by: Mhe-anne L. Ojeda
Monterey is a city in the rugged coast of California about 115 miles south of San Francisco (about two hours drive) and 350 miles of Los Angeles (roughly six hours drive). With an interesting and diverse history and culture and so little time in this so-called "California's First Capital City" as it was in Monterey's Custom House that the first American flag was raised which declared California as part of the United States of America, we chose to do just three historic things (because it is still part of our third anniversary travel!) while in Monterey last November 11, 2016!
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Red and I at the Monterey's Marina with my "three" hand sign!
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| 1. Stroll along the Historic Fisherman's Wharf |
We begin our self - guided immersion of the unique maritime history of Monterey at the Old Fisherman's Wharf which was constructed in 1845 and reconstructed in 1870. At present the Fisherman's Wharf is a bustling commercial shopping and restaurant district where we played with seagulls, hear barking sound of sea lions and checked out the restaurants operating at the end of its pier for its fresh crabs with an impeccable ocean view.
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| 2. Follow the "Path of History" Walking Tour |
The "Path of History" is a self-guided walking tour of California's first theater, public building, public library, publicly funded school, printing press, and newspaper and more than thirty carefully preserved historic buildings and sites throughout Monterey. Most of these buildings are adobes built in the mid-1800s like the Cooper Molera Adobe, Robert Louis Stevenson House, Casa Serrano, The Perry House, The Customs House, Colton Hall, Mayo Hayes O'Donnell Library and The First Brick House.
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| 3. Explore Historic Cannery Row |
Cannery Row is the historic industrial district located from Foam Street to the ocean just west of downtown Monterey. It operated several large canneries, mostly packing sardines from the 1920s until the 1950s when the sardines were over-fished and the industry collapsed. This old abandoned sardine canning district by the shore of the bay is a point of inspiration for author John Steinbeck in writing a well-known novel "Cannery Row" that tells of the tale of the unemployed Mack and his friends who wanted to plan a party for their friend Doc, but things don't go as planned.
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| John Steinbeck Plaza |
In 1953, Ocean View Boulevard was renamed Cannery Row street in honor of John Steinbeck. Since then, Cannery Row has now become a tourist attraction with numerous establishments located in former cannery buildings, including the world famous Monterey Bay Aquarium annexed to the Hovden Buiding, the Cannery Row Antique Mall, Wing Chong Market, and The American Tin Cannery which is a shopping mall.
