Pacific Coast Highway, Santa Cruz and Beyond...

Well,
It has been a few days and we have covered a lot of ground since leaving Southern California. We traveled up Hwy. 1 and 101 and the girls were kind enough to pull off to the side of the road and allow me to fly out of the car and run headlong into a very chilly Pacific Ocean. The temperature was shocking, but I have to say that the water baby inside had a marvelous time swinging, swaying, twirling, and dancing on the sun-kissed sandy beach, picking up little rocks that whispered to me and chasing the tiny leftover waves, trying to be grownup enough to not get my walking shorts soaked and then freeze all the way to Santa Cruz...I did get a little wet and a lot sandy, but Renee helped me remove some of it off my feet and legs with a bottle of water before I climbed back in the back seat...I sat there and cried a few joyful tears, realizing another lifelong dream come true...a few moments in the Pacific Ocean, running along where water and earth hug one another...we made our way down to Santa Barbara where we stopped to make more priceline reservations...then on to the infamous Madonna Inn...not quite what it used to be or maybe exactly what it used to be and society no longer is...but we went on referral by sweet Marie on the beach and had many laughs at the expense of the mediocre food, the less than enthused wait staff, and the alienesque clientele glued to the bar stools in the cafe...



on we went to Monterey for the evening, praying that God would extend the gas when the warning light went on, as we were out in the middle of nowhere at 12:00 A.M. Betty, our navigational guru per Laura's cell phone, told us to turn around and go back to the station we had passed about fifteen minutes before...that was our best shot....God extended the fumes and we made it, filled up and then found our inn for the night. We got up, ate breakfast and headed five miles above Santa Cruz to a redwood community where our friend's (Craig) parents live. We have been here the past two days, waking up in this amazing adult tree house, sleeping with the windows open, all snuggled up in blankets chin high, falling asleep to giant redwood silhouettes and awaking to the backlit giants head-on out the window...all the comforts of home and mountain camping in one experience.

Renee and Angela with the sequoia named "The King of the Forest"

Angela the treehugger

We will blog our yesterday interviews as soon as we can work through the emotion. Talk to you as soon as we reemerge...angela