Woke up to a beautiful morning in San Luis Obispo. SLO is one of the most beautiful little towns I believe I've ever seen.
From my hotel window in San Luis Obispo
We went back onto the campus of Cal Poly for a student matinee at 10. The show went well, the students were attentive and it was a thrill to play again in such a wonderful facility. California obviously doesn't hesitate to put money into its universities. The Christopher Cohan Center is stunning inside and out.
The Christopher Cohan Center on the campus of Cal Poly
After lunch we loaded back into the bus and headed north again, this time for San Francisco. Our route went right through the land where Steinbeck was born and grew up and through the land where Of Mice and Men is set. Route 101 runs directly through both Soledad and Salinas (Steinbeck's hometown).
The fields outside Soledad
As we neared Soledad, Hardy and I discussed how neat it would have been to try to find the places that inspired Steinbeck to write the story. The fields are still heavily farmed and you could easily imagine George, Lennie and the rest of the men of the ranch out working. The Salinas River (where presumably George and Lennie camped and where Lennie hides out at the end) runs just outside Soledad.
You just know George and Lennie are out there somewhere
But we rolled on through the countryside headed for our time off in San Francisco. We left San Luis Obispo in calm 80 degree weather but the weather in South San Francisco was a startling change. It was cool and blustery with clouds rolling in and the shorts I wore in SLO just didn't cut it.
A glimpse of the bay as we approached South San Francisco
We checked into the hotel and (after changing clothes!) several of us walked a couple of blocks to a Thai restaurant. I've not eaten a lot of Thai food, but based on what I had and everyone else's reaction to their food we made a great choice.
Today is a golden day off with no travel, so everyone has plans to scatter to the four winds and see as much of the city and the country around it as possible. Mike O, Vince, Matthew and I are renting a car and driving to see the redwoods in the Big Basin south of town. I expect some cool pictures.
Although I admit that I am not reading the posts each and every day, the ones I do read (and the past ones I catch up on) are...what? Nurturing? Stimulating? Adding to My Education? All of the Above? I have a BA in English, but do I know much of anything about literature? My sister-in-law Betsy, also an English major, knows so much more than I do because she read and reads so much more extensively than I did and do. I read about music, theatre, show business, history. Literature never made it into my Top Ten list.
ReplyDeleteBut seeing OF MICE AND MEN and OTHELLO at the Barter has helped to fill in some of the gaps for me.
I also do not know much of anything about flowers. Eugene has to tell me the names of the ones he has in his garden. He teased me once by saying that "'FLOWERS' wouldn't be your category on JEOPARDY, would it?!" I replied, "Nor would 'SHAKESPEARE'! I I were a contestant on JEORPARDY, I would be saying, '1960s Sitcoms for $500, Alex!'"
Carry on, y'all.