A little trip down highway 1.
I am at about a 3.5.
Today was another hot day, but not as hot as yesterday, thank goodness. When was it? Around 4:40pm, Mom and I went out to TAP Plastics to pick up her order of plexiglass pieces. Since Petco was located on the same block, I got a new pack of alfalfa hey for Fishbone there. Originally, we planned to go to McWhorter's to browse their going-out-of-business sale/inventory, but we decided to stop by Albertson's to pick up groceries and head home instead because Mom wanted to go to the beach. So, at 6:30pm, I drove us out northbound onto highway 85. I was kind of out of it, so I missed the 280 exit and had to get off on Fremont Blvd and turn around. Then I took highway 84 (west) all the way to the ocean. We walked around a tiny bit at San Gregorio State Beach and took pictures. I was tired, but it was nice to be by the ocean and also it was a relief to be in much cooler temperatures. The sound of the waves, which were sort of high (due to the wind?), was soothing too, though loud. Mom didn't wear her jacket, so she got a little cold. I put my jacket on her front side because she seemed to be worried about getting a stomachache again. I asked Mom if she's ever been to Bean Hollow. She hadn't, so I asked if she would like to go a little further south on highway 1 to get there. She agreed, so I looked at the map to confirm its location and drove us about 9 miles down, about 2 miles south of Pescadero. I was pleasantly surprised by how much Mom like Bean Hollow State Beach. She really liked the bean-like pebbles and all the rock formations with the many holes/round crevices. They made her laugh and smile a lot, which made me happy too. We stayed there for maybe 30 min picking through the pebbles. I sat and watched Mom for a while too and watched the sun get closer to setting. It was a peaceful scene. Oh, and how could I forget? When we first got there, I saw pelicans resting on a large rock about 200ft from the shore. I think there were four of them because soon after, I saw four fly away together northward. Cool birds. Too bad I hadn't brought my binocularsE
At 8:20pm or so, we got back in Dinky and instead of heading back the way we came, drove further down highway 1 to Santa Cruz. The sun hadn't quite set when we left Bean Hollow, but by the time we arrived in Santa Cruz, we were engulfed in fog and the sun was nowhere to be seen. I took what would have been the scenic route to the municipal wharf, so we passed Natural Bridges State Park and the Surfer Museum/Lighthouse in the fog. We went to the same restaurant that we usually go to for clam chowders whenever we visit Santa Cruz. I don't recall what the place is calledEolphin something. The weather forced us to eat inside this time (only our second time to do that). After our dinner, we headed back home on highway 17 (with Mom telling me to drive slower). We were "good" and took a walk once we got home.
I think Mom had a pretty good time on our little trip. She seemed relaxed and commented more than once that it had been a while since she's been in Santa Cruz or taken a nice drive along the coast. The pebbles really made her happy :) I'm a little surprised that I was okay driving the whole time and, of course, very glad that I was. I wish Mom could do more things like today more often. She's got too much work weighing her down.
Today was another hot day, but not as hot as yesterday, thank goodness. When was it? Around 4:40pm, Mom and I went out to TAP Plastics to pick up her order of plexiglass pieces. Since Petco was located on the same block, I got a new pack of alfalfa hey for Fishbone there. Originally, we planned to go to McWhorter's to browse their going-out-of-business sale/inventory, but we decided to stop by Albertson's to pick up groceries and head home instead because Mom wanted to go to the beach. So, at 6:30pm, I drove us out northbound onto highway 85. I was kind of out of it, so I missed the 280 exit and had to get off on Fremont Blvd and turn around. Then I took highway 84 (west) all the way to the ocean. We walked around a tiny bit at San Gregorio State Beach and took pictures. I was tired, but it was nice to be by the ocean and also it was a relief to be in much cooler temperatures. The sound of the waves, which were sort of high (due to the wind?), was soothing too, though loud. Mom didn't wear her jacket, so she got a little cold. I put my jacket on her front side because she seemed to be worried about getting a stomachache again. I asked Mom if she's ever been to Bean Hollow. She hadn't, so I asked if she would like to go a little further south on highway 1 to get there. She agreed, so I looked at the map to confirm its location and drove us about 9 miles down, about 2 miles south of Pescadero. I was pleasantly surprised by how much Mom like Bean Hollow State Beach. She really liked the bean-like pebbles and all the rock formations with the many holes/round crevices. They made her laugh and smile a lot, which made me happy too. We stayed there for maybe 30 min picking through the pebbles. I sat and watched Mom for a while too and watched the sun get closer to setting. It was a peaceful scene. Oh, and how could I forget? When we first got there, I saw pelicans resting on a large rock about 200ft from the shore. I think there were four of them because soon after, I saw four fly away together northward. Cool birds. Too bad I hadn't brought my binocularsE
At 8:20pm or so, we got back in Dinky and instead of heading back the way we came, drove further down highway 1 to Santa Cruz. The sun hadn't quite set when we left Bean Hollow, but by the time we arrived in Santa Cruz, we were engulfed in fog and the sun was nowhere to be seen. I took what would have been the scenic route to the municipal wharf, so we passed Natural Bridges State Park and the Surfer Museum/Lighthouse in the fog. We went to the same restaurant that we usually go to for clam chowders whenever we visit Santa Cruz. I don't recall what the place is calledEolphin something. The weather forced us to eat inside this time (only our second time to do that). After our dinner, we headed back home on highway 17 (with Mom telling me to drive slower). We were "good" and took a walk once we got home.
I think Mom had a pretty good time on our little trip. She seemed relaxed and commented more than once that it had been a while since she's been in Santa Cruz or taken a nice drive along the coast. The pebbles really made her happy :) I'm a little surprised that I was okay driving the whole time and, of course, very glad that I was. I wish Mom could do more things like today more often. She's got too much work weighing her down.