You may recall Salinas as the place where Bobby McGee slipped away. It’s also John Steinbeck’s hometown. Salinas was so proud if its native son that they burned his masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath on Main Street. Citizens felt insulted by the roguish characters inhabiting his novels Tortilla Flat, Cannery Row, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men. Many of the picaresque adventures Steinbeck depicted took place in California’s Salinas Valley and Monterey Peninsula.
Over the years, stubborn Steinbeck fans have made pilgrimages to the California coast south of San Francisco to take in the settings and get a feel for the moods of Steinbeck’s novels. As the fortunes of the city of Salinas waned, and commerce moved away from the downtown core, the city leaders struggled with how to revive the local economy. The shiny new National Steinbeck Center opened in 1998 at 1 Main Street. The multi-media museum includes among its features “Rocinante,” the GMC pickup and camper namesake of Don Quixote’s horse that was Steinbeck’s traveling home as he toured the U.S. for Travels with Charley, his 
attempt to illuminate the soul of America. The facility’s archives contain original manuscripts of the author’s work, correspondence and video interviews.
The Center, and its annual Steinbeck Festival (May 5-7 this year) brings tens of thousands of visitors to the otherwise drab farming town. Restaurants and other tourist-oriented business on and around Main Street are thriving. Travel writers are spreading the word about Salinas as a vacation destination.
The National Steinbeck Center on its own is worth the trip. Only a short distance away is the Monterey Bay Aquarium. You will need more than one day to experience both.
Culinary note: If you like donuts, real donuts, not the fancy four-dollar “gourmet” kind, or the hipster Voo-Doo experience, go to Red’s Donuts in downtown Monterey. You will be satisfied.
