Calaidescope World

An Excuse to Share Some Photos

Driving straight to Monterey from Pittsburg can be rather hellish. Well, if it was from Pittsburgh, PA, then, yeah, that would be a nightmare! But I'm talking about Northern California. You know, the Pittsburg where the Pittsburg/Bay Point BART station is? The very end of the BART? The Pittsburg without an H? It's waaaay outside San Francisco.

Anyway, it takes almost half a day. For us Indios stuck on this seemingly godforsaken but beautiful archipelago, it's like driving from Alabang to Baguio with not too much traffic congestion. It would be nice to drive to Monterey if one was going to stay there overnight or to spend the weekend. But no! We drove to Monterey, stayed a couple of hours, and drove back to Pittsburg! So just imagine driving all the way up to Baguio, then turning back after having brunch in the Country Club. Is Papa insane or what?

Luckily, there are a lot of interesting stops along the way. Like Vargas Road. Who knew there'd be one? However, there's nothing there. Really.

California is really a beautiful state. Monterey is actually a good drive with all the ups and downs, the twists and turns, the view, the weather, everything. Take a standard transmission car up there and try it. Your left leg will kill you, and the clutch will burn, but you're going to love it! No place to do an Initial-D stunt, though. For that, I'd recommend Bodega Bay, which is something like three hours north of San Francisco. Wild! Ok, that's a topic for another post.

So there we were in Monterey. Julia had just ended her one-week stay with us in Pittsburg. She lives with her Mom, stepdad, and German Shepherd, Tyler, in the city of Pacific Grove, which is part of the (what? Area? County?...of) Monterey. It's gorgeous there. It's like living in Baguio (or...ok, Seattle or Sagada) with the crisp, clean air, and all the pine trees...but it's near the beach (is that like living in Pagudpod?). And lucky her, she lives in a really nice neighborhood close to her best friends. Enjoy High School while you can, kiddo! Someday, you and your dearest friends will be separated by time zones and bodies of water, and then you will learn the true meaning of "friends for life".

So after dropping Julia's stuff off at her place, taking her to the city college to get some stuff worked on, having a bit of lunch, picking up her friend Andrea, driving around the city and along the coastline, I have to say...that aside from the Monterey Bay Aquarium (which I unfortunately didn't get to visit on this trip), I really like Seal Beach...simply because... there are SEALS! We don't see seals lying on the beaches of the Philippines! You would think that with the diversity of marine life in the Philippines, we would have a sanctuary similar to Monterey Bay where otters, seals, whales, and yes - even sharks! can come and go as they please. Which reminds me, did anyone read that front page article in the paper earlier this week about the Greenpeace boat that rammed through a protected coral reef in Tubataha? Good Lord!

So...that was my day in Monterey...back in June 2005. I wish I had more time. Papa and I left at around 4 in the afternoon. I was still the driver. Well, that was my JOB! The very reason why I went there. I should post more pictures on flickr soon. Bianca has more interesting stories to tell about Northern California.

Funny how much I enjoy visiting the US, especially Hawai'i and California. Actually living there is an entirely different story.

posted by Calai @ 8:02 PM