Tons of fun: Cana and Pacific Grove

Whew! Last week was full of adventure, starting out with pupus and salsa dancing at our neighborhood Cuban club, Cana. A crabby-melted-cheesy-wonderful-toast thing, an order of sweet fried plantains, a minty mojito, a sultry cuba libre, and then a few turns around the PACKED dance floor before making our way on foot up the hill and home...couldn't be better on a Bay Area Sunday afternoon with temps in the 80s.

Then mid-week we took off on a little driving jaunt to Pacific Grove, on the Monterey Peninsula. Have you been there? What a gorgeous little town, and really nothing like the hustle and tourist vibe of Monterey and Carmel, except that it has the same beautiful non-stop scenery. Right on Monterey Bay and Pinos Point, the sparkling blue water and white sands are hard to beat.

We went there theoretically to play golf, but the golf was really the least enjoyable part of a very enjoyable 2-day stay. We stayed at the Butterfly Grove Inn, and while we were too late for the Monarch butterflies that throng here October through March, we still really liked the Inn. It's pink, of course, and quite 50s motel-like, but the rooms are huge and nicely, if simply, decorated. It's clean and attractive and comfy - we even had a gas fireplace in our room. Sweet! Not expensive, either, at least at this time of year. Outside is the beautiful grove of trees that the Monarchs return to, and in both directions we were close enough to the Bay and to downtown Pacific Grove to walk it.

Here's a view of the Bay:

 and some of the flora:

Gosh, it was pretty. That purple flower is iceplant and it was all over the rocks on the way down to the Bay. There are some beautiful homes here too. Quite a nice little city, and just minutes from Monterey if you wanted to go to the Aquarium or to the Monterey Jazz Festival, both worthwhile activities.

We had fabulous food too. We tried Fishwife for dinner, and loved it. The calimari appetizer is the best I've ever had, and very substantial. We also shared the Baja Fistherman's Bowl (shrimp, scallops, lobster) and thought it was great - lots of food. For breakfast the next morning, we first tried Red House, which looked great but we were too late getting up - they stop serving breakfast at 11. They sent us to Holly's, which was wonderful. Wayne had the carrot cake pancakes...unbelievable. So good! I had poached eggs and buttermilk pancakes - also to die for. So it was an eating frenzy in PG.

The golf? Well, it wasn't the course, it was us. The course was fine, although it was right on the Point (beautiful) which meant we were whipped by wind the entire time. I mean whipped! I'm not a huge fan of wind. Anyway, we golfed 13 holes and called it a day. We did get a special treat, though, and that was to see the Point Pinos Lighthouse, which is right next to the course and is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast. Cool!

This week we're recuperating...