SALINAS

SUNDAY, 3rd JULY.

What should have been an easy 2 hour drive today from Manteca to Salinas, became a very long and very trying day.  It started out well, a gorgeous, sunny day and an enjoyable drive to Gilroy where we stopped to buy some supplies for lunch, having already bought fresh fruit from one of the many stalls on the roadside through orchard country, planning to find a picnic spot on or near a beach.  This plan was thwarted when we became stuck in a traffic jam (caused by a motorcycle accident on a twisty mountain road) from which we were unable to escape from for almost two hours.  Fortunately it wasn't hot,  but when we were once again able to move and finally reached the coast, we were not able to find a parking space at any of the three Monterey Bay beaches we went to... as in Lake Tahoe, it seems that there is limited access to beaches for the general public.  Disappointed and not a little disgruntled by this time, we decided to shelve the intended afternoon visit to Monterey and go directly to our accommodation at Salinas but struck another traffic jam on the way.  This time we were able to do a u-turn and find an alternate route.  Once we had arrived at our motel, had our belated  'picnic' lunch and cheered up a bit, we went for a short stroll and bought ourselves a chocolate treat.