Today we have been around a bit. To Mon-erey to start with to the pier and downtown areas for some brief shopping, and a wonder aound and admire the fantastic boats which inhabit the marina at Mon-erey. Boats everywhere, beautiful yachts and power boats.
Because (that is so bad practise, starting a sentence with "because" - but thought I'd do it anyway) no-one can really afford the expensive yachts and power boats they all bought on credit during the good times, they are out at work every day paying for them. Although that's probably not the case recently, and now they have plenty of time to be out with their boats; they just can't afford the payments so the banks now probably own most of them. Which, if you think about it, now means we own most of the boats. Which means, following the logic, that I should just be able to get aboard one and drive it. Or do whatever you do with a boat to make it go.
We had some clam chowder samplers along the pier. Well I should say, that I didn't. Clam chowder is disgusting, poisonous, and should be banned. Clam soup. Can you think of anything more hideous to eat? (Not sprouts Karen; they are very nice. No seriously. You should try one).
Mon-erey pier hasn't changed much since Sam and I were here in '06. In fact, the boat we went on whale watching was still taking the Japanese tourists for a trip out into the Bay. Lovely big boat with multiple decks. It was tossed around like a cork the day we went out though, by big rolling waves which the boat crashed over. What fun! Japanese tourists scurrying to keep hold of their hats (its cold out there) and cameras. (The children were flung around but the cameras were safe).
You can tell there's something not quite right about the place though; it was very quiet. Mon-erey is normally teeming with tourists. Even the Japanese ones seemed to be on a recession today...
That wasn't the case as we got onto 17-mile drive though. They appeared out of the woodwork again, and started taking lots of photographs at inopportune moments with the huge leneses and 3 video cameras each one has strapped to them at birth.
17 mile drive is actually a route using various roads in a section of very pretty and expensive land between Mon-erey and Carmel. Probably one of the most expensive places to live in America. Unfortunately the wealthy residents of the area have to live in very large expensive houses, so they all clubbed together and decided to earn some money by charging $9.25 for a car to drive along the 17 Mile Drive route. (Think about it. If you could charge some stupid plebs $9.25 for driving next to your house, you would. The British Government are trying to implement that now anyway. They just call it "Road Pricing" instead). Plus, that $9.25 from each car that drives the route goes to paying the property taxes for the rich people as their compensation for living there. Or for the boat payments that they can't afford because they are forced to live in such expensive houses. I felt like offering the guard $20 I was so sorry for the residents. Luckily though, we had a free pass, as we know someone who knows someone that lives there - so we just said we were visiting, bringing food parcels for them, so the guard let us in. There were no shortage of Japanese tourists paying full price; so it didn't worry us.
After viewing all the rich people in their large houses that must be a real struggle to live in, (with annoying, expansive views of the coast line and ocean - I mean how irritating must it be to have to listen to the ocean hour after hour, and all you could look at was coastline and sea. How boring. It would keep me awake at night, let me tell you, having to listen to waves crashing against the rocks and sugary sandy beaches. Almost like the trains in Flagstaff. No seriously, I sympathise with these people. With their private golf courses - I mean, they almost never have to wait for a tee, or have put up with divots and prols in the way. How boring can life be?), we headed to the other end of 17 Mile Drive, which exits into Carmel. Clint Eastwood's town.
Clint and I went for a few beers at the Hogs Breath. (A Hogs Breath is Better Than No Breath At All). He said "I know what you're thinking punk. You're thinkin' did he fire 6 shots or only 5..." I said "Shut up Clint you're boring me" drunk up and left.
Ok so I didn't. He does drive a beat up old Jag, apparently, in British Racing Green. Poor man. Can't afford a new one, what with the property taxes and massive houses around there. There's no other property you see, he (and lots of other Carmel locals are forced into these mansions). Maybe he should go live on 17 Mile Drive, then the Japanese tourists could contribute to a replacement Jaguar for him. Mind you, he is almost 80. That's too old to be driving anyway.
Carmel is a lovely place too - very quaint. But all the residents of Carmel are so poor they don't like people visiting and looking at their cheap, low quality mansion housing. So they refuse to have a decent road built, which causes traffic jams of stupid plebs and Japanese tourists trying to get in and out. Not sure why they don't just start charging a $10 entrance fee. Then they could all afford to eat at the end of the day, instead of having to paint pictures to sell in the local shops, or act in Hollywood movies.
Didn't see Clint. I'm disappointed. Might not get many more opportunities. He's as old as the hills he owns around Carmel, and probably one of its poorest local residents. At least he's had a good idea though; of removing a few trees from around the 17 Mile Drive area, and building another golf course. Obviously, it will be cheap to play here, to encourage people from outside of the area to visit, and pay the $9.25 entrance fee to the Drive. Something like $800 a round should be about right. That will put his course in competition with the other 7 in that locality, you know, Pebble Beach and all that. Those municipal courses. For plebs.
Following that though, we headed home for some more amazing food from our hosts, and seeing as I may have to start cooking for more than one soon, it was a good idea for me to learn a new recipe. In payment, I have fixed the computer which now works like a dream. I have never seen Windows XP work so good.
No comments:
Post a Comment