The West Coast of the US is peppered with family. Of course we knew this when we departed Seattle, but it has been such an unexpected joy to reconnect with them in the midst of this adventure. And our arrival in Monterey was no exception – my cousin, her family, and family friends followed our progress down the coast and helped connect us with local authorities to arrange for moorage. When we pulled in, they all met us at the dock, bottles of wine in hand and eager second-cousins excited to meet their counterparts.
Our time in Monterey was replete with luxuries of local family and new friends, including guest passes to the Aquarium! There was an early morning surf at Asilomar, a fully guided real-estate tour of Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Carmel, and more family meetups for sushi and mini-golf. We were chauffeured to the farmers market, went for a run along the trail to Pacific Grove, and got into the groove of life aboard while in a working marina – floating dead baby sea lions and all. We even did a mega-load of laundry at my cousin’s house during a not-to-be-missed smoked ribs extravaganza. It was so fun to watch the cousins bond while frolicking in the hallway with Poppy the dog.
When checking in to the marina in Monterey, the harbor master mentioned that we could stay up to two weeks at our given rate (relatively low compared to Seattle and Santa Barbara). Realizing the Monterey airport was only a 5 minute drive away, we took the time to make an impromptu visit to see family in Philadelphia. Despite the offers to look after Pelle aboard Flyer in our absence, we decided to bring her with us. And we were glad we did! She seemed to tolerate the 8 hour trip better than the rest of us, given our 3:15am wake-up time, and she enjoyed the five-star cat accommodations at my brother’s house in Manayunk.
Our trip to Philadelphia reminded us of the luxuries we have left behind – long hot showers, large and cavernous refrigerators full of fresh food, and outdoor space with trees and grass for Pelle to explore. We enjoyed the warm early fall weather and walked Washington Square Park and the Manayunk Bridge Trail in search of Geocaches. We celebrated Paul’s birthday in style with a double-header: a trip to Dick’s Sporting Goods and a session at Top Golf.
There are many reasons to believe Philadelphia is paradise, but in my mind it’s without a doubt the soft pretzels. I’ve been back to Philly several times in the past couple of years, and every time I have canvassed the local roach-coaches in center city in search of soft pretzels… in vain!
The Philly soft pretzel is a thing of beauty – soft, doughy inside with a firm crusty outside, covered in what appears to be sidewalk salt. And they’re cheap. When I was a kid they were 25 cents each. My brothers and I could eat lunch for a buck.
Today – if you can find them – I think they’re $1.25 each from a reputable vendor. But when you go straight to the source – the Center City Soft Pretzel Company on Washington Avenue, you can get a box of them for $33. It took us the better part of the week to work through them, and a few may have become still-life objects for my brother’s paintings, but it was a box of heaven-on-earth for a hot moment.
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