Day #50 - 5/1/2011 - slumming in Monterey and Pebble Beach

Another day in Monterey and I was excited as it promised to duplicate yesterday.  We took off from our motel and strolled again to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, passing Cannery Row.

This shop was devoted to dust-gathering trinkets that somehow related to the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake...souvenirs, I guess.  I thought the whole concept was a little twisted.

 We returned to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a remarkable destination that brings over 623 named species to you, artfully displayed in tanks that actually circulate the water from the Bay.

Jumbo Shrimp, my favorite oxymoron.

 The aquarium has several areas with family-oriented displays that call out "touch me".

The cartilaginous ray is related to the shark.  It is usually docile and even though it can have a venomous stinger, normally only attacks humans when threatened.  Susan prepares to attack.

 My favorite displays, next to the jellyfish, show the nearness of water life to the lakeside or riverside.

Watching the fish swim back/forth reminded me of the opening scene from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.

 The success of the Monterey Bay Aquarium lies in its proximity to the bay

2000 gallons of water per minute from the Bay circulates through the Aquarium exhibits.

 Finally satisfied that we had seen it all at the aquarium, we returned to Pebble Beach and the Pebble Beach Food and Wine event, bringing together 100 chefs, 250 wineries, and 6996 other people like us.

It all took place under the ginormous tent on the elegant Pebble Beach property.

 So, the strategy is simple: chefs and their staff prepare their signature dishes and you eat them...along with a glass of wine.  For an event like this, my quest is for red meat to go along with red wine, but sometimes, I have to be flexible.

I could smell this a mile away and hear it from almost as far: giant scallops in the process of being pan-seared.  Searing carmelizes the surface, sealing in all of the scallopy goodness.

 And, to ensure that today was even better, Lani deeply deigned, joining us with muffled condescension.

Chalone Chardonnay in the foreground, us in the background, seared scallops in between.

One of my friends/colleagues writes a delightful food blog that she beautifully photographs, themerrygourmet.  The point of food photography is to make the food look at least as good as it tastes.  MJ (that's Merry Jennifer) photographs as beautifully as she writes.

I had a few of these...then moved on.

 A few shameless family photos follow.  Feel free to scroll down.

Russell and his dad discuss the wonders of searing while enjoying a glass of Chalone Chardonnary.

 I like to get a couple of Russ/Lani photos each year for our holiday card.

Getting a lot of mileage out of those scallops.

And, when you needed a break from all of the richness and wine, there were some healthy alternatives.

For my last three years of med school, I worked as a waiter/bartender at The Manor in West Orange, NJ.  There, I was introduced to Driscoll strawberries which arrived regularly by the case.  Great strawberries, strange times.

The event featured chefs with international reputations, dutifully at work creating their signature pieces for the masses.

Joachim Spichal is best known for his fine dining restaurant Patina.

With Lani setting to leave for grad school in July, our opportunities for family photos were limited, so we took advantage of the day.

There were 7000 people here, some obviously feeling better than others.  Here, one of 7000 graciously jumped into the picture.

 Events like this provide you with a souvenir glass.  These were pretty classy...almost like crystal.  Actually, I think they were. 

As people left their glasses behind, we...ummm..made sure they weren't left behind.  Got a bunch of 'em we did.

With Lexus sponsoring the event, there were a couple of Lexi lying around for you to sit and get all comfy.

Not a bad looking car. 

Okay...so this was funny and a little confusing.  Russell was about to hop into the Lexus when along came a distinguished pair of Asian couples accompanied by this animated, congenial and attactive blonde.  As best as I can tell, Ally, an entrepreneur who lives in Pebble Beach - saw Russell and, with his Asian looks, figured that the he was with the Asians couples she had been hanging out with.  Seeing me with the camera, she figured I was with Lexus, taking complimentary pictures of the guests as they sat in the car.  Or, something like that.  In any case, she jumped in the car and instantly got friendly with Russell.

While Ally mugged for the camera, Russell was thinking "what the heck?"

 Russell played along.

Ally was with her husband, I think his name was Witt...or was it Wynn?  He did green construction in the Pebble Beach area.  Sadly, if I ever had their email address, I've since lost it.

 After another 3 hours of food, wine and fun, we called it a day.

Day #49 - 4/30/2011 - Monterey, CA

The cool aquarium photos will enlarge into bigger, cooler pictures if you click on them.


After traveling a few hundred miles yesterday, today we were just going to be tourists in a touristy city, Monterey, California.

Monterey, population 27,810, is  located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California.  The city is noted for its rich history of resident artists beginning in the late 19th century, and its historically famed fishery.  City highlights include the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, Fisherman's Wharf and the annual Monterey Jazz Festival; for us, it would be 3 out of 4.

In addition to being the setting of John Steinbeck's novels Cannery Row (1945) and Sweet Thursday (1954), Cannery Row  is the site of a number of now-defunct sardine canning factories. The last cannery closed in 1973.

The canneries failed after the collapse of the fishing industry in mid-1950s from overfishing. Before the collapse, the fishery was one of the most productive in the world due to the upwelling of  nutrient-rich water from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean that is funneled to the surface via the vast underwater Monterey Canyon.

We headed towards the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, eager to count ourselves as part of the 1.8 million visitors who visit annually.  The aquarium occupies land at the end of today's Cannery Row at the site of the Hovden Cannery, a sardine cannery which helped to define the character of Monterey to the day when it was the last cannery on the Row to close in 1973, after sardine fishing collapsed.

Florida tourists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The aquarium continuously pumps 2000 gallons per minute of Monterey Bay ocean water through the more than 100 exhibit tanks. During the day the water is filtered for viewing clarity. During the night, unfiltered seawater is pumped through exhibits, bringing in food in the form of plankton. Waste ocean water from the aquarium is returned to the Bay. The Aquarium, therefore, is essentially part of the ocean in the Bay, and allows the culture of organisms such as Giant Kelp which are not suitable for ordinary saltwater aquariums.

Behind acrylic that ranges in thickness from 3" to 13", Lani and Susan wait for the otter feeding.

The penguin exhibit opened in 2000 as part of its Splash Zone family galleries.  Two penguin exhibits house Magellanic penguins from South America and South African penguins. The aquarium hosted 19 penguins from the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans along with two sea otters after that aquarium was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Wearing their finest tuxedos, the penguins gather in front of the throngs for lunch.

The Aquarium appeared in the 1986 film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, where it appeared as the Cetacean Institute in Sausalito. The main aquarium was overlaid with special effects to appear to be the tank home of two humpback whales. The film stirred up controversy when people who had come to see the whales were infuriated to learn there was no such exhibit.

No humpback whales here, just feeding time for the Magellenic penguins, which packs a crowd.

The penguin exhibit is part of the family-oriented Splash Zone.

"I just flew in from Antarctica and, boy, are my flippers tired."

Schooling fish in the Outer Bay exhibit swim endlessly in a circle.

The hypnotic effect of the schooling fish has Russell, well...hypnotized.

The aquarium is also home to Seafood Watch, which publishes consumer guides for sustainable seafood purchasing.

Actually, a lot of visitors are entranced by this simple, yet beautiful exhibit-in-the-round.

On the other hand, for shear hypnotic power, however, nothing matches the jellyfish.

LCD video screens match the glow of the exhibit.

The purple-striped jelly (Chrysaora colorata) exists primarily off the coast of California in Monterey Bay.  Its stingers paralyze small prey and, while extremely painful to humans are rarely fatal.

The life cycle of the purple-striped jellyfish was first elucidated at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The 8 tentacles increase in length with age.

I could have rotated this picture so they were all right-side up.  But, I didn't.

Aurelia aurita, or the Moon Jelly fish, is found world-wide.  The head is 10-15" inches across and is easily recognized by the four gonads clustered near the center. 

Looking like an undulating brain, the fine tentacles have a sticky mucous that traps small creatures.

The Pacific sea nettle Chrysaora fuscescens was successfully cultured first on a large scale by the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, where it remains a popular exhibit.

Jellies are, definitely, the coolest.  Give me a glass of Zinfandel and I'll spend the day watching them do their jelly-thing.

The leafy sea dragon or Glauerts Seadragon is in the same family as the sea horse.

The leafy seadragon becomes nearly invisible when it hides within seaweed.  Darwinism at its finest. 

Many of the aquatic exhibits in the aquarium come from the surrounding waters.  Just a few feet from the aquarium, dive schools do their certification dives.

The water looks pretty doesn't it?  Pretty damned cold.  You need a full wet suit year-round.  It reminds me of my certification dive off of Catalina Island, a frigid and unforgettably unpleasant experience.

I think it was Susan who saw an announcement that in nearby by Pebble Beach, the 4th Annual Pebble Beach Food and Wine was about to take place.  We secured some tickets  and headed on into Pebble Beach.

Back when we lived in L.A., Susan and I would regularly go to a pair of annual charitable food/wine events, the American Wine  Food Festival by Wolfgang Puck to benefit Meals on Wheels, and the Great Chefs of LA to benefit the National Kidney Foundation.   It had been a good 16 years since reveling in a similar bacchanalia  Even though you can't tell, I'm excited..  

Wine glass in hand, we eagerly anticipated what the 100 chefs and 200 wineries had in store.

Oh yeah...baby octopi complete with tentacles and suckers.  Bring it.

The need to innovate means you are going to come across a lot of food fare that you might not otherwise try. 

I think Russell took it in a single bite.  How best to eat a baby octopi?  In small bites, or swallowed whole?

Under the tent are tables for the various restaurants with their staff serving up a small serving of something special.  After securing a plate, you look for a winery table pouring something worthy.  Eat...drink...repeat.

These events are a whole lotta fun.

The event took place under a ginourmous tent

On the left, one restaurant serves up something small and tasty.

There were over 200 wineries present, from Bordeaux to Napa to Santa Barbara.  It was overwhelming in a really really good way.

Russell and his dad.

If you're a foodie, you have the opportunity meet chefs with international reputations.

Brian Overhauser is the estate chef at Hahn Family Vineyards.

In addition to a dizzying array of food and wine, there were a couple of stations where you could get a complimentary massage.

Bob doesn't do massage...too relaxing.  Besides, it would be time best spent searching for the perfect food/wine combination.

Representatives from the various wineries or wine distributors stood on one side of the table, pouring small portions of whatever they had that you wanted.

The silver bucket in the distance allowed you to empty your glass.

There was also a Maccalan table pouring their single-malt Scotch.

Russell samples some Maccalan, only to be gravely disappointed.  We resumed our quest for food and wine.

After a few hours of grazing, Susan found an available massage station.

I think it's Susan...who can be sure?  Whoever it is, they sure looked tranquil.

In addition to main courses and appetizers, there are also desserts to be had.  But, for me to abandon the quest for red meat/red wine, dessert has to be pretty special.

Hey...what's this?  You're flaming a marshmallow with a blowtorch?  Then what...?

I like it when a chef takes a simple, classic dessert and takes it up a few levels.

So, what we have here is a cup of chocolate mousse with a layer of peanut butter on the bottom into which the hot, toasted, gooey marshmallow has been thrusted.

This outrageous dessert came courtesy of Hedy Goldsmith, the executive pastry chef of Michael's Genuine Food & Drink of Miami.

I don't remember how many of these Russell and I put down, but we stopped only out of principle.

Satiated, we moved on.

The area around Pebble Beach, just a few miles south of Monterey, features the 17-mile Drive, a scenic road through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach, California, much of which hugs the Pacific coastline, passing famous golf courses and mansions. It also serves as the main road through the gated community of Pebble Beach. Non-residents have to pay a toll of $9.50 to use the road.

It's difficult to do the immense seascapes and landscapes justice.  In case you have a large wall you want to fill with a grand mural, this panorama comes in at 20' in width.  Oddly, the 17-mile drive is only 9 miles long.  Go figure.  You should click on this picture.

We stopped to appreciate the view.

Still clutching his entry pass, Russell graces the coastline.

 Pebble Beach features some surf breaks that can be pretty insane.

Tourists from Gainesville, Florida at Pebble Beach

Along the 17-Mile Drive is a 250 year old Cypress - The Lone Cypress - perched precariously on a point.  It is no longer permissible to use this iconic image as the weenies of the Pebble Beach company have claimed that they own it.  Quel dicks.

Same tourists from Gainesville posing at a generic Cypress.

After several hours of heroic eating, we returned to Monterey and walked from our hotel back to the Cannery Row area.

Throngs of tourists pour into Cannery Row for the evening.  The truth is, aside from the Aquarium, it's pretty touristy.

And, tomorrow?  Another day of Food and Wine!