Day 3 - 06/04/2008

These sleep goggles are amazing! I would be waking up so early if not for them. However, because of the dogs, I did wake up early anyway. Not because of the barking, but because two of them pushed open my door and bounded in. Thankfully I heard their toenails clacking on the Oak floor and pulled off my eye mask to see them just in time. One jumped up on the bed to greet me. Beth was right behind them, calling them back out. It was actually more funny than frightening. I was too timid to put my eye mask back on because I kept hearing their toenails clacking on the floors outside my room and was uneasy about the prospect of them rejoining me. I could see out the window that it was a beautiful morning, so I got up to get ready even though it wasn’t 7 a.m. yet. As I opened the door, the dogs rejoined me, licking my bare feet. Now that felt a little gross, but I might be able to get used to that with time.

I showered quickly and cleaned myself up. Jared was going to be home all day as he is working on his doctorate in epidemiology, and so I stuck around to type out yesterday’s LONG journal. I set myself up in their kitchen with the most amazing morning view. I stayed there until almost noon, alternating between typing Day 2’s journal, posting pictures, and conversing with Jared. We talked about FPU, the classes we had together, our careers now, and a bunch of other stuff.

Serena would like to give a shout out to Peanut Le Bug (Amanda’s VW Bug). Peanut gave some special recognition to Serena on my Facebook pictures, and Serena just wanted to say thanks for noticing that Karl is not the only one on this road trip.

On my way out, I stopped at Target to pick up a few items I had discovered a need for: a compass and hand sanitizer. I also grabbed some food I saw there on clearance. I then got back on the freeway headed north.

I think a lot about what I’m experiencing here on the road. One song that keeps coming on the radio is Brooks & Dunn’s “Put a Girl in It.” A little crass, but it makes the point that having a girl (a wife, hopefully) completes your life. I don’t know if I agree with that right now. I’ve gone back and forth on whether or not I really want to get married. I think right now that you can create that richness in your life through friendships and the way you contribute to the lives of others. I hope I’m building that kind of life. If not, I really need to get on that wife search. ;-)

My next stop was Santa Cruz. I needed to get gas, and I went in to ask the attendant for directions to the Boardwalk and advice on a cheap place to park. He gave me some directions, and I headed out. Before leaving the station I called Earle & Harriet in Vancouver, WA about staying the next night (Thursday) with them. My sisters and I have grown up knowing ABOUT Earle and Harriet, who apparently either introduced Mom and Dad or were mentors to them early on in their marriage. As we grew up, we heard that they were godparents to either Rachel or me, but Mom and Dad couldn’t remember which. I got a hold of Earle, and he welcomed me to come stay. He gave me some more precise directions than I had to their home, and also gave me suggestions of places to visit on my way up.

I got pretty close to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk when I parked on the street and put 30 cents in the meter for 2 hours of parking time. I rubbed some sunscreen all over my head and arms and started walking as the signs directed. I got down there shortly and walked out on the pier. I walked the whole way on this one, and took a picture for a large family, all adults with one small girl of about three years. It took a little while to get her situated so she was facing the camera, but I think I got a good one for them.

I took several other pictures. One almost ironic sight was a lifeguard/fire truck. It was a typical lifeguard pick-up truck with surfboards and backboards atop it, but “Fire Department” was the most prevalent signage on the truck. The sight of surfboards on a fire truck seemed hilarious to me. Of course it makes sense to combine emergency response services, though. As I left the pier, I began walking the boardwalk. The history of the place is fascinating. Over 100 years, the place was obliterated by a fire, and completely rebuilt. It’s undergone the necessary changes to meet customer demand, but it remains California’s only seaside amusement park.

I got back to my car with almost half of my time left, but I was done. I had other places I wanted to see and get to. And now I had definite plans to be in Vancouver, WA by tomorrow night. I had to make trails. That was the intent anyway.

As I left, I somehow took a wrong turn (not a word, Sarah). I was intending to take the 1N further up the coast into SF to meet the 1001 to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. The signs really were confusing getting on the freeway, and of the three lanes on the street approaching the freeways, it looked like the 1S was the right lane, and the center and left lanes fed into the 17N and 1N together. I never saw a turn-off to separate them, but somehow I ended up on the 17 instead of the 1. At first, I was so grateful because of how gorgeous the drive was through the trees along the 17. That part must be a God thing. Then I got to San Jose.

I also discovered that there must be some magnetic pull within my car because the compass works fine except when mounted on my windshield, where it always points east. Thankfully I figured this out before I started relying on it.

Once I discovered my unintended detour, I immediately found the route to correct it. The 17 should feed right into the 101, so I could just take that up to the Golden Gate Bridge. And I was doing fine with the plan until the 17 disappeared and I was on the 880. Then I saw a sign for the Winchester House, and thought that would be nice to see. I got off the freeway and followed the landmark signs until they disappeared. It was almost five anyway, so I guessed it would be closed anyway. I stopped at mall because I saw a BofA where I could get some cash. I decided to go into the mall and walk around to stretch my legs. I had gotten off earlier to take a powernap because I was getting drowsy and still needed a little help waking up from that.

As I left I happened to remember that it was Wednesday. When starting this trip, I had hoped to find a church service to attend tonight, and wondered what my chances were of finding a church in San Jose with a Wednesday night service that was in line with my faith. I drove around the city for awhile, and found about three churches, none of which had Wednesday services. So I gave up and just popped back in the Bible CDs I’ve been alternating between spurts of listening to the radio. I’m in Hebrews now.

So I guessed and successfully made my way through San Jose to the 101, and resumed my trek to the Golden Gate Bridge. I was a little dejected over not finding a church, as I really could have used something uplifting like that tonight. I was talking to God about it, but I think I was just too crowded mentally to listen to Him. I needed to clear my head.

That’s when I saw signs for Half Moon Bay. I thought that would be perfect: a relaxing place (I presumed) to just sit, watch, and talk with my Savior. I started heading down Highway 92. Yes, I was back-tracking slightly, but it would meet up with the 1 at Half Moon Bay so I could revert to my original plan of taking the 1 up into SF. The drive was equally breathtaking in comparison to the 17 earlier that afternoon.

I had passed many in the past three days, but I finally stopped at a Farmers market on the side of the road. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before, and Cindy always called me crazy for not taking advantage of it. I think I remember Mom stopping sometimes when we were kids, but I’m not sure on that. I finally went to the established weekly Farmer’s Market in Fresno a couple of years ago, but I had never stopped at a roadside stand before. New experiences everywhere. I bought a handful of cherries and a basket of strawberries. Both fruits were scrumptious, as Gram Helen would say.

I finally arrived at Half Moon Bay, and because it was evening, most of the town had shut down for the night. I walked around, taking pictures of the beautiful architecture. I finally saw an open store, and went in to ask the proprietor how to get to the actual coast, and thank goodness I asked. I was going to keep heading south when I only needed to go a couple blocks west. I went out there, parked for a while (free for non-campers until sunset, which was an hour away). I took a lot of pictures, and just walked for awhile, talking to God and letting him give me some instruction and encouragement.

From there, I rejoined the 1 and started heading north. I had not made much net distance progress today, so I needed to drive for awhile. I called Dean to thank him for setting me up to stay with Jared & Beth, and he recommended that I move over and take the 5 if I needed to get to Earle & Harriet’s by tomorrow night. After talking with him, I realized he had a point. I had wanted to stay coastal on the drive up, but Dean even pointed out that I could take the coast back down if I wanted. I would see.

After we hung up, I again consulted my map. I couldn’t stomach it; the 5 just seemed so depressing. Even living so far away from it in Fresno, it had become part of my daily life, using it when I’ve been working in Stockton the whole month of May, and then on the weekends I’ve driven down to Orange County recently. This trip was about getting away from work and finding refreshment and renewal. I could do the 5 later, but not now, and not so close to Stockton. So I decided to compromise with the 101 instead of the 1.

I continued to follow the signs to Golden Gate Bridge, and then realized that I don’t think I had ever crossed this bridge before. I have crossed the Bay Bridge several times, but not the Golden Gate. After getting across, I saw a “Vista Point” sign and pulled off. This would be quick; I just wanted a few pictures of the bridge.

It took quite awhile actually because my camera was full again and I had to download them to my computer to get more than four more pictures. Then as I was taking pictures, I discovered an under-bridge walkway to get to the other side and take even more pictures. The whole scene was beautiful at dusk. I also caught a few shots of a raccoon digging through one of the trash cans at the rest area. I left after about thirty pictures.

I considered how far to drive tonight. Earle had suggested seeing the Redwoods at Willits, so I figured I’d go no farther than that so I could see them in the daylight. As God would have orchestrated it, there was a Wal-Mart right off the 101 on the way up. So I pulled over for the night there.