Do you know my favorite Disney ride?

(No. It's not a photo from this trip. Meaning, yes, I had it in stock.)

In an entirely different pace than my recent days of class and conversation, it's been a busy day and a half. Next weekend, the institute continue its studies, but we were given this weekend off. After visiting John Steinbeck's Pacific Grove home yesterday afternoon and fueling up at Trader Joe's (oh, how I miss Trader Joe's when I'm in Florida), I headed to San Francisco to meet up with the lovely Nadia Watts and Dominique Craft. They were in town for the AP conference. Barring the final hour of the drive, which covered the last 1.8 miles, everything went smoothly. As I've been traveling in and out of the coastal region, it's been interesting to watch the foggy microclimates appear and dissipate; there's almost a 15 degree temperature difference. We had a tasty dinner at an authentic Chinese restaurant on the outskirts of Chinatown. We did not try the 'hot and numbing' or 'explosive pepper' dishes, but we were wowed by the green onion pancakes and crispy garlic eggplant.

In case you had any doubts about my dorkiness, have no fear. I was thrilled to get up early this morning to impersonate one of our teachers (nametag and all) in the AP Conference exhibition hall. Tempt me with free books, and I just can't stay away. (To top it off, later in the day, in my driving tour of Silicon Valley, I visited the Intel museum. This picture gives you a pretty good sense of it. I felt more sciencey than I usually do.)
And on to the crux of my email. I flirted with the edge of my 11am parking garage pickup deadline (more farmers' market---post soon), but pulled out of the garage in the supercute silver M2 hatchback rental at 11:01. As a background for the invisible reader, it's pertinent to know A. I'm not the world's most comfortable driver B. I drive infrequently C. Whenever I'm on a car trip, I navigate and Seth drives D. Personally, I prefer the human role of navigator (compared to GPS) and exercising my hippocampul region E. I compulsively change radio stations F. As a passenger, I try not to gasp or visually respond during any surprising car activity on turns or quick stops, but I'm not always successful at staying quiet.

So, in the driveway of the parking garage, I pull the map from the seat and have about 30 seconds to decide which way to go. Even though this was my 6th visit to San Francisco, I haven't visited my of the west side of the city. I thought I'd drive southwest in the general direction of Half Moon Bay. While navigating a narrow winding street of a grade that seemed to defy upward movement, I questioned my decision. Out of nowhere, this beautiful rocky park appeared. Here's the video of the view from my hike around the park. Incredible!

Afterwards, I wound my way downhill, having no idea that the real fun driving challenges lay ahead. I traipsed through Half Moon Bay, Pacifica, and Pescadero in between driving along Highway 1. I still can't believe that they built a highway that close to the cliffs and the sea. Anyone have more information about the construction? (I know I could look it up online...) Pescadero was the best little town, mainly because it seemed untouched by the tourist traps that seem to plague most coastal towns, but also because it reminded me of Cicely, Alaska, which means that I guess it really reminded me of Roslyn, Washington. The whole time, I was listening to some of the best NPR Saturday programs I've heard in months---Wait, Wait (of course), but also one on the brain's reactions to breakups, one on plagiarism and ethics, and one on "extreme motivation."

(Pescadero Main Street)

From Pescadero to Menlo Park/Santa Cruz/Palo Alto, I experienced a driving experience unparelleled by any other I've had. While I should I noticed that only two roads stretch across a 40 mile swatch between the regions, and while we've been talking in class about the role of coastal mountains in Steinbeck's fiction, I didn't put two and two together. You would think the name Alpine Road might have been a hint. It was exhilarating in a positive way, and it's one of the most beautiful quiet stretches of road I've seen. I actually preferred it to highway 1, which had a steady stream of cars. Some favorites on this 30 mile drive that one had one cross street: a windy arrow with 5m written underneath, followed by a sign in a mile with a windy arrow that had an extra bend and 6m written underneath, followed again a mile by the original windy arrow and 5m. When I finally got out at the summit where there was an open space preserve, before I even reached the trail, there was one warning for rattlesnakes and 3 for bobcats. I decided that was reason enough to limit my walk to about a half mile.

(The road was empty. I stopped the car while I took this. I'm not clicking and driving.)

Then the Intel museum, and finally a tour of Stanford and more Trader Joe's. My plan is Santa Cruz, Watsonville, and Point Lobos tomorrow.