I arrived in Monterey Wednesday afternoon and headed straight to Cannery Row. I spent the last few months reading a number of John Steinbeck books, two of which took place in this very area, Cannery Row and Tortilla Flat. Although the camaraderie obviously isn’t the same as it was in these stories, walking among the shops at dusk as most of them were closing their doors for the day I felt a small sense of community between the shop employees who spend hours a day together, much like you feel at any nine to five job whether you like the people you work with or don’t. Some of the older, weathered looking men running the little carts selling various tourist related items will most likely die here, doing what they love; spending time on the water happy to service folks from all around the world. It was depressing and admirable at the same time. The bittersweet emotions experienced here in my brief pass through will be something I’ll always remember especially as it was the one place I was looking forward to visiting the most on this trip.

Both of my meals on Cannery Row I ate outside, the lunch right on the water overlooking the harbor (the pic above was the view from where I ate), and later on my dinner at an okay barbecue place that overlooked a walkway. An odd mix of bohemian bicyclists, homeless men who weren’t pushy like the ones in bigger areas like Los Angeles and San Francisco gathered on the bricks. You could see some character in these folks by the way they carried themselves, unlike the city versions which are generally guys with funny signs “I need money for beer, I won’t lie”, etc. Good for a laugh, but I’d rather give a cigarette to one of these Monterey guys than a quarter to one of these guys in the city.

I got to San Francisco late afternoon on Wednesday, checked into my hotel and then made my way down to AT & T Park to see a San Francisco Giants game. They were playing the first place Arizona Diamondbacks, and from what I read today they were eliminated from any playoff spot after this loss. The game was good, the park was really nice, and I scored a ticket at the box office for $42 about 25 rows back from home plate.

This would never happen at Fenway Park! It is kind of surreal how much adoration the city has for Barry Bonds (who didn't play!), widely considered someone who cheated his way into the record books, and although I had nothing invested in this game or team
I still cheered for the home team, even though I was sporting my Red Sox hat. It was nice to see

a baseball game, something I didn't do in Boston this year. I stayed until around the eight inning and left as for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to not bring a jacket or sweatshirt with me on this trip to a baseball park that sits on the water in late September. I briefly considered buying a sweatshirt but then realized I would then be the owner of a San Francisco Giants sweatshirt, it would kind of be like if I decided to start buying every Barbra Streisand record from 1985 on. Actually it wouldn't be like that at all.

This afternoon I went to the city, walked around the Fishermans Wharf area, got annoyed at rude tourists who have no idea how to deal with a sidewalk (mostly French people), or saying excuse me. Sure Europeans brought us great art, food and music, when it comes down to general manners and "street knowledge" they make me wish I had a Tazer Gun. Imagine the joy one would receive walking down a narrow sidewalk while a group of braless women and men in sandals stopped and blocked you from walking, ignoring you when you say excuse me if you pulled one of these out and just shocked them in the neck, their bright blue eyes staring at you in horror as they fall to the ground as the contents of their mesh bag spills on the filthy sidewalk!

I had an okay lunch (clam chowder and some fried oysters) at a small cafe off the pier and came to the conclusion that, aside from the delicious lunch I had in Monterey (Sesame crusted Mahi Mahi with a papaya mango salsa), seafood in New England is much better. For those keeping track so far, baseball and seafood are better in Massachusetts than in Northern California. The other thing that sucked in this area was I was trying to get this fucking picture taken but this guy in the bottom left was chatting on his cell so it was kind of ruined. With the awesome zoom on this new camera I have I got a good look at him. I mean he even looks like an asshole. What could be possibly be talking to the person on the other end about? Who has that hairdo?!

After this experience, I decided to get in the car and find something a little less...something. I sat on this beach with an amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge for a bit and then made my way to Haight Street to find Amoeba Records. I was in there for maybe seven minutes before leaving, deciding I would wait until I get back to Los Angeles before worrying about buying music. I tried to find a good used book store but the parking meter only allowed one hour so I bailed. The area was a little much for me, definitely one of those areas where you need to have sunglasses on to avoid eye contact with anyone. Once you make eye contact people want something from you, money, cigarettes, to tell you their life story, etc. I'm definitely at a point in my life where filthy looking people need to be avoided at all costs.

This evening my friend Gena came and picked me up and we went to dinner in the city and she game me a great tour of the city. I had absolutely no idea where the hell we were half of the time, and my sense of direction was once again none existent in a foreign city. She was a great tour guide, we saw hookers, transvestites, stood behind the Macy's sign on the roof of a very tall building which was basically the outdoor patio of a restaurant I used the bathroom in, The Mission, Coit Tower and every other thing I didn't see by myself. She has a good sense of humor and isn't easily offended so that was refreshing, especially as for the majority of this trip so far my conversation (aside from talking on the cell phone) was limited to ordering food and checking into hotels.

I took a bunch more pictures, but as it's now 3:29 AM I should probably stop and deal with the rest of the pictures in a couple of days. Back to Los Angeles tomorrow morning. I'm taking the faster route (inland).

Yeah.