Anywhere But Here

The Sacramento hostel is located in an old Victorian mansion, and has a very posh feel. There’s lots of dark carved wood, plush carpets, rooms with high ceilings and tall windows. Admittedly, I didn’t see much of the hostel as I used it mainly as a place to crash during the convention. But what I saw, I liked, and I’m definitely planning to go back. Especially since the hostel is about two blocks from the California state capitol and the rest of downtown Sacramento.

While Sacramento was more of a business trip (as I write about anime and comics), Monterey was for pure relaxation. I had a three-day weekend and couldn’t stand the thought of staring at the four walls of my tiny room for that long. 

Saturday of that weekend, I was up bright and early. Not because I’m a morning person, but because I wanted to get on the road. Traffic on holiday weekends even on the interstates tends to get horribly backed up because California highways really are not big enough for the number of people living in the state. 

After a fairly uneventful hour and a half drive, I was there. The hostel is closed between 10:30 and 5:00 if you haven’t already checked in, but I was able to park in their lot no problem.

The hostel is just a few blocks from Monterey’s Cannery Row, which is Monterey’s answer to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco (regular readers will recall my deep and abiding love for the Wharf). Lots of quaint shops, seafood restaurants, and open access to the beach. No sea lions, though.

Even if you have no interest in jewelry making whatsoever, I recommend you check out the bead shop on Cannery Row, Let It Bead. The owner has lovingly designed and constructed the décor, which makes the shop resemble an indoor forest. A canopy of woven branches completely covers the ceiling, and it’s interwoven with flowers, crystals and string of miniature lights. Gorgeous.

A few blocks from Cannery Row is BookBuyers, which is absolutely one of the best used bookstores I have ever been in. Books are crammed onto shelves which tower all the way to the ceiling, the rows are cramped and the air is thick with the aroma of dusty old books. I haven’t been in a bookshop this excellent since A Collector’s Bookshop on the Loop closed a few years ago.

After exploring the Cannery and spending far too much money at BookBuyers, I meandered back to the hostel and received an invitation to a Thai dinner, hosted by the Girl Scout troop that was also staying at the hostel. Curmudgeon mode on — in my day, my Girl Scout troop didn’t stay in hostels, we camped out in tents, and considered ourselves lucky if they had floors. Really. 

Before they fed us, the girls presented a report on the culture of Thailand. Twenty or so 10-year-old girls clutched posterboard visual aids and read their lines off notecards almost too fast to be heard. But despite their nervousness they were adorable. And the food — chicken wraps, yellow curry, and mango with sticky rice — was delicious.

Sadly the weather that weekend was a little too rough for whale watching, one of the reasons I’d gone down to Monterey in the first place. But I’m sure I’ll have other chances.

The Monterey Hostel has a large, full-service kitchen and free all-you-can-eat pancakes for breakfast, which is a sight better than most hostels I’ve been to. If they offer free breakfast at all, it’s usually a loaf of bread, a toaster and half a jar of peanut butter. The beds were clean and the women’s dorm was well lit. 

The Monterey Hostel is one of those that shuts down between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. though, which I hate. When I travel, the first thing I want to do is check into my accommodation as soon as I arrive so I can put away my stuff and relax for a bit. I don’t like having to tromp around town for a few hours to kill time.

Still, overall my experience at the Monterey hostel was a positive one. I’ll probably go back, but not before I check out other California hostels. Next stop, Santa Cruz!

Caitlin Moriarity is a freelance editor and writer who has been hooked on travel since a semester studying abroad in college. You can read her other travel writing at www.tropeofirony.com.