Salinas : The City of John Steinbeck

As I promised, I am writing my blog from my Cali trip, perhaps fittingly delayed. I've been here for 4 days already, and my travels around have been quite amazing indeed.

Mind you, this is my fourth trip to the Golden State, however I had never been to the agricultural region of California. It boasts almost every major fruit and vegetable crop we enjoy in the rest of the United States. The fresh produce is readily available, and the quality and cost is incomparable (i.e. cheaper and of course fresher). The nation's capitals of artichokes, lettuce, nectarines, strawberries, garlic, dry fruits, vineyards, and many more are within a few miles around this region.

It is quite ironic that I am currently based in Salinas during this trip. I'm writing this blog from the home city of one of our nation's great writers (and one of my faves), John Steinbeck. I fondly remember reading his writings while in school, mostly the Grapes of Wrath and Travels with Charley. I mostly remember the way he used examples of his hometown in his writings, which were very vivid and detailed.

I had a chance to visit the National Steinbeck Center today, which to some might be boring, but to me it was worth it. The story of Steinbeck's life and literary works are broken down with displays. It shows the influences and reasons on why a certain book, short story, or even play was written. The other side of the museum shows the agricultural history of Salinas (of which Steinbeck was influential), and how it shaped the country's agricultural technology as well.

True to the stories of Steinbeck's works, the description of Salinas of then is somewhat similar to even this day. Low income workers, with low income housing continue to exist, who work on the fields. As agriculture was the dominant economy of 100 years back, agriculture is still the dominant economy till this day.

Well I know this post might be a boring read, but I wanted to at least give an idea of where I was, and share an experience.

Next up: Carmel & Big Sur

Travels with the G-man: California

As a unique and unusual surprise for all of my readers, I'm taking this blog on the road from the West Coast of the USA, California. So for the next few days I'll be writing about my travels in and around the Bay Area-Monterey area. I hope you will enjoy these series of postings.