We woke to another chilly day again. Jeans and sweatshirt were the order of the day for clothing. I wanna go back to shorts and T's! Now!
Since I knew we were going to be out sightseeing today I thought it best to make use of the crock pot for dinner. I bought a roast yesterday at the commissary and had celery and carrots and onions in the house so what to make for dinner wasn't hard to figure out.
Do you use those crock pot liners?
These are the best things since sliced bread! When done, just lift out and crock pot is clean!
Doesn't this look yummy? When we get back late this afternoon I'll add potatoes to it.
Bob had a few chores he wanted to get done before we hit the road so we didn't get out the door until eleven. That was no problem at all since we were just ten minutes from our destination.
So off we went to Old Fisherman's Wharf. Now don't get it confused with THE Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Not having been to that one,,,yet,,,I can only imagine that this one in Monterey is one on a much smaller scale.
This wharf has seen bales of Chinese silks, barrels of Spanish wine, whaling ships, Navy cutters and fishing boats by the score. Old Fisherman's Wharf, in its various stages of being, has been the center of Monterey's economic life for hundreds of years.
Sebastion Viscaino, a Spanish mariner, was tasked with exploring the California coast back in 1602. He landed in Monterey that year and named the harbor after the Viceroy of New Spain, the Count of Monterey.
Fast forward to 1770 and Spaniard, Gaspar de Portola located Monterey Harbor and the city of Monterey was founded. California remained under Spanish control with Monterey as its capital until 1822 when Mexico added California to its empire. After war broke out between the U.S. and Mexico in 1846, Commodore Sloat landed in Monterey and claimed California for the Union.
To say this wharf, marina and this harbor lie in some of the most historic waters in California would be an understatement.
The original wharf was constructed by the Pacific Coast Steamship Company in 1870 and it was used for passenger and freight service. With growth of the sardine industry the city found it necessary to take ownership to keep it in good repair. It was during this time it became known as Fisherman's Wharf.
In 1879, Robert Louis Stevenson was on these shores and was forming the plot for "Treasure Island".
This wharf has seen many business ventures start and fail. In 1923 a good part of the wharf was destroyed by a ship that leaned too heavily into it when onloading 20,000 cases of sardines. Ten thousand of those sardine cases ended up in the water.
After World War II the sardine business went by the wayside and tourist oriented business took its place. In the 50's the need for a marina was apparent and it was built. It was improved through the years and expanded in the mid-70's.
In 1996, five million dollars was spent on refurbishing the marina and the surrounding area. Below is a picture of the commercial fishing part of the wharf.
Today the wharf is a bustling tourist attraction with gift shops, restaurants, art galleries, whale watching and party boat concessions lining both sides of it.
There are restaurants galore and in each doorway there is someone giving out samples of clam chowder all the while telling you how great their prices are.
This restaurant had an upstairs deck that was open to the public for viewing the harbor.
Ahhh, blue water!
We passed this one gift shop that was all about pirates.
T-shirts, coffee mugs, key chains, if it could have a picture of a pirate on it, it was sold here!
You could even buy life size pirates if you wanted to.
We could hear all this barking and kept looking for dogs. Then it hit us, what we heard was the seals!
Of course, some just slept through all the noise.
This little one wanted a spot on the railing too. It took a few tries but it finally found its happy place.
As we strolled along the wharf we saw taffy being made.....
and tons of food! All this sitting out and not a fly in sight!
When I was watching the seals I caught this pelican in flight.
We took a walk one block back off the waterfront to peruse yet more shops and galleries.
Is it just me or does everyone like to take pictures of flowers close up? This question does NOT apply to you LaVon!
Bob looking out over the marina.
Boats,,,as far you can see.
This was our day on the Old Fisherman's Wharf. A delightful way to spend several hours.
When we got home in the late afternoon the rig smelled oh so good with the roast cooking in the crock pot. Dinner was simply delicious!
Wait till you see where we take you tomorrow!
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