Sometimes You Just Want a Salad

Jane's on 3rd. Natural, organic, and serves breakfast at lunch. But sometimes, all you want is a salad, despite the quiche, crepes, and eggs Benedict calling your name. Jane's is also a pretty great place for salads. 

Like pretty much all restaurants in Naples, especially those on 5th Ave, Jane's has plenty of outdoor seating. And people seem to really avail themselves of these dining al fresco opportunities. But Naples and it's residents are much like Sonoma and its residents; 66 and sunny is just too cold to sit outside without heaters. Our waiter even pulled out a chair for me right next to a heater, and I'll admit, I looked at him like he were crazy. "No, thank you... I'm from the Midwest." He chuckled and then offered me the seat furthest from the heater.

The salad. The salad was listed on the menu as "One of Princess Diana's Favourite Salads." Now, I'm no British Royal Historian, but I can't argue with a restaurant that spells "favourite" in British. Roasted beets ("real fresh beets, not canned"), goat cheese, pistachios, baby arugula, mandarin oranges (probably also not canned), Granny Smith apple, and a raspberry vinaigrette. Oh, and a "crouton" of sorts: very thinly sliced wheat raisin bread toasted crispy and dusted with sugar. And add some avocado, just because you can. Fresh, tasty, and utterly satisfying. Just like my iced tea, which came in an oversized Tervis tumbler. With this weather and this food, I could get used to a place.

Naples... the City.

When nearly all of your parent's peers migrate south to a particular location in Florida, it makes sense to take it for granted that everyone knows what you're talking about as you announce (in the middle of the coldest winter for several decades) that you are going to Naples. Right? Like saying "Scottsdale" or "Phoenix." Right?

"Naples, Florida. Yeah, the city in southwest Florida. No, not Italy. Not Naples, the kingdom [as Neapolitans still call it]." Every time. <sigh>

But there's no shortage of luxury and imported fashion, fountains, Italian restaurants, or gelato here. Or retired folk. Lots and lots of retired folk. Which really just means that there is no time when you can avoid the crowds in the shopping district, there are lots of people driving around all the time during the day, and the restaurants are always full for dinner - albeit people tend to start dining pretty early around here. So, when in Rome, I mean, Naples... head to 5th Avenue.

There are plenty of pampered retired pets in Florida too. Mostly, you see dogs. Cat walking not really a thing here. So, you also see some pretty stylin' pups, possibly outfitted at this store: Pucci and Catana. If I have to explain the joke, it's not funny. Anyway, the wares inside require little explanation (except maybe as to why someone would spend that amount of money on a rhinestone dog collar), and they're pretty amusing to your average pet owner.

Not baby clothes, well, not for human babies.

The back of this sweet 'stache is a rubber ball for the dog to chew on. 

Knowing dogs, I'm pretty sure they would chew off the handlebar instead.

Not from Pucci and Catana, but an example of the many water dishes placed outside stores for shoppers' four-legged shopping companions. I haven't been in a city this dog-friendly since Carmel, CA.

A fountain in the courtyard of Barbatella: Spirited Italian Trattoria. They also have a little gelato shop attached to the restaurant with gelato made by a master chocolatier. The pistachio gelato was masterfully tasty.

Another look at the "mer-horse" fountain.

This is my dad's favorite fountain in Naples.

Southeast by Southwest

So, I'm at it again. A non-road trip with a mini road trip squeezed in the middle. Welcome to this January 2014 installment of Sleep.Eat.Drive.Repeat. In which I fly south to Naples, Florida (like much of the retired Midwestern world), visit my snowbird father, and ditch out to the Keys for a few days, just to guarantee some beach time. I hope you'll tag along for the sunshine, if nothing else. And for the stories, and the pictures, like this ridiculously overgrown pointsettia next to my dad's building.

Deep Thoughts

Sunset at Carmel Beach

So this is probably more for me than anyone else, and feel free to skip if it someone else's personal reflection isn't your thing.

Silence

I've spent a fair amount of time on this trip in silence. Not just the kind of silence that is absent of radio, television, or other people talking. The kind of silence that entails minutes, hours, sometimes even whole days without me saying a single word. No expletives or humphs or "Go figure" sorts of comments to myself. Think about the last time you spent time in this kind of silence and how long it lasted, and whether you happened to have music or the TV on anyway. Think about it, and then consider how remarkable an experience like Refuge can be.

Wildlife in the Wild

Between hoofing it from the Monterey Bay Aquarium to the US Coast Guard pier just past the other end of Cannery Row and hiking around Point Lobos State Reserve today, I accumulated sightings of the following adorable things: sea lions, sea otters(!), and more harbor seals. And here's a tip about the pier in Monterey: Go at sunset when everyone else is headed for Lover's Point for the sunset. There's still plenty of sea lions about, and you won't have to fight through crowds to see them. Just a few local fishermen trying to cast their lines over the tall fence. And here's an admonishment if you're going to Point Lobos - suck it up and pay the $10 to park your car in the park instead of parking on the side of the highway and walking in (this is a favorite "tip" on Trip Advisor and Yelp). It's a really nice park, they'll comp you a really nice map, and park systems always need more money for conservation efforts. Don't be cheap!

Okay, let the cuteness commence!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

People go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for kelp forest, for sea otters, for interactive touch pools where a nice aquarist approached and asked me, "Have you ever felt the armpit of a pink starfish? It's very soft." No, no I hadn't. Yes, yes it is. I was there for sea otters and was disappointed that the exhibit is under renovation until the spring. I did, however, get lucky on the observation deck and see - in the wild! - a sea otter pup nursing on its mother and also a raft of sea otters hanging out. And that was totally worth it. Also worth it: Jellies. I haven't been to as many aquariums as I have zoos, but The Open Sea section has by far the best jellies exhibit I've ever seen. And there was a special, somewhat psychedelic exhibit called "The Jellies Experience" which went into greater depth about these super-cool looking creatures. And had crazy funky music. And dancing jellies. I could watch jellies all day.