THE SALINAS VALLEY

Today was one of those days you hate to have come to an end.  Piling into the great white whale of a van, Dr. Susan Shillinglaw (one of our enthusiastic directors) navigated eager Steinbeck students to the Salinas Valley.  We passed fields of strawberries and lettuce and saw farm hands, doubled at the waist, picking and cutting, and then moving on to the next plant.  The sky was blue with “dumpling summer clouds” (The Red Pony) and the air was warm with little wind.

 Our first destination was Red Pony Ranch (Herbert Ranch).  Steinbeck's visits to the ranch, his pony Jill, and a death in the family, were the inspiration for his Red Pony Stories.  Some of the photos I include here have been altered to reflect my own emotions as I kicked up clouds of dust and listened to the barking dogs and lowing cattle.

Looking toward the Gabilans

The Herbert Homestead

Our second stop was The Steinbeck House in Salinas.  It is here Steinbeck was born in 1902 to John E. Steinbeck and Olive Hamilton and where he wrote the stories in The Long Valley.  The home is now a noisy, crowded restaurant, I did not find my visit the emotional experience I was expecting. The structure houses some memorabilia donated by members of Steinbeck’s family and it was interesting to note those personal belongings especially the bed where Steinbeck was born. 

 Walking a few blocks down the street, we arrived at The National Steinbeck Center.   The exhibits are designed around Steinbeck’s novels with interactive displays, personal letters, and memorabilia that put Steinbeck’s novels within an historical framework. 

               

                           

Next stop was the cemetery to pay homage to Steinbeck’s grave.  Also buried here are his parents, an uncle, two sisters, and the Hamilton family that Steinbeck depicted in East of Eden.  I love cemeteries.  Steinbeck’s marker was decorated with pinecones, coins, a medal, and a little volume of ‘thank-you’ notes left by devotees.  I tried to block the noise and presence of everyone out of my head so I could have my moment of alone time at the grave (fellow institute participants, please do not be offended by this).  I know it’s just a memorial, a block of granite, a ‘spot’.  Still, it really meant something to me to be there.

Susan Shillinglaw reads from East of Eden

Our final destination was the setting of Pastures of Heaven.  It was here that Steinbeck visited his Aunt Mollie and pretended the sandstone cliffs were the protective buttresses of a medieval fortress.  He also penned the short story “The Murder” based on an actual murder on the ranch.

Somewhere along the line, photos were deleted (imagine that!).  I regret I do not have more from the Steinbeck House and I somehow missed Olive Hamilton's grave marker.  I will beg photos from other institute participants and submit them later.