Upgrades and Stowaways

From Mission Viejo I wandered my way up to Santa Cruz area. While there, I had some suspension work done on the van to d-r-a-m-a-t-i-c-a-l-l-y improve the ride and the handling. Instead of riding like an Amazon delivery van that someone dropped a house on, she drives like a finely tuned German sedan (albeit with the aerodynamic profile of a Lego block). RosieVan is ready for the Indy 500 now!

While in the area, I drove up the coast on Highway 1, making all the appropriate stops along the way for seafood and eye-popping views of the pacific shoreline. The whole way I was thinking that it was no wonder people wanted to live on the California coast. I spent 4 days or so in the Napa region seeing the sights and tasting the tastes. Again, I had no difficulty imagining why people wanted to live there. There was a half day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, of course! Do you suppose it is appropriate that after four hours spent ogling fish, that I had sushi for dinner?

Then I turned East toward Sacramento. I discovered that I had picked up a thousand stow- aways in Napa. Little sugar ants, everywhere! The whole drive to Sacramento I could feel them walking on me, occasionally I'd catch one on my arm or ear or cheek and it was lights-out for that one little guy. A stop by Home Depot cured the problem overnight.

I had imagined that Sacramento would be as fine as Napa. Um... not so much. Flat and hot were the only things I could see beside the irrigated fields, there wasn't much there, there. Dry, dry, dry if no irrigation. The main corridor road is heavily trafficked with people racing to get north and south, but not many people trying to get to there as a destination. It made me think of Simon and Garfunkel. All gone to look for America (anywhere, just not here in Sacramento).

Next headed toward Lake Tahoe and parts further north.