Quick Trip to California

 I went out to Santa Cruz to assist my girl with some medical and logistical issues. This was my third trip to Santa Cruz, and the second where I stayed in the very lovely seaside motel. I ended up in the exact same room - probably their smallest, set aside for single cheapish travelers. 

The first sunrise, from just outside the room.
Part of the pier washed away just before Christmas!

 

The motel gave us sparkling wine, roses and chocolate
for Valentine's Day!

From the room, I have a view of the ocean (actually, Monterey Bay). With the window open, I can hear the surf and sometimes even the honking of the seals that hang out there. Even though this is the Pacific Ocean, due to the curving of the coastline, my view is to the south east. In February, that puts the rising sun directly in front of my window. As an east coast person, I was awake for every sunrise.

Second sunrise. Absolutely spectacular! I couldn't look away!

 The visit was great! My grown girl is a joy and a delight. We had several great meals, some successful and some unsuccessful shopping for her up coming semester in Australia, and mixed medical updates with a lot of uncertainty. I am now familiar with the area, and when my girl was busy I was able to amuse myself nicely in the lovely seaside town. There is a pleasure in going back to a place - I don't know it well, there is lots still to discover, but there are also known pleasures to revisit. 

 

Surfers! Many, all in wetsuits, shortly before sunset
Taken from the motel garden

We made an excursion down to Carmel-by-the-Sea, a precious rich-people's enclave with galleries and shops that were fun to browse. We amused ourselves looking up houses on Zillow- the cheapest we found, smaller than my small house, was $2 million! There, we had the best meal - a micro brewery that had a terrific fancy vegan bean-and-eggplant burger, and a smash burger for me.

Third sunrise - duller, but the Boardwalk amusement park was lit up!

 

On the beach at Carmel

I was fairly profligate in spending on this trip. My return flight was scheduled to depart at 6:20 am from an airport an hour away from Santa Cruz. I did that which you are advised never to do: pre-paid for a tank of gas to save the time of hunting for an open gas station near the airport at 5 am. (We managed to put 350 miles on the rental car burning a lot of gas; I figure this option cost me only $20 but saved me twenty minutes.)  In addition, when I booked the flights, I was offered an upgrade to first for the smallest increment I've seen. (I have a jillion miles on United because of the affiliate credit card, and charging some college tuition on it.) So I went for it! This was my first time in domestic first class in 25 years. (In my years working at the airline, I often flew standby in first class.) Judgement: nice to have less hassle overall and a bit more space, but truly not worth it.

First class pre-ordered hot breakfast

 

Last sunrise of the trip - fabulous!