Side-Tripping Along the California Central Coast

Making one trip from a series of little trips

This post should have been a message to my friend Mary, since it contains my itinerary-ish for visiting her.

My upcoming Monterey County trip promises to be just what I need right now as I grapple with some lingering depression/anxiety issues and a panicked disillusionment with the state of the world, while gearing up to start a new business when I come back home. Getting out of my comfort zone, even with my usual pre-flight ear infection (how does my ear know every single time I’m a few days from a flight?), feels very necessary.

Last night, it hit me that, next weekend, I can very easily take it easy at Mary’s house, where I’ll be staying. Hanging out with her and her crew sounds like heaven right now. The weekend forecast in Salinas is gorgeous, and I’m game for hanging out on the deck with beverages, talking about writing and such.

Last time I saw Mary was at a little Italian place on the Upper East Side of Manhattan on my birthday in ‘21. It was dark and blurry, just like we like it.

I’ll be landing in Oakland around noon on Monday, taking my time driving to Salinas. There’s lunch in Alameda with my friend Liliana, and a stop in Santa Cruz because I want to drink coffee while watching otters rob surfers.

Mary recently informed me that the local sea otters are assholes, so chances are high I’ll adopt one as my familiar while I’m there. I hope she gets along with Ethyl, my hostess in Salinas.

Photo of Ethyl, blatantly stolen from Mary without permission.

I don’t take enough trips that involve animals, so I’m pretty excited about Ethyl and my sea otter comrade. And very excited to get seasick on Tuesday afternoon while whale watching for three hours in Monterey Bay.

There’s no way I’m going to squeeze in everything there is to do in Monterey County. Really, I’m fine with not leaving the house next weekend if the opportunity arises.

But come Monday morning, I’m off, hitting the Pacific Coast Highway from Monterey through Big Sur to San Luis Obispo. Heast Castle isn’t really my thing at any time, but wealth tourism really doesn’t interest me right now. I’m skipping it this time in favor of taking in the views and spending time poking around San Luis Obispo, maybe with one of my L.A. friends. Might decide at the last minute to spend a night, but I doubt it. As usual, I’m not making a tight itinerary.

Unless my otter makes me. What she says goes.

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If you’d like to buy me a coffee or contribute to my sea otter attack wound recovery, I’d so appreciate it.