Thanks, as always, for all the comments!
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Originally Posted by glowrock
Gorgeous photos! I'm sad to say that I've never actually been through Downtown Salinas as many times as I've traveled from L.A. to Monterey! Shame on Glowrock, shame on Glowrock!
Aaron (Glowrock)
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I don't know how many times I've been to Monterey and never even considered stopping in Salinas other than for a bathroom break, so, I definitely think it is a common sentiment.
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Originally Posted by Nineties Flava
Wow that was a lot nicer than I expected either Watsonville or Salinas to be. Those are some very well-preserved downtowns. If you ever go back I'd be interested to see what the neighborhoods look like. This might be the first thread of either of these two cities on this site. Great photos
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I would have like to have explored some of the neighborhoods myself, especially Salinas. It changes quickly to a less polished city once you leave downtown, particularly towards the Amtrak station, not that it is a bad thing per se. Unfortunately, though, I was limited on time.
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Originally Posted by jg6544
Beautiful parts of California and practically every kind of fruit or vegetable we eat grows locally.
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This is true and I rarely stop to think how prolific the agriculture is in California. We stopped in a nearby town, Castroville, for some fried artichokes which is the self proclaimed world capital of that vegetable.
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Originally Posted by sopas ej
Great photos, stepper77! I drove through downtown Watsonville myself, some years ago, but I never stopped and took pictures.
Around the same time, I also went into Salinas and actually stopped there for the very first time (Salinas was always a place that I would drive THROUGH without stopping). I went specifically to go to the Steinbeck Center, which is a very interesting place, totally worth the visit. It made me appreciate John Steinbeck more. I went to the Steinbeck house but it was closed. As I recall, it's now a restaurant, or at least contains a restaurant, correct? I also went on a Sunday, and downtown Salinas looked just like that, with very few people walking around, it seemed.
Again, great photos.
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The fact most stores were closed on Sunday made little sense to me as there were a decent number of people around, frequenting the open restaurants and theatre. I wish I had time to go to the museum. But, I'm sure I'll be back.
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Originally Posted by Expat
Stepper, these are great pictures. I am pleased to get a peek at both of these towns and pleasantly suprised at the well preserved & charming buildings.
Also glad to get a peek of your dog. I am a dog lover and have two myself.
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Thanks, I have two dogs myself, but, my other dog is much more hyper and hard to manage walking on city streets, so, he stayed at home with my roommate.
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Originally Posted by xzmattzx
Nice pictures. Both places look alright. For some reason I thought that Salinas was a resort town and I was expecting it to be lusher. I guess I just don't know much about the West. I've never heard of Watsonville but being in Delaware I'm not going to know about every place.
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As sopas ej mentioned, Salinas is definitely not a resort town. The city itself is completely surrounded by agriculture fields, though it is about 15 minutes from the ocean and 30 minutes from downtown Monterey.
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Originally Posted by ChrisLA
Nice photos, I've been to Salinas before and like visiting. Never been to Watsonville and quite surprised since my only knowledge was 2nd hand from a colleague who said it was full of potheads.
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I think that is the stereotype of most of Santa Cruz County. I had never really been myself, but, decided to take a different route into Monterey which tooks us through Watsonville and I decided why not take a look.
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Originally Posted by OhioGuy
I have two really good friends that live in Salinas. They're desperate to move to NYC, but can't do so because their home is valued well below what they paid for it. They'd be stuck taking an immense loss, so they have to stay put until losses are at least somewhat lessened. I've never actually made it out to Salinas for a visit, but it looks reasonably nice. Certainly not the cosmopolitan city I would want, but it still looks decent. Thanks for the photos!
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Unfortunately, that is such a common thing in California (as, of course, other areas too). I was lucky to get out of my townhouse with not too big of a loss. But, I won't be buying again anytime soon. As to Salinas, definitely not "cosmopolitan" and probably not a place I'd settle either. If I were to move to Monterey, I'd probably try to find something more in Pacific Grove which I'll be doing a thread on soon.