We leave our quality Quality Inn in Salinas CA and head north towards San Juan Batista to see the San Juan mission, one of the over 20 missions along the route El Camino Real. But first we stop off for some fresh California cherries. We're right smack dab in the fruit harvest season — cherries, strawberries, apricots. Bonus for us!
The San Juan mission is of particular interest as it's where Hitchcock filmed his climatic scene in Vertigo with Jimmy Stewart climbing up the tower after Kim Novak. Except, there is no actual bell tower — that was added back at the Hollywood studio. But there is the chapel, the stable and the grounds, just like it all looks in the movie. It's a very peaceful place and a nice, albeit, short stop.
Me doing my best tumbling Jimmy Stewart.
From there, it's on to the city of Gilroy and the 144 store strong outlet mall where we hit the Lucky Brand store. Jeans for $49 — I'm all over it. Apparently, so are the rest of the folk in southern California, so we do our best to get in and out with minimal fuss.
Then it's over the hills and back to the coastal highway to resume our drive up towards Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay and San Francisco. More of those great coastal views are abound. The winds are up and there's plenty of kite sailing going on today. Spotting some especially spectacular shoreline, we veer over to the side of the highway and hike down to the shore. The water in this rocky cove is super turbulent. It's like a giant blender!
The views are very cool, including that hole in the rock. Better start running, Jenny!
Detour! With Cupertino and the Apple campus so close, we turn right at Half Moon Bay and head the Dodge up to the main highway 280 and seek out the big fruit headquarters. For some reason, I'm convinced it's in Palo Alto and it's only when we are ten minutes off the highway, heading into PA, that I remember all the magic happens in Cupertino. Brain cramp!
Luckily, Cupertino is only a few more miles to the south. Ask the nice lady at the Chevron station where the Apple campus is, and she sets us straight. Hey, I think that's Steven P. Jobs right over there!
By now it's past 5:00 p.m., but we still have one more mission to accomplish.
Cross the bridge!
There's a bit of traffic to navigate, but no bother. Jenn snaps some good shots as we cross over, taking in the bay area and Alcatraz Island.
On the other side of the bridge, we join in with the hordes and observe the Golden Gate from the sidelines.
No stopping in San Francisco for us. This is a conscious decision on our part. We're done with big cities for now and we really don't have the inclination or energy to do it properly. So, it'll have to wait for another time. Crossing the Golden Gate feels like the perfect San Fran experience for now.
By this time it's getting downright late — we've pushed this day to the limit. We drive on to Vallejo, get lost trying to find the hotel strip and rustle up a room at the "it'll do for a night" HoJo. We go looking for somewhere to eat and end up driving through the Six Flags Theme park. Oops, wrong turn. We're zonked. Time to go to bed.
Tomorrow, we'll venture into Napa and Sonoma and try out some wine.
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