. I was lucky, the type of medication i take is on special at Walmart – 3 months’ supply for $10 instead of nearly £30.
By the weekend the weather was much better, back to the early morning fog, and then clearing up for a glorious day, the Valley had experienced higher than normal levels of rain, and it was much needed. Liz and i headed off to the coast and Monterey Bay, an area with lovely sandy beaches. We drove through many areas of crops – 2nd crop tomatoes, artichokes (there is a town that calls it the centre of the artichoke world), citrus crops. On the way to the coast we stopped at San Juan Bautista, to visit the Old Mission (just as you would see on the old western movies) and it is still active today. It was interesting to see it from a historical point of view, but also its current mission. The additional thing to be seen here is the San Andreas Fault...in 1906 there was a violent earthquake which shook the greater part of central California, and much damage was done to the sidewalls of the Church. You can see the two different plates. We got a great sandwich from the Mission Cafe.
Back on the road we headed up to Monterey Bay, there were big long beaches of sand, there were sand dunes up to about a mile from the beach, we passed Sand Town (who thinks up these names?!?!?). We headed to the waterfront, and found the sealion’s, on the harbour wall. You could get with a foot of some of them, as they were right up by the fence. There were little ones playing in the water at the edge. We even got to see a rescue, a woman had been ill whilst diving just off shore, 2 fire engines, paramedics and a rescue boat.....
We headed off to see The Cannery – this is now a lot of shops, restaurants, hotels and an Aquarium. These old cannery factories have been converted, but they are kept historical, walking along there are information boards giving historical info, info of local residents past and current, artiste studios, and also about the local wildlife. We thought we may have seen a sea otter on the floating seaweed, but not certain.
Then heading through Pacific Grove, we found the Butterfly Garden where next month (Nov) the Monarch Butterflies will descend to rest over the winter. The Grove Sanctuary is composed of Monterey Pines and Eucalyptus trees, which is sheltered, and has a moderate temperature during the winter. We were just too early to see the butterflies.
From Pacific Grove we headed onto the “17 mile drive”, which is a very select area of living, with golf courses, but also some dramatic coastline, as well as the Monterey Cypress. There was a bit of a breeze which sent the waves crashing, and just added to the dramatic coastline. The golf course pride themselves are been “Scottish-style”. Driving around there were some very big houses; at one point we took a road off the main path (we did a loop back) and were surprised at the number of houses that had for sale signs...proves no one is exempt from struggling in this economic climate.
The drive brought us out at Carmel, a pretty small town, with gorgeous small cottages – originally artiste houses and they are trying to stay and retain the theme as well as the beauty of the town. We didn’t have time to stop and wander as the day was passing, and we didn’t want to drive too much in the dark. We stopped in Los Banos for dinner at “Wool Growers”. This is a place to stop at for dinner – a Basque dinner, plenty of food, for a very reasonable price. The origins of the dinner is from the day of the sheep farmers, who used to come into town every couple of weeks, and would have hearty meals.
Dinner was, with red wine:
1) Soup with veg and lamb – we were brought enough for 4
1) Beans
2) Salad
2) Potato Salad
3) Lamb Stew
4) 3 Lamb Chops and Chips
5) Ice Cream
There was more than enough for the two of us the bowls they bought came full more than we can eat. We were sat on a long table, some of our fellow occupants were deep in their own conversations, but we did get chatting to some locals, it was amazing to learn that this was a normal busy night. I did take home one of the Huge Lamb Chops, which i didn’t finish.
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