roadtrip '06 - days 4 & 5

DAY FIVE:

Nephew woke me with the news it was 9:30. I was annoyed. We were supposed to get up no later than 7:30 and those two hours would make the difference between making it to Bug Sur, seeing one of the more unique beaches in the U.S., and spending the morning surfside in Santa Cruz. Which would have been fine, except we did that last night and thus the purpose of this roadtrip would've been defeated. We'd been there and done that, proverbially and literally, and we, the Nephew & I, swore to make every moment of his "weekend" a new adventure in a new place. All that would've been ruined had we overslept -- RUINED, I tell you!!

But when I looked at my watch, it read 7:30. Apparently we woke up on-time, irrespective, it would seem, to Nephew resetting the time and not setting the alarm last night. I said a prayer, thanking Poseidon for our internal clocks kicking in.

And so we made the Santa Cruz to Big Sur roll after all. It took an hour and a half, as we anticipated, but did not include the stop we made for breakfast at a quaint, rustic roadside inn. Afterward we alotted ourselves two hours to spend on the beach before having to make the 5-hour return trek back up into the mountains and in time for his 6 p.m. gig.

The world out here, I am told, often begins overcast and depressing, and this morning was no different. Nephew reassured me that Pacific coast mornings may start out like this, but the fog usually lifts before noon and the view of the sea will once again be there and will most certainly be stunning. He was right:

Getting started on the road...



and an hour later:



with a look behind us:



Finally got to Pfeiffer State Park and its beach:



Sunny as you can see, and yet the clouds insisted on revisiting, touching earth & sea again...



and again:



Like I said, we spent two hours at Pfeiffer Beach, although I had no intention of getting in the water. It was cold and windy and I knew it would be excruciating... and the sand was kinda warm, thank you very much.

As I pondered all this, Nephew went into one of his spells:



Finally I screwed up the courage (or was it insanity?) to take the dive. What, you think I'd come all this way to the western edge of America like some modern-day Balboa and not jump in? This Maine boy?? Gi'me a break!

I was right, of course. The water was exceptionally cold. I imagined I went into convulsions, but then I remembered I've done the waters Downeast, and don't be such a big baby!!

I might've taken a tip from the locals, who would have none of it. No one was in the water except a surfer, and he had a wet suit on.

But believe it! I stayed in and learned to love it, bobbing with the waves for about three-quarters of an hour. Nephew will confirm I didn't want to leave. He will also confirm he thought me half nuts. But after he snapped out of his trance, he took a dive too. He also got out again about 30 seconds later.

New Englanders rule, baby!!

But I'm moving to California anyway.

Some day!


DAY FOUR

Quick summary, no pics -- very sorry!

Woke up in a beautiful hillside Berkeley home (Nephew's friend Katrin and her mother's house) with a vista of Oakland and San Francisco. A guy could get very used to this level of comfort.

Drove to the Berkeley campus and strolled the hallowed pathways of the free speech movement of the 60s. School's back in session.

Co'eds... uhm, co'eds... co'eds... (sigh)... co'eds...

Stopped for a buffet lunch at an Indian sidewalk cafe -- the food was excellent!

Then we drove to Santa Cruz to meet up with Holly & Paulo for dinner at the Crow's Nest at Twin Lakes Beach. Quite striking that this beach is reminiscent of Craigville Beach in Hyannis on Cape Cod. Both face southerly to the sea, and in either case the setting sun is to the west and to the right. The light is eriely similar. Would have to give the nod to Santa Cruz, however, on the overall appeal.

On the other hand, the grilled salmon in New England is far superior.

Later, Nephew and I rented "The Graduate" to watch back at the inn, if for no other reason than to see if we would recognize the terrain of our walking earlier in the day.

We didn't! But we did agree on Katherine Ross.

----------

DAY FIVE UPDATE: It is approaching midnight and we're back at the billets, what Yosemite employees call home; part ramshackle army base barricks, part trailer park community. Nephew got to work with five minutes to spare, and is now meditating again. I think he's turning pro. So I'm taking the time to edit and rewrite this post. Later we'll pop Seinfeld's most recent performance into the DVD player, catch some laughs, and crash.

Tomorrow we sleep in.