As I wrote on Sunday, the past few days were supposed to go something like this: Drive from San Francisco to Carmel-by-the-Sea on Route 1, pass some pumpkin fields, mustard fields, artichoke fields (never seen one of these before!), get to know the town on foot, maybe drop into some yoga classes, hike, hang out at the beach... Well, this plan only works if you don't stop in the most local of all local bars in Carmel the night you get into town. But I was just stopping by Ody's Tavern do some low-key people-watching, not people-meeting...
By the end of the night, I'd bought drinks for the guys playing their regular Sunday night poker game, had followed some of the folks to another local and back, met Ody himself, made friends with some other patrons, including Abalone Joe - a man who lives outside ("urban camping" he calls it) and makes his living travelling up and down the California coast finding, cleaning, and selling abalone shells to shell shops and jewelry stores. Oh, and did I mention that this local bar is the only one in town with a stripper pole in its little dance area? Yeah. And Wii Bowling, which I won.
And this trend has only continued. I went to dinner at the restaurant next to Ody's, met the owner and some friends of his, the waiter, the bartender, the chef (more on this later). Met a woman who owns a local gourmet wine, oil, and vinegar shop/tasting room, and have been back to Ody's to have a beer with Abalone Joe only to meet a different bartender who gave me some great tips on visiting Pacific Grove. So I'm glad that I didn't just head back to my cabin after dinner my first night in town. I thought living like a local here would be more heads-down, but it seems that's more the way the tourists live. The only way I'd feel more at home is if they'd loaned me a dog for the week.
By the end of the night, I'd bought drinks for the guys playing their regular Sunday night poker game, had followed some of the folks to another local and back, met Ody himself, made friends with some other patrons, including Abalone Joe - a man who lives outside ("urban camping" he calls it) and makes his living travelling up and down the California coast finding, cleaning, and selling abalone shells to shell shops and jewelry stores. Oh, and did I mention that this local bar is the only one in town with a stripper pole in its little dance area? Yeah. And Wii Bowling, which I won.
And this trend has only continued. I went to dinner at the restaurant next to Ody's, met the owner and some friends of his, the waiter, the bartender, the chef (more on this later). Met a woman who owns a local gourmet wine, oil, and vinegar shop/tasting room, and have been back to Ody's to have a beer with Abalone Joe only to meet a different bartender who gave me some great tips on visiting Pacific Grove. So I'm glad that I didn't just head back to my cabin after dinner my first night in town. I thought living like a local here would be more heads-down, but it seems that's more the way the tourists live. The only way I'd feel more at home is if they'd loaned me a dog for the week.
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