California, that is. We arrived in Monterey in the early evening of August 28, 2007, and we plan to head further south on Saturday, September 1, as early as possible. Fog permitting. Har.
We scored a great slip at the Municipal Marina (sorta tight entrance fairway, boys!) but found we had arrived at precisely the gap between the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Monterey Reggae Festival, and the Monterey Classic Car Extravaganza-a-Go-Go. Nothing left to do but tour the Monterey Bay Aquarium (second only to Newport, Oregon’s Oregon Coast Aquarium) and take the self-guided walking tour of Historic Downtown Monterey. What a treat.
Essentially, Historic Downtown Monterey is an open-air museum consisting of about 43 separate buildings spread over about 1-½ square miles of prime downtown real estate. We’re talkin’, early adobe residential buildings and gardens, the first brick structure erected in Monterey, the first church and oldest continuously-used church in the US – built in 1794 (a mere 2 years after James Cook negotiated terms for dividing the Pacific Northwest between Britain and Spain in Nootka Sound, BC), and Colton Hall, the white stone building in which the California Constitution was drafted. Better yet: many of these historic buildings are small museums in their own right. Think about the financing and organizational skills that are required to make something like that happen as part of an urban renewal/redevelopment plan. Do you have anything approaching this level of classiness, in your own community? Seeing Monterey’s Historic District for yourself is an excellent way to learn about California’s Spanish-Mexican-Anglo history – but I feel it’s an even greater lesson in how rare it is that a state, city, and private interests can collaborate long-term to preserve major aspects of their community’s history. One of the volunteer museum docents simply said, “We got lucky.” But this is luck that lasted for the decades it took to plan the project, finance it, and make it happen. If only every community could find such leadership – how much better things might be.
Enough of the sappiness. The Historic District makes a first-rate walking tour. Lots to see and learn, even if (like us) you stumble across this opportunity on one of those days when most buildings are closed to the public. No matter. 
Where else on earth do you have the opportunity to see an old whaling station, and walk on a sidewalk built entirely out of whale vertebrae? (Yes, actually, it IS disturbing.)
Think checking in and out of Customs is tough now, what with Homeland Security and all? Consider that in the 1840s, Monterey, California, was the one and only port of entry for California – and if you checked-in your vessel, you had to UNLOAD it and physically present all the goods onshore, at this fine Customs house, for the proper duty to be assessed.
After which, of course, you had to pay for guys to schlep it back to your boat and load it all nice and proper. Some things are easier in the 21st century. Except that now, it’s hard to see the Customs house through all the masts of the private yachts that are in the Municipal Marina. John Steinbeck’s Cannery-Row days are gone forever now, man – it’s all galleries and curio shops and foo-foo 1600 square-foot $1.5 million waterfront condos. I am not making this up. My advice: buy a boat. Live aboard. Anchor out in front of these upscale condos. Lower property values wherever you can.
Heh.
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