Let me begin today by saying that before we arrived at Monterey, we stayed one night in Santa Cruz. It was a very charming place with lot so Victorian homes that were soooo cool. Loved the place. Another place that we loved was Eureka that had an incredible old downtown and lots of Victorian homes too.

Also, the Hotel Del Monte that a portion of still exists and we are staying in was originally built in 1880. The room we are in was rebuilt in 1887. It has ceilings that are nearly 10 feet, and a genuine mahogany door that would cost over $1,000 today.

On our second day in Monterey, we visited Colton Hall. In this very room, delegates framed the California Constitution in 1849. It took them six weeks. When they were finished and the constitution was ratified and California was admitted into the United States, Manifest Destiny was realized. The Oregon Territory was already in place; but this was the admission of the first state on the west coast. This was huge. And I was thrilled to stand in this room. I thought about where I would have wanted to be seated and I took my place in the chair. I was able to take a photo of the actual practice sheet they used to position each of the signatures on the document. This was especially cool to me since I have a large flourishing signature and have had the privilege of signing some important government documents in the past too.