Greek Food and Irish Movie in Monterey

Flocks of tourists have landed on the Monterey Peninsula for the Labor Day holiday, two of the flock our special friends.  When anticipating visitors for the weekend we scouted around for things to do ahead of their arrival. This weekend, it's the Greek Festival and the Monterey County Fair.  Those will be drawing the highest density crowds. The Monterey Aquarium is a steady draw, especially now that a young Great White shark has just been added to the big Deep Sea tank, which holds a million gallons. In truth, the entire region is of interest to visitors. The Aquarium's steady efforts to educate the public about the Marine Sanctuary have resulted in many improvements in educational plaques and signs along the shoreline and coast. With the curving roads and trails so easy to access on foot and by bike, most tourists are out in the fresh air from the time they get out in the morning until well past dark, even though it is quite a bit cooler here than most of the country. Almost everyone sees harbor seals, otters, birdlife and even whales pretty easily on any given day.

This afternoon, we and our friends walked down to the Recreation Trail, a converted railroad track that's absolutely flat and scenic along every inch of its length, and walked the mile and change to the Custom House Plaza where the Greek Festival was in full swing. Slowly circling dancers with arms on each other's shoulders sidestepped and cross-stepped to the live music playing. We ate lamb kabobs and gyros and watched everyone become Greek, one tune and one bite at a time.  One man said, "You look good sitting next to me!" to his neighbor. The crowd was friendly and relaxed, easy to feel comfortable in. The lamb was tender, the music lively and the breeze adrift with aromas and sounds. It was like being in a big Greek travel brochure, with booths of art and jewelry lining the plaza, photographs of Santorini and the azure Adriatic sea beautiful and exotic.  

We walked over to the Osio Cinema to watch a movie. It's Monterey's independent theater on Alvarado Street that competes head to head with a multiplex at the shopping center two miles away. We saw The Guard, a darkly humorous movie set in Western Ireland. I'd recommend it with a caution that you 1, pay attention to the dialogue because the Irish accents are thick and 2, realize there is intensity and violence in it as well as a heavy dose of profanity. So what else is new, though, with most movies just as peppered with vulgarity. Yet, it was good and the hero unusual. Definitely memorable.

After the movie, we were on foot again and this time ramblin' over to Henry's Barbecue on Lighthouse Avenue in New Monterey. Henry serves up a nice blend of Hawaiian-style BBQ and traditional dishes. "The tri-tip is the bomb," said the waitress after she took our order. Clam chowder hit the spot for two of us and the tri-tip really was tasty, as were the barbecued beans. I had to take half my dinner home, the portions were so big.

It was another mile or so home again, so off we went, peeking into restaurant windows along Lighthouse Avenue. Crystal Fish (sushi) and Hula's ("Island-style grill") were rockin', as usual. As soon as we hit the border and began our walk along streets in Pacific Grove, though, it became much quieter.  This has been the traditional cultural contrast in the two cities' atmosphere since the early days. Pacific Grove was a dry town (no liquor sold within its boundaries) up until the mid 60s, I believe, and it is still a much grayer and more sedate place than Monterey has ever been.

Tomorrow:  Big Sur.

Monterey Goes Greek

(Yesterday, when I wrote, I did not realize it was my 300th post.  A milestone of sorts, an amazingly big number to me.)

The Greek Festival is one of the best ethnic festivals held in this area, so we decided to meet some friends there and savor an hour or two there.  It's held every year at the Custom House Plaza and like other festivals highlights food and music from the nominal country.  Others to look for at various times of the summer and spring are:  The Santa Rosalia Festival (Sicilian-American), the Turkish Festival,

We walked over to the Plaza from Pacific Grove, an easy flat walk of perhaps two miles and joined another couple at a blue-checked table to pass the time, think about Greece and eat.  Gyros, spanikopita, dolmas, tomato salad with feta and red onions, and Greek coffee were all delicious, especially the gyros.  Whole lamb turning on a roasting spit, live music, people dancing in traditional costumes and booths filled with ceramics, art and jewelry were lively and interesting.

A large crowd filled the plaza.  Either there were very few authentically Greek people there or Greeks also look like every other nationality in the world, because that's what was evident:  The world in its entirety, give or take an aborigine or Zulu hunter.  It was definitely not a crowd you'd typically see in Colorado or Utah, for instance.  Monterey is multi-ethnic, as are most areas of the entire state now, a beautiful enriching thing for us here.  Something like 65 languages - probably a whole lot more - are spoken as a first language at home here.  Truly, it is a melting pot.  Lucky for us on days like today, the pot produces terrific food that we can munch on for equally terrific prices.

We left the sun-kissed festival behind and strolled down Alvarado Street a block or two to reach The Osio Cinema, our local indie-film theater, to watch a matinee showing of Get Low, Robert Duvall's current film, which we felt was a good film, mostly a character study of one man supported by an ensemble of skilled, empathetic actors.

Monterey is a very pretty city, lined with sycamore trees and Spanish mission style offering pleasing vistas at almost every turn.  The sun splashed down through the leaves and shadows dappled the sidewalks. Strolling throngs passed by in twos and threes as we sat on a bench, savored coffee and relaxed on a sunny bench.

We finally turned ourselves back toward Pacific Grove.  Almost immediately, we were distracted by batucada drumming that was attracting a big crowd at the entrance to the wharf.  Listen to The Obvious Child on the album Rhythm of the Saints by Paul Simon to get a good dose of it.  Little kids, old ladies, spectators in a crowd four or five deep were held in thrall by the drums.  Rhythmic drumming by six or seven musicians in a beautiful public space was intoxicating to everyone.  To me, only taiko drumming comes close; both are fantastic.  This style, a constantly varying and complex one, pulls you over closer and never lets go.  Smiles abounded and feet could not keep still.

We walked on, rejoining the moving river of humanity flowing along the Rec Trail back to Pacific Grove.  Glory of glories, there was no fog in sight, icing on a cake of a day.