<– Day 27 –Apr. 15th: Strolling Monterey  | OVERVIEW | Day 29 – Apr. 17th: Revenge of the Sushi –>

World’s largest artichoke in Castroville

Monterey was our launch point today. Before we headed north, Ann submitted a request to re-photograph the western side of Fisherman’s wharf. It took a few wrong turns, a couple mistakes, and dumb luck to find a good spot from which to take the photos she wanted. That’s where we discovered a memorial to Father Juniper Serra (he was news to me) who was responsible for forming a variety of spanish missions along the coast of California. Unfortunately, he’s seems pretty forgotten in his current spot on Monterey.

A hazy Monterey morning.

With photographs snapped, we continued toward our second goal, Castroville.

Our drive from Monterey to Scotts Valley, Ca, on Wednesday.

As we approached Castroville, the highway was lined with never-ending fields. It had been six years since I’d seen these fields, as I used to live just north of them in Aptos, California. I’d driven through the fields many times and seen folks working the fields no matter the weather. It always looks like hard work, often they are hunched over for hours. Hoodies are a popular item, as they are loose, flexible and offer sun protection. Whether hot or cold, field hands wear them.

Eventually, we arrived in Castroville. Apparently, Castroville is famous for two things. 1) it is the birthplace of Norma Jean and 2) It is the self-proclaimed artichoke capitol of the world and holds an artichoke festival every year.

Norma Jean and artichokes came together in 1948 when Norma was named the very first honorary Artichoke Queen. History would show that such an honor didn’t keep Norma from leaving Castroville nor did it keep her from changing her name to the more familiar Marilyn Monroe.

We didn’t travel to Castroville to learn more about Marilyn, but rather to find the world’s largest artichoke. The area surrounding Castroville provides 75% of the domestically grown artichoke crop. The other 25% is grown in other areas of California.The unusual thing about the artichoke plant is it is basically a weed, a type of thistle. But, a yummy thistle it is!

The town of Castroville is pretty small, so it wasn’t hard to spot a giant artichoke once when we arrived (see photo at the top of the post).

We took some photos. Then, Ann spotted ‘Fried Artichokes’. She’d never had them, so we set about having some for an early lunch. We also added an order of spinach and artichoke dip. Life was good!

Fried artichoke hearts

Spinach and artichoke dip

With happy bellies, we drove north on Highway 1 to revisit Aptos, a town where I lived for three years, and Capitola, a neat little tourist town that attracts many silicon valleyites who want to escape hot weather. While in Aptos I pointed out the place where I’d first sang Karaoke, the house I’d rented, and my favorite place to walk on the beach. She had to have tired of “that’s the same”, “that’s different”, “that’s where I . . .”, and “I don’t remember that at all”. The last phrase seemed to be the one I used the most.

Ann and I overlooking a beach I walked often: Sea Cliff State Beach. In the background is a cement ship that has been slowly sinking for years.

Minutes later we arrived at Capitola. On this day, it became clear it was Spring Break. Cars filled the parking spots and many many many kids crowded the beach and splashed in the water. While we didn’t splash in the water, we did walk the beach. Ann seemed to be in the tourist mood for not only did she take some photos, but she also got some shopping done, finding a new dress and a skirt at nearby stores.

Capitola Beach with lots of spring break kids in the foreground and brightly colored motel rooms in the background.

Done with Capitola, we wound our way into Santa Cruz to stop at the Staff Of Life, a back-to-earth or natural food store. Seeing the store boarded up concerned me at first, but I figured it was popular enough that it must have moved. I consulted with Siri and she found the new store a block away. There, we picked up a couple cheeses, a bottle of wine, and some Tibetan Way bread. I’ve never seen Tibetan Way bread anywhere else. It is best described as a heavy, eight-inch-diameter disc shape of unleavened wheat or rye mixed with grains. It’s dense and tasty, but in small amounts.

With some shopping complete, we headed for our motel. We did some laundry and then we drove to a sushi-boat restaurant I’d frequented quite a bit when I worked in Scotts Valley. Sometime when we first met I’d promised to take Ann to a sushi boat restaurant and last night was going to be the night. We walked into the restaurant only to discover that seven years ago (just after I left California for Idaho) they’d sent the sushi boats to wherever old boat go to die. That was seriously disappointing! On the bright side, their sushi roll menu was larger than any I’d ever seen. So, there was no shortage of food options on the menu. That made her happy . . .

Sushi rolls, but no boats

Now, I just have to hunt down a sushi boat restaurant . . . As for jeeps, we haven’t seen any for the last few days. But, we’ve got one scheduled for Friday!

<– Day 27 –Apr. 15th: Strolling Monterey  | OVERVIEW | Day 29 – Apr. 17th: Revenge of the Sushi –>