September 18th - Fort Ord, Monterey

After a "quick" 2 hour drive down the coast I found myself in Monterey, California. This is the town that gave John Steinback inspiration for many of his wonderful novels. This, just by a coincidence was the same weekend as the Cherry Jubile Hot Rod Festival where hundreds of hot rods came to display their prowness. I convinced some official looking guy to let me park the wrapped Prius in the same line up as all the hot rods on Saturday night! After going for a bite to eat I came back to see a large group congregated in front of the car snapping photos of it! I think the only other car that was more popular was the Batmobile with its booming bass and neon lights. Sorry to all the hot rod community down there to steal the show ;)

On Sunday morning, we arrived back at Cannery Row where the hot rods where the night before and continued to showcase our vehicle. We then took a short trip to the town of Marina where we visited a local outdoor market and made a presentation to the Bicycle Equestrian Trails Assistance Group. Toyota donated another $1,000 grant to this organization to assist trail improvements at Bureau of Land Management public area Fort Ord.

After the presentation, the Fort Ord Project Coordinator took our group on a tour of Fort Ord, a wonderful area which has many recreational opportunities including cycling, trail hiking, and mountain biking. In fact, Fort Ord along with the town of Monteray host The Sea Otter Classic, a professional level cycling event which draws thousands of participants every year. After the tour of the area I could see why. I was itching for my bike the whole time we were there.

On Monday, I'll be back in Los Angeles to visit the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area in north L.A. If you are in the area, please stop by!

Until next time!