TOURIST TOWN

About 4 years ago, our economy started to tank. And you can blame whomever you choose to blame... This is not a political blog, so we'll steer clear of that game. But I mention it because, for the last four years, the summers here in Monterey have been dismally attended by tourists, creating a gaping hole in our local economy. But that seems to have changed overnight here in Monterey.

This weekend alone we have the Motorcycle Grand Prix - with BMW, Ducati, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Ninja bikes flooding the town with a throb of their mufflerless bikes. We have the Reggae Festival at the Fairgrounds, with the dreads, the jerk chicken, and the steel drums of Jamacia in our back yard. The delightful smells of Gilroy's Garlic Festival wafts in over the hills, and down the street we can hear the soulful sax of our local jazz in the park Sunday thing going on. The Aquarium was rumored to have close to 13,000 visitors Saturday alone! Last night, we ventured out into the throbbing crowd and got a glimpse of the economy on the rise. A new art studio on Cannery Row got smart and made it an "art and coffee" bar, and they even closed off streets to accommodate the visitors milling about. Local police were busy 'escorting' the motorcycles to and fro, and the Jaegermeister girls were in full force... they really need to eat a sandwich or two though. We saw friends and neighbors in the mix, but mostly, tourists abounded with glee. We passed two ladies from Florida, shivering in the cool, brisk evening of a Monterey summer. We observed visitors from Holland trying to make sense of a local map. Even the otters were in on the tourist deal and decided to, uncharacteristically, frolic in the surf of the marina just for show. It seems as though tourism has hit Monterey all in one weekend. We ended our evening at a downtown pub, watching Olympics with the the other locals seeking a haven from the insanity. It was all fine and good until the skinny models from Jaegermeister walked in... with their whistles and swag. Now, I sit here in the midst of snatches of reggae and jazz, listening to five military jets taking off from our local airport. Ahh.. the noise of a tourist town.