Almost native Montereyans

10th October and we're still in Monterey. Again waiting out weather - along with a few other boats all doing the same thing. We've spent some time with friends we met in Moss Landing, Scott and Michelle - Scott is the Food and Beverage Manager of the Portola Hotel and has built a very successful brew pub called Peter B's. Great beer and wine and a really great concept where regulars have a type of membership in the pub, buy their beer for $3.oo/pint. Great way to create regular clientele. We've met American sailors who have sailed to Mexico in the past and like it enough to be doing it again.
Yesterday we took a local bus to Carmel, looked at some fabulous art and even though we are not likely customers were well received in a couple of galeries. We walked down to the beach where the breaking waves that we could see all the way out to the horizon made us very happy to be on the beach and not on the horizon. Johnny, the golfer ran up the beach as far as Pebble Beach golf course to take pictures of one of his 'meccas'.
Then the highlight of the day for me was the Carmel Mission, founded in the 1700's by a monk from Mallorca, Father Junipera Serra - some of the Mission is original, but in the 30's major restoration took place, and now it is a Catholic Parish church and a Catholic school. The atmosphere in the church and the grounds was very peaceful, and as always happens to me in such places I am reminded of my catholic upbringing. I am sure that Tony and Johnny also found being there a moving experience. Mostly I am glad that it is not just a museum, but a viable community.
We are all looking forward to getting going on our next leg, which we expect to be Morro Bay. The time is getting closer to Johnny's flight home on the 30th October, so we definitely want to be in San Diego by then having seen a little more of Southern California before winding up there, perhaps Catalina.