SCHOLARSHIP DAY 111: Monterey State Historic Park, an 'English' lunch and the Bay Aquarium

After yesterday's deluge, it was pleasing to emerge from the hostel in balmy conditions, not least because my jeans still hadn't completely dried despite my best efforts last night. The Sun was shining and the oh so familiar airborne cotton wool wasn't remotely in sight; it was one of those perfect mornings, with just enough breeze to keep you refreshed, but not enough to skew your intricately aligned hair. (If you have long hair like me, then you know that the coast really isn't the most beneficial place to be, especially immediately prior to an evening dinner engagement.)

The fact that Christmas Day will be here in exactly a weeks time, didn't occur to me as I made my way down to the water, hopeful of a majestic sea-scape to inspire the forthcoming hours. Monterey, despite its best efforts with outdoor festive decor, didn't have that Christmas spirit, but in no way is this a critical observation. For once, it's revitalising to walk past a shop and hear something other than Slade bellowing out their merry greetings. It's gladdening to amble down a street without dodging in between, over and through the legs of frenzied shoppers, (shoppers in the UK will need gum shields and torso protection just to make the transit from shop to shop soon.) It's a positively refreshing feeling to be able to travel on pavements without needing studded shoes to resist the black ice, and it makes for a great change to walk faster than half a mile per hour, as is the case if you've been locomotive in the UK at this time of year. Delighted, and now very comfortably sun drenched, I arrived at the coastline; an appealing vista greeted me upon arrival.

My afternoon would be devoted towards experiencing the magic of our world's oceans and the diversity of our planet's seas- here in Monterey, they call it the 'Bay Aquarium'- but that still left a void of time beforehand, and so I pondered just how best to spend the forthcoming couple of hours. I scrolled over a map; the problem is Monterey quite rightly devotes effort to quality rather than quantity when it comes to attractions, which so often means that the entire city can be covered in a  couple of days. I placed my index finger over a shading of green, which would turn out to be the State Historic Park.

By no means is it a large park, but it's proportionate and in scale to the rest of the city, which doesn't come close to touching the border of being large anyway. I sauntered over a planate turf and onto the Don Dahvee Creek Trail, though with only one route through the park, it's not as if you can deviate from it. (A traveller's bad habit!) By edging deeper into the confines of lush foliage, I wondered if this was what it was like being Robin Hood. Constituting along a shallow creek; easing passed the elongated and corkscrewed trunks; being at one with nature in a secret wooded gem. And then this fairytale dream deflated and faded, and I was once again back to realism; an American street, with American signs, directing American traffic. What some people once called the 'American Dream'.

But it wasn't too long before I was once again whisked away to yet another culture; my own culture no less. The London Bridge Pub, an establishment I devoted mere minutes of attention to yesterday, I decided would make a welcoming luncheon break today. I walked through a vortex, or at least, that's what it felt like, because everything on the interior was English. Wooden beams supported a typical narrow wooden arch. Shelves supporting a depot of miniature London Buses, occasionally punctuated with a red telephone box; only the British can appreciate the appeal of a cramped closet with a tattered beyond repair 'Yellow Pages' and a greasy yet defective telephone receiver. Each wall was festooned with Guinness Posters, old tube station signs and typically London street names. I decided to test their Englishness to the extreme; would they be able to make a mean Pastie and Mash? And to supplement the quality of the indoor furnishings, they cooked up a real treat!

Loren Eiseley once said "If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water." If you ever needed to arrange a supporting argument, Monterey Bay Aquarium is the best place to visit. Hemmed into the structure is just a small sample of the world's most amazing aquatic animals, but what is on display is an overwhelming selection. After all, you have to give people something to dream on, as every Jimi Hendrix fan rightfully knows. I strolled around in a way that every tourist does in these occasions; nose-pressed to the glass pane, eyeballing the trail of every fin, every tail, every vesicle of air making a slow ascent towards the surface.

From Sea Turtles to Sharks, Octopi to Stingray, each species has its own aquatic routine; a show I could very happily watch for days. Monterey has also applied the most relaxing of music to every room, too! I thought it a nice embellishment for what otherwise would be just another aquarium in the long list of aquariums this country seems almost entitled to have.

I was dutifully asked at the concluding phase of my visit- that phase where you amble through the Gift Shop before realising that a stuffed penguin isn't necessarily the most desirable of treats- which particular room had been my favourite. "The Jellyfish," I obliged. Now, at anywhere else, this might seem like an insult, but here at the Monterey Aquarium, they devote a large area to them! They pulsate through the water, in such a bedazzlement, and yet for something so menacing (ask my Dad) they appear so delicate; one nudge in the wrong place could cause irreparable damage.

 

 

The great pleasure that comes from travel is the occasional opportunity of acquainting with tranquillity again. After the bustle of San Francisco, Monterey has offered me just that. I can understand wholeheartedly what Steinbeck saw in the place, and the biggest gem about it, is that it has clung on to its original maritime values, its supreme physical landscape, and in stewardship are some of the most lovely people you could ever wish to meet.