Day 20 – Carmel, Santa Cruz, & San Francisco

134 Miles

We woke up to a magnificent, clear sky in Carmel. The resort we stayed at was really beautiful, and though we don’t play golf, the family took advantage of a late checkout to go play on the putting greens. It was one of the most relaxed mornings we’d had since the trip began, underscored by gorgeous weather.

When it was finally time to check out and hit the road again, we stayed on Highway 1 along the coast until we reached the Boardwalk at Santa Cruz. By some miracle (perhaps because it was Monday), we found parking right next to the entrance. We put some money in the parking meter and continued taking advantage of a spectacular day: a few rides, a few snacks, a few references to the horror movie “Us”, and a walk on the beach. Late in the afternoon, we got back in the car to head north to the San Francisco Bay Area.

My longtime friend, Ralph, who works at Pixar, offered us a place to stay for a few nights. He’s a little north of Sausalito, so we got to take the kids over the Golden Gate bridge within our first few minutes in the Bay Area. We stopped on the north side for the usual tourist photos before following the map to Ralph’s place.

It was nice to be in a home again after so many days in hotels. We had separate bedrooms and bathrooms for a change! Most importantly, we got to sit and catch up with a friend of nearly forty years, and enjoy a great meal together at an Italian restaurant not too far from George Lucas’s well-hidden home.

We finished with another highlight of the evening: holding Ralph’s Oscar™ statuette, which he won in 2001 for his animated short “For the Birds”.  (Yes, they really are quite heavy!)