I left my sister's house before 9:30 a.m. and almost a half an hour later I reached the Bay Bridge and paid the $4 toll. Traffic was going to be a problem since the Major League Baseball All-Star game was in San Francisco. Before I got on Highway 1, I had to take my beloved car on Lombard Street, the most twisted road in the world.
After that, I went back on U.S. Highway 101 to get on the Golden Gate Bridge. I made a stop at the vista point and remembered there is no summer like a summer in San Francisco and Marin Counties. As soon as I looked up at the flagpole, I knew how cold it was.
I walked around and decided to do something a little bold. I don't like being up high so walking on the Golden Gate Bridge was bold. Making things worse, there were holes every 100 feet in the concrete in the bridge. But it was worth it.
I called friend and co-worker James Melroy to let him know that if he heard a story about me jumping off the bridge today, to let the world know it was foul play because there was no way I would get close to the edge. As I walked back, I saw emergency phones that I first thought were call boxes you see on the freeway. But as I got close, I saw that they were also suicide help lines.
I got back in the car and began my journey home on Highway 1. There was really nothing much I wanted to do in San Francisco except to get a photo of a street named Cardenas.
It didn't take long to feel you were out of the city. Unlike the Los Angeles area, it is not hard to escape the city in Northern California. Within minutes, I was in Pacifica and it was easy to forget I was in San Francisco.
I learned my first lesson of PCH: You don't need to stop at the first beach you see. There are so many state beaches you will come across that are not as busy.
I also stopped off at Pigeon Point Light Station. The lighthouse is no longer in service but you get great views of the ocean.
I then realized I was running behind. I had to make it to the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz before it closed. Unluckily for me, Santa Cruz traffic is horrible, there was street construction and, for some reason, two streets near each other have the same name. For a while, I thought the mystery was getting there. But once there, it was really fun. While I don't drink, walking in that shed made me feel drunk. So for those of you that want me to let loose and drink, that is as close as I am going to get.
I was going to go down to the boardwalk in Santa Cruz, but that city does not like to let you know how to get place so I gave up and worked my way South.
I was struggling around the Monterey Bay looking for my hotel, but I finally found it. I was tired and just wanted to stop driving. 20 minutes later, I was hungry. The first place I found was a Round Table Pizza so I got that.
When I got back I remembered I wanted to take a photo of the sunset. Then for all the problems I had towards the end of my day, walking on the beach and seeing the sun go down made up for everything. The beach was beautiful. I have never seen white sand; it is so fine, soft and clean. The sunset was striking with the red color in the sky.
Tomorrow, I'm going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and, by the end of the day, I should be in San Simeon.
Miles traveled today: 183
Miles traveled total: 840
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