A Quick Road Trip to Boulder Creek, California

                

In 1984 Diane and I found new jobs and moved from Long Beach to Boulder Creek (in the Santa Cruz mountains). We lived there for nearly seven years and truly enjoyed life amongst the majestic redwoods. We had not been to the area in quite a few years and decided to plan a visit to Debbie and Linda, who still live there.

A note: I'm writing this blog several weeks after we made the trip. Since then much has happened and some of the areas we visited were burned by the enormous fires that have been plaguing California. Fortunately, Debbie and Linda's house was sparred, although they've been evacuated for over two weeks. Sadly, Big Basin State Park, with some of the state's oldest redwoods, was not sparred and likely sustained severe damage.

Santa Cruz beach view.

We spent an hour in Santa Cruz before we checked into our hotel in Ben Lomond. The weather was beautiful, and the town and the beaches were busy. 

Afterwards, we drove up the curvy but beautiful Highway 9, checked into our hotel (cabin accommodations) and decided there still was enough time left to visit the house we lived in on Quigg Way in Boulder Creek.

Our old Quigg Way house is barely visible through the trees.

     

Quigg Way

Debbie and Linda visited us at our cabin.

The next day we toured Big Basin Redwood State Park. Home to ancient redwoods, the park is the oldest state park in California (established in 1902). Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, the park is located in one of the areas most impacted by the Santa Cruz fire. As of now, we know that the visitor center was completely burned down. Determining the damage to trees will take time. We were so fortunate in our timing to have taken the trip when we did it.

The next day, we drove south to the Monterey area and stayed at an Airbnb in Pebble Beach. Although it wasn't one of the houses directly on the 17 Mile Drive, it was a nice home and afforded easy access to the scenic drive.

After the scenic drive we went to Pacific Grove and visited the wharf area around the aquarium. The town's center is quite charming and colorful and its waterfront is lively. 

Masks were required - $100 fine for not wearing one.

 The following day, we opted to take Highway 1 homeward. It was a good choice because the weather was clear and the traffic was light. We only stopped once to take a brief hike to the beach area shown below. A tunnel led to another small but picturesque cove. After the walk we stopped briefly at Ragged Point before continuing home. A fine ending to a quick road trip.