Monterey, Ca Essay Example for Free

Monterey, Ca Essay Whenever I tell someone that I am from California I am automatically asked about palm trees, the sun, hot weather, tanning, the beach, richness, etc. However, it’s not like that for me, I’m not from San Diego or Santa Clara, I’m from a small town in Central California with a population of about thirty thousand people, Monterey and it is a popular tourist attraction. The weather is about the same year round, between 60-70 degrees. It is rare the day we get up to 90 to 95 degrees. On those days it is as if I did life in San Diego. When we get out of school, everyone goes to the beach. We spend hours there, girls mainly tanning while the boys skim board, surf, swim, or play beach volleyball. At night we’ll set up a bonfire. We don’t do this only on the hot days, it does not matter what day of the season it is well set up bonfires all the time. It was a great thing to do at night, laying by the fire, drinking, smoking, eating, making smores, etc. Monterey is mainly known for its marine life. It has one of the biggest aquariums in North America. Monterey Bay Aquarium gives many scientists access to different marine life for research. It just opened a new Jellyfish exhibit and a year or so ago remodeled the Open Sea. The aquarium has two main parts, the open sea and the ocean’s edge. In the open sea you can see the Puffins, the Jellies Experience, The Secret Lives of Seahorses, and an Auditorium. Where as in the Ocean’s Edge part of the aquarium you can see the Kelp Forest, the Habitats, Penguins, and even the Touch Pools. There is no student in the Monterey County who has not been to this aquarium, I know this for a fact because every first grader goes to the aquarium as a field trip. The teacher gives each student a clipboard with a worksheet on it. Then he class is broken up in to groups and each has a chaperone and an aquarium guide. As everyone walks around, the students must fill out the work sheet. Every student covers every inch of the aquarium, from the otters to the roof, and even to the lab rooms. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is located at the end of Cannery Row. Cannery Row was named after the novel by John Steinbeck that took place there. In high school, we were obligated to read John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row in order to get an idea of how it was in his time. There, I can promise you that you will be trampled by tourists. There are tourist everywhere, because Cannery Row is literally right next to the beach is has a very strong smell of fish and sea water, combined. On the both sides of the street you will see restaurants after restaurants, like Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, El Torito, Fish Hopper, Johnny Rocket’s, and Sly McFly’s. There are also many souvenir shops and a Starbucks and a Dip-n-Dots, and also a few clubs and bars. One street up from Cannery Row, a block away from the aquarium, is the American Tin Cannery. Years and years ago it used to be a world wide famous sardine factory which ending because the sardines disappeared tragically. Now, it is an outlet store and it has a couple of restaurants, my favorite bei ng First Awakenings. It is a breakfast, lunch diner, I used to go every Mondays before school with my family for breakfast. Walking past Cannery Row is a bike path, which has always been on of my favorite things to do. The bike path goes on for a couple of miles, a few feet from the edge of the ocean and on the other side are magnificent houses, hotels, the lighthouse, and a small golf course. It eventually leads into Pacific Grove and then Asilomar Beach, the dog beach. This is where most high school students go for their Winterball or Prom pictures. If I were to walk the opposite way of the path I would be going back to Cannery Row, passing Cannery Row I would end up at San Carlos Beach. San Carlos Beach is nothing big, a very small, private beach. I hardly ever see anyone there. Back on the bike path, passing San Carlos Beach I am heading toward the Old Fisherman’s Wharf, another very touristic destination. This Wharf has three major owners, one owns the front part, the other owns Old Fisherman’s Grotto, and the third owns most of the other shops, and restaurants at the end of the wharf. I worked at Gilbert’s on the wharf on summer and part of the school year. I was the ‘clam chowder girl’. That summer I just stood there, serving chowder to all these tourists from all over the world; Italy, France, Mexico, Spain, the Middle East, etc. I would get in trouble every now and then if I would socialize with them. At the end of the wharf there is always either a man or a women who draws caricatures and on the bottom adds a whale, ocean or the wharf. The reason why he or she does a whale is because right next to the booth is another booth for whale watching. I did it once and I did not see whales but others have said they have seen them. One the other side of the Old Fisherman’s Wharf is another wharf. That wharf consists mostly of parked cars, a couple of small restaurants and a fish market at the end. At the fish market they sell fresh fish. They will go fishing and keep the fish alive, one a customer comes in and orders whatever they please, the fishermen will kill the fish right in front of you so you know that it is fresh. Every now and then I see a big ship on the dock. In-between these two wharfs is filled with sail boats, yhats, house boats, fishing boats, etc. Walking on the bike path next to this part of the dock, if I were to look down to the ocean, you can see otters, hundreds of otters, crying, sleeping or just playing around. Across from Old Fisherman’s Wharf is a path that leading into Downtown Monterey. Alvarado Street is at the heart of Downtown and it’s one the places teens and adults are seen at a lot. There are approximately seven to ten clubs and bars on this street, so its hardly ever empty. About two years ago we got a Myo there. Myo is equivalent to a Pink Berry, only better in my opinion. You’re able to get your own serving but keep in mind that you’re being charged 65 cents per ounce. I believe it is owned by two Monterey firefighters. On Tuesdays, the city closes the street to vehicles because there is a Farmer’s Market. There are food stands, fruit/vegatable stands, handmade jewelry sellers, CHOMP blood drive, to clothing vendors. A street up from Alvarado is the Monterey Police Station, Monterey Fire Department, and the Public Library. A few streets down from Alvarado is the first church built in California, San Carlos Church, formally known as San Carlos Cathedral. Next door to the church is a private Catholic school, San Carlos School. I attended this school for elementary and middle school. It is a very small school, one class for each grade. We had a uniform, therefore, the elementary girls had to wear plaid dresses with a white or navy blue polo and the boys had to wear navy blue pants and a polo. The middle school girls couldnt wear the dresses anymore so we had to wear plaid skirts with the polos and the boys had the same uniform as the younger boys. My graduating class only had 20 kids because we were such a small school, our class was very close and most of us went to the same high school after. Monterey has four high school, Santa Catalina, York, Trinity, and Monterey high school. The Del Monte Shopping Center is where students mainly hang out because of the restaurants, stores and the movie theater. Century 21, is the only movie theater in Monterey. The mall is not very big but it has the main things people go to buy like, Starbucks, Jamba Juice, HM, Forever 21, Victoria Secret, Cold Stone, etc. The crime violence is very high in the city’s around Monterey but in Monterey itself is not to bad. We don’t hear about shooting or murders. However, it has been getting high in the cities around Monterey, and it worries some of the residents. It was disappointing to learn that crime violence in now creeping into Monterey. One thing that keeps the residence calm is that the Monterey Police Department do not rest with crime and they do, do something about it, immediately. In Seaside, and or Salinas it is a harder for them get the criminal. Monterey has and always will be my home. I grew up there, I lived there, I love it there, it is a place where I can feel at ease. It makes others feel at home. I have been told, and heard that tourists, celebrities, and residents all think that this is on of the prettiest places in California and of the world. It makes me feel proud to be part of the Monterey community, to be a part of something that others wished they could be a part. I recommend that everyone should see Monterey, at least once in their lifetime.