Good Ol' Pacific Grove

My hometown, which claims to be "America's Last Hometown," is kicking up its heels this weekend.  We took a look around Pacific Grove downtown yesterday and left the mobs of people collected up and down Lighthouse Avenue to their frolic not much afterward. It was very crowded, but it was all peaceful and pretty mellow.  Little kids, dogs and their adults probably numbered several thousand.

The festival is called Good Old Days and includes a parade, which we saw, and then a two-day craft and food fair.  Other events that go on are much less visible and include a quilt show at the Chautauqua Hall.  There are three or four "stages" where bands play for a one-hour stint and then give up the space to the next band.  So, you hear all kinds of music, ranging from middle school rock bands just cutting their teeth musically to cover bands playing Beach Boys or Helecasters favorites.  It looked like about six blocks of Lighthouse were stuffed with people shuffling along enjoying the opportunity to eat exotic foods all the way from Deep Fried Twinkies to Thai Panang Curry.  Bring on the Alka Selzer!

Very seldom has the Good Old Days enjoyed such fine weather for the entire event.  Yesterday was a little cool and breezy, but it in no way kept anyone from the area.  I'd say there were close to two hundred craftspeople selling a wide range of products.  We bought some gourmet vinegars from one of five different vendors, some Kettle Korn (I'm a sucker for the stuff), and shared a Lucy Lucy! sandwich from Babaloo, a local food truck that sells Cuban-style sandwiches.  The Lucy Lucy consisted of sauteed dark chicken meat, Jack cheese, and a tasty avocado and mango salsa on a crusty panini-style roll.  They had other inventive selections named after characters on I Love Lucy, and after eating the sandwich I had, I'll be looking for their truck around town from now on.

I hear singing and music echoing up from the fair even as I write.  I would be the Chamber of Commerce is going to be completely happy with the event, and so will the thousands who have attended, bought trinkets and eaten themselves into a fog of fair-food happiness.  Those were the Good Old Days.