Around Town, pt.1

BestOf
MONTEREY 07

•PLACE TO GO ON A FIRST DATE

•PLACE TO PEOPLE WATCH

FISHERMAN'S WHARF

Is there anything quite like sharing a skein of cotton candy with that charming somebody to make you feel like you’re starring in a romantic comedy? Or perhaps you fancy a table overlooking the harbor, a glass of wine and an order of oysters to kindle the fires of love. Point is, with the salt air, the carnivalesque atmosphere and the beautiful sea all around, the Wharf can be the ideal setting for the start of a beautiful thing. It’s also fun to watch families of tourists arguing over where to get clam chowder for lunch, or what attraction to check out first, the Maritime Museum (pirates!) or the Aquarium (penguins!). And watching tourists is a pretty darn good reminder about something that we locals sometimes take for granted: We live in paradise. In addition to the humans, the sea lions put on a good show, too. But they don’t wear fanny packs.

•PLACE TO OVERHEAR INTELLIGENT CONVERSATION

CAFÉ NOIR | 365 Calle Principal, Monterey • 649-6647

So if somebody in Café Noir says something clever and nobody overhears it, is it still the go-to place for bons mots? That, friends, may be a question best left to the smarty-pants set at Café Noir. On any evening the upstairs, downstairs and patio of this fabulous downtown café crackle with the mental energy of studious flirts, flaneurs, gadabouts, amateur film critics and budding intellectuals. While it could be a matter of native intelligence, we think it might be the excellent coffee fueling all the mental gymnastics. Whatever the case, it makes for some pretty smart talk.

•PLACE TO HEAR MINDLESS CHATTER

STARBUCKS | various locations

What exactly is the proportion of people suffering from logorrhea in combination with terminal banality? Elusive figures, but our informal research suggests a strong correlation with caffeine addiction. We can’t blame these blabbers for their Starbucks joneses, but we can criticize their inanity, and we will—until someone comes along and makes a convincing argument that so-called mindless chatter is actually the melodious thrum of daily human existence, music to be celebrated and not scorned, with Starbucks as its concert hall.

•PLACE TO EAVESDROP

EAST VILLAGE COFFEE LOUNGE | 498 Washington St., Monterey • 373-5601

Blasted acoustics! Here are some of the tantalizing snippets that got lost in the echoes of the stone walls of East Village one recent afternoon: “…going to do some ice climbing…” “So why did you come today? They have plenty of powerful senators, don’t they?” “It’s six pages long. I’m going to be, like, green.” It’s clear that the only thing to do is come to this gorgeous café more often to settle in with an expertly made coffee drink and practice listening in on other people’s lives. Tough work, but somebody’s got to do it.

Watching tourists is a pretty darn good reminder about something that we locals sometimes take for granted: We live in paradise.

•RECLAIM YOUR INNER CHILD

•HANGOUT FOR KIDS

DENNIS THE MENACE PLAYGROUND | 777 Pearl St., Monterey

Little kids these days are more likely to adore Dora the Explorer than Dennis the Menace, but that won’t prejudice them against this crown jewel of a playground in Monterey’s El Estero Park. There’s plenty here to exercise kids’ bodies and imaginations: a historic steam engine and a big adventure ship, a maze made out of hedges, a giant roller slide underneath a bright moon bridge. Most of the playground sits on soft sand, relieving parents’ worries about the fall factor. Even the 9-foot climbing wall is cushioned by spongy rubber underneath. Chances are, your young’uns won’t whine once all day—until it’s time to go.

For parents, showing the kids a good time is just an excuse. On a recent sunny afternoon, a toddler giggled as she slid down the giant concrete slide, but it was her mom who screamed “Yipee-kai-ai-ay!” Across the playground, as a tough-acting boy of around 7 climbed a ladder under a big rainbow metal umbrella thing, his dad—wearing a white tank and sagging jeans, a blingy pendant around his neck—lifted himself onto a nearby pulley and swung back and forth, emitting a giddy “Wheeeeee!”

•PLACE TO TAKE VISITORS

MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM | 886 Cannery Row, Monterey • 648-4800

We like to adopt a proprietary air when ushering visitors around the Aquarium. “Come take a look at our otters!” we’ll say, or, “Just wait ‘til you see the jellyfish. We never get tired of looking at them.” “In my opinion, our sevengills are the most graceful of the sharks.” Maybe it’s not exactly honest, this sideways implication that we actually bear some responsibility for the mind-blowing coolness of the Aquarium, but we’re just so dang proud of this thing that we can’t help ourselves. By the way, how about our new ocean sunfish? Isn’t it a fine addition to our Outer Bay exhibit?

•ARCHITECTURAL TREASURE

CARMEL MISSION | 3080 Rio Rd., Carmel • 624-1271

Pope John XXIII honored Carmel Mission’s church with the rank of Basilica in 1961, recognizing Fr. Junipero Serra’s work and the chapel’s unique architectural features—such as the Moorish dome and the parabolic ceiling. Weekly readers give their blessings, too. While Serra planned the church during his administration as Father–Presidente of the California Missions, it wasn’t built until after his death. While most of the Mission churches were constructed of adobe, Serra wanted to build a stone church, like the ones in Mexico and Spain. During his life, there weren’t enough skilled masons in California. The Mexican architect Manuel Ruiz designed the church, and his brother, Santiago, a master stonemason, started the building in 1795 and completed the exterior to allow the church to be dedicated for worship on Christmas Day 1797.

•BEST BEACH PLACE TO WATCH THE SUNSET

CARMEL BEACH | end of Ocean Drive, Carmel

It looks like fashions in beaches are holding steady; for many years Carmel Beach has taken top honors in this category. Based on this impressive record, we respectfully advise the Almighty that if She is planning on creating another beach, Her Holiness might consider one with silky white sand, aquamarine waters, the protection of a picturesque bay, many dogs scampering about, owners following them with little baggies, decent surf, a westward orientation ideal for viewing the sunset and the graces of a microclimate that affords a greater than usual number of sunny days—but only, of course, if She feels like repeating a classic.

•SURF SPOT

ASILOMAR

Dear Best of Voters: Is this some kind of conspiracy to send feckless rookies out to flail in windy, choppy shorebreak while the wily locals sneak off to carve up glassy faces in a secret location? Or is Asilomar really Monterey County’s best surf spot? Because the word on the shore is Asilomar’s a somewhat less than even bet for quality surf, owing to the wind and want of a reliable point break. But maybe Asilomar’s appeal lies in its chanciness. Maybe when it’s good, it’s really good. Is that what you meant, voters? Do tell. Signed, the Weekly.

•GOLF HOLE

18TH AT PEBBLE BEACH | 2700 17-Mile Drive, Pebble Beach • (800) 654-9300

Most golfers never get to play The Links at Pebble Beach. Despite spending their lives pining about this “greatest meeting of land, sea, and sky in the world,” watching it longingly on TV every winter during the AT&T and whenever the US Open stops here, it remains an unattainable dream. Knee-weak visitors swoon at their first glimpse of 18 through the picture windows at the Lodge. Some fortunate souls actually get the opportunity to play this course that Nicklaus himself proclaimed would be “the one course I would play if I had one round left.” Then, when they finally play here, they must wait through 17 holes and five hours of trepidation until finally arriving at the shrine. When they’ve holed out and taken the obligatory photo with the flag, life has attained meaning.

•PLACE TO PICNIC

•PLACE TO GET MARRIED

LOVERS POINT | Ocean View Avenue, Pacific Grove

If there is a place where the Earth meets the soul, it is Lovers Point. Naturally, the park above the breathtaking bluffs is a favorite spot for picnickers and couples looking for a beautiful place to wed. Imagine the tumultuous sea crashing below the cliffs as the sun sets and transforms the horizon into a cotton candy dream. It’s the kind of place that’s inspired fairytales for generations.  

•HIKING TRAIL

GARLAND RANCH REGIONAL PARK | 8.6 miles east of Hwy 1 on Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley • 659-4488

Like a crown of multihued flowers, the 3,700-acre Garland is a sampling of Carmel Valley’s richest ecosystems: shady redwood groves, moss-draped live oak woodlands, meadows bursting in bloom. A hike can be as mellow or as strenuous as you make it, with some trails winding idly through the cottonwood floodplain and others rising steeply to Snively’s Ridge, where the forest breaks into an open vista of Carmel Valley. Wondering what flower that was, with the yellow and white blossoms patterned like fireworks, and what bird that was, with the low and whooping call? The park’s visitor center and museum have all the answers.

•PLACE TO BIKE

RECREATION TRAIL | Pacific Grove to Marina

There is a Monterey in Alabama. There’s also one each in Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri and South Carolina. There are three Montereys in Ohio, four in Pennsylvania and two in Texas. But the real Monterey rarely gets confused with these pretenders to the throne, thanks largely to the beautiful Monterey Bay, and the best portal to its power, the Rec Trail. If you don’t know, you better ask somebody—to borrow their bike.

•SHOPPING CENTER

•HANGOUT FOR TEENS

DEL MONTE CENTER | Munras Road, Monterey

Of course locals call it “the mall,” but the word seems almost wrong. The Del Monte Center’s open-air layout, gardens and tree-lined walkways, designed by the modernist architect John Carl Wernecke and the landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, make it a pleasant place. But, of course, it is a mall, which means stores large and small, from Macy’s to The Body Shop, plus a dozen eateries and the 13-screen Century Theaters. Of course, the teenagers love to hang out there because Del Monte shares one feature found at malls everywhere: lots of teenagers.

•HANGOUT FOR SENIORS

CARMEL FOUNDATION | Eighth and Lincoln, Carmel • 624-1588

With a list of activities that includes darkroom photography, wood-carving, needlecraft, yoga, ping pong, card games, and classic movies, the Carmel Foundation is almost like a yearlong summer camp for seniors, only better—they even bring in guest speakers, rotate art along their walls and host live concerts. The only thing missing is poison oak and fireside renditions of “Kumbaya.” Chairman Gene Steel leads a staff that includes over 200 volunteers, comprising an organization that has become a cornerstone of an eternally-young community.

•VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION 

CASA OF MONTEREY COUNTY | 201 Monterey-Salinas Hwy, Salinas • 455-6800

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is not the kind of place where one dabbles in volunteerism. CASA volunteers not only look out for the well-being of children, they do so in a hands-on, one-on-one way with a single child for months, developing a long-term relationship steeped in trust. While other agencies aim for family reunification, CASA is devoted solely the best interest of the child. Most often, the Court follows the recommendation of the CASA volunteer about where the child should be permanently placed. It’s an enormous commitment and responsibility, and the volunteers are nothing short of child-advocacy heroes.  

•PLACE TO WORK

HOME

Weekly readers agree home is the best place to work, and frankly it’s hard to argue with that. Typing in your PJs, teleconferences from the tub, taking a long lunch, and (several) extended coffee breaks is hard to beat. And then there’s the whole work-when-the-mood-strikes benefit. Night owl? Sleep in and work ‘til 2am. No problem. And this is just for us common Monterey County folk. For those fortunate enough to live in, say, Pebble Beach, there is a whole different set of perks. But while slaving away at the home office, don’t forget that human interaction, on occasion, is a good thing, too. It reminds us all to bathe and shave and not talk to our cats as if they are our peers. Now get back to work.