Adventure in California

My 10-year-old son Travis had never been to Northern California or

even north of Santa Barbara County. So when it was time to go on my

West Coast book tour for my first book -- “Pen on Fire: A Busy

Woman’s Guide to Igniting the Writer Within,” published last October

by Harcourt -- my husband Brian, Travis and I took to the road.

Rather than flying, we thought a road trip would give Travis a view

of how large California really is.

We saw things we would never have seen if we had flown: bales of

cotton dotting fields along the 5 Freeway in the Central Valley;

ochre-colored hills against a brilliant blue autumn sky; wind

generators, spinning madly; the brilliant white Claremont Hotel in

the Berkeley Hills; a view from Berkeley of San Francisco, looking

coy through the cottony fog; and the Golden Gate Bridge, glimmering

across the bay.

We ate lunch at Mama’s on Washington Square Park in North Beach,

where nothing but breakfast is served. We saw the bison in Golden

Gate Park. And while I was at a book event in Marin County, Brian and

Travis peered at the redwoods through the car windows -- it was

storming out -- in Muir Woods.

Heading back South, at the eternally foggy city of Pacifica, we

jumped onto Route 1 and headed for Santa Cruz, 70 miles south, to yet

another book event. We passed through tiny towns, like Half Moon Bay.

This was October, and we passed at least two dozen pumpkin patches.

We wanted to get to Santa Cruz, so we didn’t stop, but when we saw

the Pigeon Point Lighthouse up ahead in Pescadero, we pulled in.

Fifty miles south of San Francisco, it’s one of the tallest

lighthouses in the United States and has been guiding ships since

1872. The lighthouse and a hostel, once the lighthouse keeper’s home,

perch high atop a cliff, which apparently makes for stellar bird

watching. A docent said whales pass close by and encouraged us to

come back soon.

Then on to Santa Cruz. Brian and Travis dropped me off at Capitola

Book Cafe and backtracked to the Santa Cruz pier for California’s

oldest amusement park -- the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk -- and its

oldest roller coaster, the Giant Dipper. Actually, the Santa Cruz

Beach Boardwalk looks like it was the template for Disney’s

California Adventure.

The next day, we headed home through Watsonville, over a mountain

pass to Interstate 5. After our five-day road trip, we felt as if

we’d been somewhere. And we most certainly had.

* BARBARA DEMARCOBARRETT is a Corona del Mar resident.

* TRAVEL TALES runs on Thursdays. Have you, or someone you know,

gone on an interesting vacation? Tell us about your adventures in

about 400 words, accompanied by a couple of photos that do not have

the Daily Pilot in them, and send it all to Travel Tales, 1375

Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626; by e-mail to

[email protected].