We checked out of the Hampton Inn in Santa Cruz this morning and made out way to Monterey. Of course not before we took advantage of the continental breakfast at the insistence of my dad. My mom and I were not very hungry but he insisted. We told him that we wouldn't be hungry again for a long time but he wasn't going to let a free breakfast go by. So my mom and I had a bagel and some juice.
As soon as we got to Monterey my dad was complaining that he was hungry. This was only about half an hour after we left Santa Cruz and we had parked the cars. My mom and I both told him that we were not hungry since he made us eat not only half an hour before. He acted like he was going to die of starvation so we found a diner to eat at. He didn't want to eat along so I got a short stack of pancakes and one egg. My mom ordered chili and cheese in a sourdough bowl. My dad got a denver omelet with hash browns and toast.
Afterwards my parents did some shopping and then they went to 17 mile drive down towards Carmel. From there they said they were going to go into Carmel and then head home. I wasn't ready to leave Monterey. The fog burned off and it was beautiful. I also hadn't been in the Monterey Bay Aquarium in ages so i had to go. I took a lot of pictures. Many of them turned out great:
I spend almost 3 hours taking pictures there. So many nice colorful fishies. Afterwards I walked around a little and then decided it was time to start driving towards San Simeon.
It only took me about and hour and a half to get here. I got a room at the Best Western Cavalier. it was a great deal, a lot cheaper than the Santa Cruz room. It's got a great ocean view, a wood burning fireplace (with wood to burn!), king size bed, mini bar, outdoor patio. Just a short walk away is a nice beach and firepits to have bonfires at night. If it wasn't so cold outside I would have started a bonfire tonight.
After checking in and taking pictures I went to eat dinner at a mexican place nearby. After dinner I drove into Cambria to get some beer. I got a six pack of Sierra Nevada Wheat Beer. It actually tastes a lot more like Pale Ale than Wheat Beer. That's OK, i'ts getting me drunk just the same.
Tomorrow I'm going to wake up, have breakfast, check out of the hotel, then go to Hearst Castle. I hope I can take lots of pictures there. It's going to be tough because they don't allow flash photography, which I try not to use anyway. But they also do not allow the use of tripids. If you don't use flash then you really need a tripod if the lighting isn't very bright. Most indoor shots do not have enough light. Oh well.
After checking out the castle i'm sure I will be hungry. I think the tour I want to go on has 320 stair steps. That is going to wear me out. After lunch in Cabria I'm going to drive to Turlock. The following day I should go to Yosemite if the weather is still nice. Anyway, I'm going to read and drink some more now.
10:16 p.m. - 2004-03-21
Last night at Shadowbrook was horrible. It was simply the worst service I have ever had in my life. We got there very early, 6pm, and I asked how long the wait would be for 3. Without even looking at anything the hostess said we would have to wait until 9:30. Hmmmm, a three and a half hour wait to eat half an hour before the place closes.
So the hostess said we were welcome to eat in the Rock Room, which is pretty much the bar/lounge were people wait for their table in the restaurant. She said we could order from the full menu if we wanted. That was good enough for me so we took a seat. It took about 15 minutes for a waitress to even show up and all she did was clean off the table and say she would be right back to take our drink order and leave the menus. She didn't come back for about 10 minutes. My mom got a coke (she doesn't drink alcohol), I got a Marzen (beer), and my dad ordered a glass of Ravenswood Merlot. The waitress said "that's an expensive wine..." and then paused there like we were supposed to say, "oh we can't afford expensive wine! Please bring us the cheap ass jug wine." Instead we just looked at her like she was retarded.
So then I opened the menu and noticed it was the bar menu: pizza, burgers, quesadillas, fried calamari, skirt steak, and prime rib (the big daddy on the menu). So after waiting for another 20 minutes for her to come back and ask us what we wanted as an appetizer I let her know that we didn't get a full menu. She said that since we were in the bar area we had to order from the bar menu. I told her that the hostess specifically told me that we could order from the full menu and all she said was "well...what would you like to start off with tonight, the specials in the Rock Room are..." She just basically ignored me. I would have walked out but my parents are way more reserved than I am. If you know me then you know that is saying something because I am way too shy to make a scene anywhere.
So we ordered our appetizers and then sat for half an hour waiting for them. We actually ordered our entrees before the appetizers came. We watched as people around us who arrived after us received their appetizers and started in on their meals. Just ordering our main courses was insulting. My dad ordered first, he got the full size prime rib with a cup of clam chowder. The waitress picked up all the menus and said, "OK, one prime rib for the table, i'll bring three plates so you can share, hmmmm..." and started walking away. I rolled my eyes at her and told her not to go anywhere, we WERE NOT FINISHED ORDERING. She acted surprised and said, "oh you are each going to get an entree? The prime rib is expensive." What the fuck is that supposed to mean? I was fucking steaming. I told her that she was going to take my mom's order and then she was going to take my order and we could afford anything we ordered THANK YOU.
We got our appetizers and salads and soups and then waited another half hour or so for the food. She never came back to refill my mom's soda or ask my dad or I if we wanted another glass of wine/beer. When our food did come they didn't bring knives. She said, "sorry we don't have any more steak knives up here, i'd have to go downstairs to get some" So I told her that she would be going downstairs to get those steak knives and she said, "uh, ok, I guess" You fucking guess!? I wish I was a chick so I could have slapped the taste out of her mouth. After waiting for 10 minutes my parents started using their butter knives to cut their prime rib. I refused to start in on my steak until I got the proper utensils. About 5 minutes later she brought our knives.
It took about 20 minutes to pay the bill and she even forgot to bring the slip for us to sign after she ran my card. We had to tell another waitress and she brought our receipt right away. I wrote CASH on the tip line and left her a 5 dollar tip on a $117 bill. She is lucky she got that.
Today we are going to go to Monterey. Have lunch, look around, then go our separate ways. My parents are going to go back to Turlock. I am going down to San Simeon. Hopefully lunch will be more enjoyable.
8:44 a.m. - 2004-03-21
Recent entries:
Oklahoma - 2005-11-07
Obey! - 2005-11-03
Back From Boston - 2005-10-27
Lots of Updates - 2005-10-24
Back to Work - 2005-10-10
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