20120808 Redwood City CA ... Clear, hot (80+)
Today we went the other way. After getting ready and going to S&B’s house, we went northwest to the Pacific Ocean at Half Moon Bay. Then we went south along the coast on CA-1 to Santa Cruz. We stopped and took pictures along the way. One of the more interesting scenes was that of several large rock structures at the edge of the water, each with several harbor seals on it. They were sleeping and basking in the sun. Every now and then you could see one move.
Santa Cruz is an artsy college (UCSC) town. Its history is in logging and fishing/canning, but that’s gone. The cannery is now condos and offices and the railroad carries tourists down from the redwoods above the town. Great-aunt Lila & her husband moved here from Wisconsin back when; I saw them here in 1963 (eek).
We stopped for lunch in a breakfast-and-lunch place called Zachary’s, across from the city bus station (all natural-gas buses). I had an omelet of olives, sausage, and jalapenos that was big, with rye toast and hash browns. More than I could eat, and very good.
From there, we went up CA-9 into the redwoods, branching off onto CA-236 at Boulder Creek to really get into the Redwoods on Big Basin Highway. At the park headquarters we stopped to take pictures of the huge redwoods and found the outside temperature to be really warm.
Then we continued on 236 back onto CA-9 north to CA-35, the Skyline Drive. This road runs along the ridge between the Pacific and the lower part of San Francisco Bay. At one point we took pictures of the whole bay area, despite a considerable haze. Susan pointed out the Stanford U buildings in the distance while I found San Jose airport and Moffett Field NAS.
Then we went on to CA-84, which took us to within 10 blocks of S&B’s house. We stopped for gas at an ARCO station that was a little odd. The prices were quite a bit lower than the Shell across the street. Then I found out it only takes debit cards (thus getting their money instantly) and doesn’t print receipts at the pump (saving that cost). Also, they charge $0.35 on each debit transaction, which ate up part of the cost differential. I’d need to think more on this before I made it a regular place.
Back at the house, we started doing laundry and computer chores. Bunny the cat sharpened her claws on my computer bag, then slept on it for a while. No sign of sick little Nixie.
Later, Susan said it was time to go. We went to dinner at a BBQ place in old downtown Redwood City. The temperature was more moderate and the evening was beautiful. The food was very good, although I couldn’t handle all my brisket and sent the rest home with S&B. We got some tips from Bryant for our trip into SF tomorrow that will be helpful. We’ll have to get up a little earlier.
We put the laundry away and settled for the night. I’m still researching SF.
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