I spent the last week of October in Monterey, California, on a business trip and absolutely loved it! But I'm getting ahead of myself...
My Air Canada flight to Calgary for the first leg of the trip was a prop job which was a bit disconcerting as the propeller was in line with the seat in front of me so it was right there every time I looked out my window. I noticed the guy in front of me covered his window after several minutes of flight. What I found fascinating was that the propeller blades seemed to curve and separate in the photos when I couldn't even see them moving in the air.
I took this photo with my iPhone shortly after take-off. At the time, I didn't know what was below until I spent some time on Google Earth later at home, and matched it up with their version:
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| Buffalo Pound Lake from the air, Oct 2014 |
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| Google Earth view of Buffalo Pound Lake, captured 5/6/2014 |
After changing flights in Calgary, I continued on to San Francisco. The clouds cleared and the day brightened, yet I was unprepared to see other aircraft in the skies above Nevada. The first one shot behind us and I noticed it in the 4 o'clock position heading northwest. And although the next one was at 3 o'clock by the time we passed over its vapor trail, it had me looking out for more of them. It must have been a regular occurrence for no one else seemed to notice, but it sure got me excited.
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Aircraft and vapor trail over Nevada passing too close for my comfort,
taken Oct 26, 2014 with an iPhone |
We landed at San Franciscso Airport (SFO) where my author friend, Sarah Sundin, picked me up and then along with another friend, we headed out for the 2 hr drive to Monterey. I was there for the Books & Such Literary Management Retreat which was being hosted at the Monterey Plaza Hotel, right on the infamous Cannery Row.
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| Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa spanning Cannery Row, Monterey, CA, Oct 2014 |
As you can see in the above photo, the hotel spans both sides of Cannery Row and the rooms are cheaper here facing inland, but I didn't travel all that way to look at an urban setting, and had paid a bit more for a room with an ocean view, and am so glad I did because it was worth it!
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| My Monterey Plaza Hotel room facing Northeast, Oct 2014 |
The most incredible thing I found while in Monterey is that they leave their doors open all day and into the night, and their windows have no screens, and they don't have any flies! I was blessed to have a room 2 floors above the small hotel beach where the kayaks were kept and my roomie and I left the window open all night so we could hear the sound of the surf pounding the sand as well as the sea otters, sea lions, and bird. And not a single insect entered the room.
And this is where my room was located - so close to the bird population roosting on the old cannery, and where I was staring down at the surf and kayakers and not the plaza where all the people were sitting...
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| Monterey Plaza Hotel facing east, Oct 2014 |
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| Monterey Plaza Hotel w/my room marked |
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| Sunrise, Monterey, CA, Oct 27, 2014 |
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| Monterey Plaza Hotel Coffee Shop's outdoor seating, Oct 28, 2014 |
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| Sunset, Monterey, CA, Oct 29, 2014 |
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Sea Lions sunning on Coast Guard Pier, Monterey, CA
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| Surfer practicing near Kayak Launch with big wave coming |
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| Sunrise as I packed for home, Oct 30, 2014 |
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| Sunset at Denver Airport, Oct 30, 2014 |
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| On takeoff somewhere over the Denver area. |
Nelson was waiting for me in Regina where the temperature was just a few degrees above freezing. It was nice to be home, but I can't wait to visit Monterey once more.
Thanks for coming along on this virtual trip. Did any of these pics strike a chord with you?
