Day One: Travels With Sharley

We have deemed Day One a success. We went to bed last night incompletely packed, sunburned, and muscle-sore (thanks, basketball in the park!) but woke up this morning with a few hours of sleep under our belts and just enough energy to shuffle to the car, scoot the car into the traffic circle, and plop ourselves onto the fabled Pacific Coast Highway. All of this, and only 2 hours off schedule!

As we passed through La Cochita (a little house-cluster a few miles south of Santa Barbara), Mike said: "Why would anyone even try and argue that anything's better than California?" And, though I may be singing a different tune at the end of our Mike-and-SharTour, I have to agree. We're only about halfway through the state and we've already seen a head-spinning display of diverse and spectacular beauty. From the muddy, muddy slopes of Malibu to the coastal wineries and lettuce fields... we're not unaware of how lucky we are to be Californians. Look at what 6 and a half hours of good hard driving can show us!


The reason for staying in Salinas, of course, should be obvious: it's Steinbeck country. After checking into our hotel, we went straight to the National Steinbeck Center and paid our discounted ticket rate (friends, don't ever throw away your student ID cards!). What a cool place. The main exhibit, of course, is about John Steinbeck's life and work, focusing on his ties to Monterey County. The Center's only 10 years old, and the exhibit is modern and innovative to prove it.

The real gem of the Center was the exhibit tying in to Salinas' choice for The Big Read, a national event trying to bring literacy back into American culture. The book is Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, and there are many really cool events going on here, including a program wherein participants name and defend the one book that they would save. At the Center, there's the Walking Through the Book exhibit, which artistically portrays scenes from the book while highlighting the importance of knowledge and free thought in a highly awesome way.


Today we listened to: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (Modest Mouse), Going Somewhere (Colin Hay), "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade" by The Decemberists, and "Wagon Wheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show (thrice).

Mystery ask-us-about-it-when-we-get-home words for today: "giant painted people"

Don't forget to check out Mike's blog: astoriedyear.blogspot.com