Grover Beach and Aptos

How long has it been?? I had only planned to document my route 66 trip on this blog, but it has been so much fun to see the whole thing plotted out here, I decided to write up the rest of the trip. This is going to horrify my travel companion Annika who hates having her picture taken more than sin, but she is going to have to live with it. Sorry, Bananaka...

But before she makes her appearance, I will commence with leaving L.A.

Leaving L.A. SUCKED! Not because I loved the city so much, it was interesting, but I didn't mind leaving. It was the freeway. The traffic is insane. And it was hot as can be. And I just wanted to get to Groovey Grover Beach. Some parts were just beautiful, but there were some bumps.

So I got on the 101 – I assumed I was going to stay on this all the way up. But the 154 is shorter according to Drunk Canadian Siri* so I took that. It was kind of beautiful, but it also was twisty and mountainy and took me by surprise. I was not yet used to the fact that there are a bunch of mountains in the west and sometimes they would sneak up on me. (More on that when we get from California to Nevada...)

*Have I told the story of Drunk Canadian Siri yet?  A few years ago I decided to change the voice on my phone to the Canadian Man voice. He sounds a bit like Jarvis. He pronounces boulevard as booo-leh-vahd. How can you not love that? Well, my nephew John was in the car with me and Siri gave me some bad driving advice and John said, "Go home Canadian Siri, you're drunk!" and it occurred to me that he might have a bit of a substance abuse problem (Siri, not John) because of some of the routes he has urged me to take. (More on that when we get from California to Nevada...) So the name Drunk Canadian Siri (or DCS) has stuck.

Anyway from sweating in traffic from the heat to sweating from fear on the 154, I was a mess when I got to Cathy's house. She made me feel at home right away!

I met Cathy at a Betsy Tacy convention back in 2002 and we have been internet friends for years. I had never met her husband Todd, but in true BTSO fashion (that's Betsy-Tacy Significant Other) he was lovely.

They wined and dined me - delicious scallop appetizers with champagne followed by a company dinner of chicken and local wine. 

It was a lovely visit. I also got to meet Leroy, the amazing rescue cat. He has trained Cathy and Todd using bells, that feline is a genius! He had a vet appointment nice and early the next morning. So, in spite of my not quite being 100% (see champagne and wine above) I got an early start the next morning!

The drive from Grover Beach to Aptos was more forgiving than the previous day's ride. I drove through the Salinas Valley and thought of Steinbeck some more. For someone I haven't read in ages, I thought about that guy a lot this trip!
 
I saw some farm workers and I am not sure if it is disrespectful to take pictures of people (rather than scenery) from the car window, but I wanted to remember them.

I read ESPERANZA RISING in Oklahoma which tells the story of a girl who emigrates from Mexico to the Valley. (Read it now. It is magnificent!) 

And my Grandpa Frank's dad emigrated here as a farm worker. He paid for Baba and Uncle Jim to come here by working in the sugar beet fields. Ask me about that story sometime! I am just two generations removed from this kind of work and when I try to imagine myself working that hard it is difficult. It makes me feel very lucky.

Oh look! I'm almost there! 

Aptos (pronounced APP-toss NOT ap-toes or you will be mocked by teenagers) is a nice place just outside Santa Cruz- land of beach, meth and skateboards. 

I dragged myself into town (seriously, not my best morning) by 10 am. Before getting to Maureen's house I had to stop at Starbucks. This will become a theme from this point forward.

I met Maureen in 1990 when I was going to live overseas for awhile. She was a new friend of Cameron who was a pal of mine. Our first interaction? She MOCKED ME for misspelling Belguim (or maybe Belgium) on the "please write to me when I'm gone" note I put on the fridge of what was later our apartment. We became roommates when I returned. I was maid of horror when she and Cam got married. And most importantly - I am godmother to her spectacular children Cailin, Ben and Annika.

These are them. 

Actually, this one makes them look less like lunatics. 

But not much less like lunatics.

So what did I do when I finally got to see my dear old friend and her spawn? Well, I made them rub my sore, sore head and then I took a nap. 

But after that we had adventures! I went to see Mo's college - very beautiful and California-y. And we went to Safeway. Every time I go to Aptos we go to Safeway. I secretly believe that Maureen is legally obligated to visit Safeway at least once a day. That woman loves a grocery store.

However, the final product of our Safeway visit was insanely good. Michael, Mo's husband and a seriously nice man, is also a chef. The man can cook! And when I asked what I could do to help get the meal ready he said my very favorite thing, "Get the hell out of my kitchen!" Which is what I always secretly  want to hear when I ask if I can help. And he looks like Mal from FIREFLY (google it if you're not geeky enough to know) which is quite pleasant to be around. 

 The other guy is Jorge, the musical genius son of Maureen's heart who is SO THOUGHTFUL that he offered to drive Annika to San Francisco on his day off to meet up with me. Kind and talented, what a crazy combination!

I had a lovely visit. I got to go to Safeway, I got to see Cam - Ben has just moved in with him in his very cool house (which I should have taken a picture of) - I got to play hearts with Cailin and Mo, and it was especially sweet because I knew that I was going to get to spend 2 weeks with Annika later in the month!

But first a few days in paradise! Stay tuned...