To Santa Cruz Again

It was hard to leave Omega Camp, but I knew it would never be easy, I could've spent weeks there, I think! So I decided to make things easier in general by leaving Saturday instead of Sunday - I knew it would take me almost an hour just to get out the 4 mile dirt road, and with the extreme heat it probably wouldn't be wise to spend an entire day driving in it. I wasn't entirely sure where I would spend the night, but I definitely wanted to stop and see my cousin, Diane, just north of Sacramento. Not a super long drive, but definitely would cut a few hours off the trip down to Santa Cruz.

Good luck to find Diane still at the house (it is under remodel, so they aren't there all the time). She texted the address and off we went. I wasn't sure exactly but I had the idea I could avoid going back to Grass Valley (after the nail salon owner incident, I wasn't too keep to roll through that town again so soon!). There was no cell service, so I actually had to pull out a paper map to check the route (glad I got a full set from AAA!). I was able to go in the opposite direction and pick up 80 all the way to Auburn. A little ways out I saw signs for a scenic overlook, so I thought I'd stop and have a look-see. Turns out there was a short hike to an observation deck, overlooking the entire Omega Diggings. I couldn't pick out exactly where camp was, but it was fun getting a view of the entire area I had just stayed (and got lost hiking in!).

Rita and I climbed up to 5,000 feet before starting to roll back down. The traffic wasn't bad for the holiday weekend (still in progress), but yeah it was HOT. I knew I needed diesel, but I was determined not to pay $6/gallon. I was hoping at best for the $5.99 I paid in Fort Bragg. I made it to Auburn and finally had to settle for $5.19 to get diesel. After maneuvering around the gas station a bit to get the pump on the right side (and getting side tracked by a curious onlooker), I put in $174. Someday I might get used to that?!? I messaged Diane that I was close. I didn't realize how closeby I was, but turned out to be only about 20 minutes!

It was lovely to be invited into the air conditioning, and see the house fully on its way to a remodel. We weren't sure how the HOA would feel about Rita parked in this fancy neighborhood, but Diane invited me to spend the night there (in the AC!), as well as go with her to dinner at her mother in law's, just a few streets away. It sounded nice to me and I looked forward to meeting Pat's mom, who is 92 and sounded much nicer than the typical 'mother in law' sort (Pat had already left for their home near Santa Cruz).

We caught up a bit and then headed over to Sue's house for an early dinner. I had NO idea what a treat I was in for! Sue turned out to be one of the most inspirational and wonderful women I've ever met. If I can't be like her at 92, I don't want to live that long!!! She is vibrant and full of amazing stories. I instantly adored her. She and her husband had a small plane and used to fly to Baja back in the 50s. They logged over 18 trips to Mexico. She was also a travel agent, and her company sent her to many exotic locations to get to know them so she could sell vacation packages! What a dream life. I loved listening to her tales from a most adventurous life. I told a few tales myself and she said I was making her wish she could go to Mexico again. I had the thought of dropping everything and taking Sue to Mexico...but alas, I did not.

Diane's house has a beautiful view and the first sunset I'd seen in a while. Even though it was made more beautiful due to the fires happening, we took a moment to sigh about the fires, and then appreciated the gorgeous sunset.

I decided to get on the road by 7:00am to try and beat the heat. I knew once I got to Santa Cruz it would be back to fog and chilly weather - and I was not sad about that. It turned out to be a great drive - nice and cool and very little traffic (until I hit 17 to Santa Cruz, but that didn't actually last too long). I find that I really don't mind being in traffic so much, Rita much prefers to go slow anyway, so she really does shine in stop and go traffic. I keep noticing everyone noticing Rita. She certainly stands out, but she seems to make people smile. Little kids always wave at me, and at one point, a guy in a pick up truck matched my speed and gave me a shaka - I gave him a big smile and wave. That made my day.

In my head I kept going over my route - take the 80 to the 680 to the 880 to 17...I felt like I was in an episode of the Californians (Saturday Night Live skit - check it out below). When I hit Benicia, I noticed a huge ship off to the left on what I thought was land, but realized I'd finally hit the waterways. On impulse, I got off at an exit that said "Vista Point". It turned out to be a 2 mile drive on a VERY narrow winding part of road, but I made it, thankfully without anyone coming the other direction.  There was a large parking area with bridge views and a nice park. I had beaten the heat! I actually needed a sweatshirt for my walkabout. I took in the views, and secured my curtains (that had been blowing out the windows, oops) before getting back to the 680.

When I hit 17, traffic came to a standstill, but once we all merged and got through the interchanges, it was pretty smooth sailing.  I made it before noon, and went right to a quiet spot in Aptos by Seacliff State Beach, to rest, make some lunch and catch up on some things. It was socked in fog, of course, so no ocean view, but I knew it was there and had nice breezes coming in.

I wanted to give Rita a bath after her heavy dusting down and up the dirt camp roads. She was heading in for her full check up at the mechanic's the next day, so I didn't want her to look so dirty and neglected. I got her spiffed up a little at a car wash in Watsonville and we headed over to Laura and John's on Pinto Lake for (what I thought would be) a couple days.

Just for fun: