Pastures of Heaven, Of Mice and Men, and Anthony Newfield

An early bike ride pushed me up the opposite (north) side of the coast today. Earlier in the week I had taken a run along the recreational trail as far as the Naval Postgraduate Facility (formerly the massive Del Monte Hotel, oft referred to as the "Riviera of California"). During its heyday, the Del Monte hosted the likes of Eleanor Roosevelt, Walt Disney, Ernest Hemmingway, and Salvador Dali. While I did not take any pictures of the facility (it is gated off to civilians under normal circumstances), we are slated to take a tour at some point during the program -- so more on that later.

Passing the defunct Del Monte, I rode as far as the Seaside community (Sand City?) on a series of beautiful bike paths that ran the full perimeter of the coast. Due to time constraints and a little light rain, I called the ride early and headed back to Monterey to shower up for today's classroom component.

Bike Path in Seaside - Sand City

Classes were held again at the Stanford University Hopkins Marine Station (adjacent to the fabulous Monterey Aquarium) this morning. Our room alternates from a smaller traditional classroom (waves, gulls, sea lions, and ocean breezes waft through the open door throughout...) to a slightly larger lecture hall (boathouse) for the more physical group oriented presentations and participatory activities. The amenities have been fabulous... and "breaks" usually result in a 10 minute walk around the tidal shore immediately outside of the classroom.

Smaller classroom for lecture and discussion at Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station

View from the classroom...

Our scholastic explorations today navigated us through Of Mice and Men, a book praised both for its literary and dramatic elements. A 1938 musical stage production directed by George Kaufmann was chosen as "Best Play" by the New York Drama Critics' Circle (the same year Thornton Wilder's Our Town won a Pulitzer Prize... M&M had some serious competition!) winning Steinbeck renown in the Broadway realm. After an excellent lecture proctored by Anthony Newfield, we practiced script reading/acting with our colleagues.

Tonight we are viewing the 1939 version of M&M.