88歳おじいちゃんの渡米記🇺🇸第六日目①「大農地を駆け、モントレーの海へ」

米寿渡米記 - 第六日目（１９９５年２月２４日）

２４日、９時近く床を離れる。今日はサンフランシスコより１７０km南下したモントレーへの旅である。相変わらず阿瀬君の運転。ロスアンゼルスに通じる高速道路１０１号線を快調に飛ばす。左右は広い広い大平原、いや農地であるが、整然としていてはてが判らない。 夢にまで見たアメリカの大農地。思いがけない好機到来である。車内から見る限り疎菜類らしいが、近寄って見る訳にはいかない。その広大な平原を抜けると、左右の丘陵地帯の中央を走る。右窓１０kmも離れているだろうか？小高い山脈が続く。山脈といっても高山ではない。山頂には小木が連立していて、それが丁度全山芝生に生えている様に見えて、日本のゴルフ場と見違う。裾の方に柵を囲らせてあるので、大牧場かと思ったが、家畜の姿が見えない。

Got up about 9 a.m. Today's plan was to head south for a trip to Monterey, which is 170 km from San Francisco. As always, Mr. Ase was our driver. In fine form, we sped along Highway 101, which runs to Los Angeles. On the right and left, we could see vast plains--farmland, actually--that were well ordered and seemed to stretch on forever. They were the vast farmlands that I had seen only in dreams. This was an unexpected gift. From the car, it seemed that there were vegetables being grown, but we could not stop for a closer look. After passing through the great plains we drove through a mountainous region, with hills on both sides of the road. A low range of mountains spread out on the right, perhaps 10 km away. Although it was a mountain range, the mountains were not very high. Clumps of small trees grew on the peaks, and it looked as if the mountains were covered in grass, like a golf course in Japan. The mountains were fenced in at the base, so I figured it was grazing land, but there was no one out tending animals.

やがてモントレーに近づくと、道路近くに樹木が見えて来る。樹木といっても、日本の庭木の様なもので、又庭木に相応しい。しょうしょう高い樹木を見送ると、そこはモントレーであり、モントレーのフィッシャーマンズワーフを右窓に見て間もなく車を駐車場に預ける。先ず食事をして、次に世界最大といわれるモントレー水族館に入る。 入館料１３ドル、老人１０ドルである。日本人には日本語の案内書を渡してくれる。私は日本の三津浜、鴨川、下田、東海大の水族館を見ているので、さほど珍しいとは思わなかったが、只そのスケールの大きいのに目を見張る。動物愛護の主旨か？イルカの芸なども無い。主にラッコに観衆の目が集まる。外に出ると、その海岸の景色が素晴しいのが印象に残る。

As we approached Monterey, trees began appearing closer to the road. They looked like the kind that might grow in a Japanese garden; in fact, you might call them shrubs. The tall trees gave way to the town of Monterey. I saw Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf on the right, and then we parked the car in a parking lot. First we ate, then went to the Monterey Aquarium, said to be the largest in the world. The entrance fee was $13, $10 for seniors. They give Japanese visitors guides to the aquarium in Japanese. I had already seen the Mitsuhama, Kamogawa, Shimoda, and Tokai University Aquariums, so this place did not seem so extraordinary; the scale, however, was stunning. Perhaps out of concern for the animals, there were no dolphin shows or anything of the sort. The visitors were attracted mainly to the sea otters. We went outside, and I was impressed by how magnificent the seascape was.

それから近くのキャンディストアに寄る。百個にも及ぶ、樽にそれぞれ違ったキャンディが詰められ、それを自分で選ぶのである。見るからに美味しそうに見えるが、まずい。いや、日本人の口には合わない。

Afterwards, we stopped at a candy store nearby. All sorts of candies were stocked in more than a hundred barrels, and the customers could pick what they liked. The candy looked tasty, but didn't taste good. Or, rather, it didn't suit the Japanese palate.

English translation by Paul Atkins
英語のリスニングの練習をしたい方は、是非動画もご覧ください。

#祖父 #おじいちゃん #アメリカ #渡米
#夢 #夢継ぎ #夢代人 #アメリカンドリーム
#英語 #アメリカ英語 #バイリンガル
#モントレー