California is a lot of cities, and a lot of countries, and a number of universes.
There’s the Southern California coastline, there is the coastline of Central California and the pounding waves of northern California. There is Hollywood, there is Bakersfield. There is San Francisco and there is Pasadena.
There’s a lot of California out there, and each location on its own could easily be an iconic representation of the state.
Add Monterey to that list.
As the setting for John Steinbeck’s book, Cannery Row, it is as representative of the California myth as any sound stage or freeway.
In the early 1900s, the Monterey fishing industry was booming. Its success spawned the fish canning industry, beginning with Frank Booth, who built the first cannery in Monterey, as the legend goes. His original cannery was near Fisherman’s Wharf, although the actual Cannery Row eventually emerged along Ocean View Avenue.
The first official major cannery on Ocean View Avenue was the Pacific Fish Company, which opened on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1908.
The industry and the panorama of life that grew up around the canneries became legend.
Before the fish eventually dried up in the early 40s, the area was one of the world’s most productive owing to the cold, nutrient-rich water from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, brought to the surface via the underwater Monterey Canyon.
The area thrived in so many ways. Until it didn’t.
Over two decades, the area was neglected and became an embarrassing sign of a better time.
In 1968, two Monterey restaurant managers founded the Cannery Row Company. It took a while, but 1976 saw a revival of Cannery Row which transformed it to the number one visitor destination on California’s Central Coast.
Since that time, it has continued to thrive, and drew millions of visitors a year, pre-pandemic, and likely will again, as the world takes off its mask and begins to once again return to the life we all once knew.
And that includes tourism. In a big way.
We visited Monterey in mid-December at the height of both the holiday season and the Omicron surge, which meant beautiful scenery and not a lot of people.
We drove up to the ungainly named InterContinental The Clement Monterey as night had already fallen.
Next door to the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium on Cannery Row, the location is perfect, as the “Clement” is steps from boutiques, eateries, galleries, attractions, beaches and blocks of empty streets and sidewalks.
We had traveled to Monterey for a wedding and following the happy pizza rehearsal dinner, we returned to the Clement. As a member of the InterContinental Hotel chain, with locations all over the world, the property is as luxurious as you might expect.
There are elegantly designed rooms and suites filled with convenient technology and modern luxury, with fireplaces, 48″ LCD HD TVs, marble bathrooms, sound systems, Wi-Fi and balconies with ocean views.
Our room looked out onto the bay to the north and south, as the second day of our visit dawned like a flower opening to the sun with clear blue skies, which had threatened rain only the day before.
We had breakfast overlooking Monterey Bay, at the C restaurant bar. While the best thing on the menu was the view, it’s not to say that the breakfast wasn’t delicious because it was. And served almost immediately after ordering.
Coffee arrived, juice arrived, the entrees arrived. In minutes. I can’t remember, if ever, service at that speed.
Everything about the Clement bespoke luxury and service and efficiency. It would not have surprised me to learn that they had also arranged the sparkling blue skies. The world will clear up again, and we will return here, I’m sure.
The wedding itself was small, cozy, fun, friendly and romantic, in a park overlooking the city.
The bride was enchanting, and so was the groom. And the wedding went off without a hitch. Following a long day, the late afternoon sun was just reacquainting itself with the ocean as we found our next hotel just doors away from the Clement.
The Spindrift Inn, situated on the same Cannery Row, offers something truly unique to the numerous hotels in the area.
As I stepped over to the window in the luxuriously appointed suite, directly below me, was the Pacific Ocean, gently lapping against the concrete pillars of our hotel building. Looking out towards the horizon, the moon was rising, sending a luminous carpet of light across the water to the land.
It was magical and mysterious and perfect. It was all we needed to make the evening even more special.
While the Spindrift Inn isn’t part of a multinational chain, it offers a different type of luxury than the Clement. A homey, traditional, and almost folksy luxury, but luxury nonetheless.
A massive Christmas tree sat in the middle of the lobby perfectly decorated for the holidays. Most of Cannery Row, in fact, was also beautifully decorated, but alas, there were few pedestrians to appreciate it all.
As I’ve duly noted, the world will return and we will remove our masks. We will hold each other close again and laugh at these past two years.
As those new days loom ever closer, I’ll be thinking about those waves lapping against the pillars of the Spindrift Inn. And making plans.
You might want to do the same.
The 411:
InterContinental The Clement Monterey Hotel is at 750 Cannery Row, Monterey, California 93940. (831)375-4500. www.ictheclementmonterey.com.
The Spindrift in, 652 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 93940. 831-646-8900. www.spindriftinn.com.
