Alternative Routes

Last Thursday I had to make a short drive to Santa Cruz to pick up some enlargements for my photo contest entries at my favorite photo lab ( www.bayphoto.com ). The shortest route from Los Altos to Santa Cruz is over Hwy 17, a notoriously dangerous and traffic prone four lane stretch of road over the Santa Cruz Mountains. Looking at the oncoming traffic, I felt lucky as I was driving counter to the morning commute. My pictures were ready so i was quickly on the road again. Now i was in that awful bumper-2-bumper traffic on Hwy 17. Weighing my options, I decided to take an alternative route, Hwy 1 along the Pacific Coast I would head north and then cut over to the Bay Area on the San Gregorio - La Honda road.
The sun and bright blue spring skies put a smile on my face. It was still a little blistery from a cold front that came through the day before, but it was nice enough so that I dropped the top of my Miata, turned on the heater and a few minutes later Santa Cruz and traffic jams were far behind. In front of me the narrow, twisty band of Highway 1 stretched in front of me to the horizon. This time of the year is especially beautiful on the Pacific coast, the winter rains have left the hill sides lush and green, the meadows are covered in bright yellow bands of mustard and along the road patches of California puppies and lupine. The ocean was choppy and the waves were crashing against the rocks creating fountains of white spray. A few para-surfers played with the wind , soaring several yards over the crest of breaking waves. As a snowboarder I have to admire these guys for their graceful playfulness.

I stopped at Pigeon Point light house (see picture above), one of my favorite spots on this stretch of Pacific Coast Highway between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay. A few whale watchers were snuggled under blankets next to the light house tower hoping to get lucky. March is a good time to see whales migrating from Bahia up to Alaska, but Pigeon Point is not really close to the migrating route so chances to actually see a whale are slim as compared to further up north Point Reyes. It has a lot of traffic and visitors but it is a place where you are more likely to get lucky. Weekends are always busy at Pigeon Point too, but weekdays it is quiet and serene.
I was happy that I decided to avoid the traffic jam on Hwy 17 and take the road less traveled. It was a wonderful spring morning on a beautiful stretch of the Pacific Coast Hightway and i had a chance for some beach pictures. The coast undisturbed by tourists or random foot prints. As so often is the case, the best moments and opportunities for finding that special setting for a good picture are found off the beaten track, taking the alternative route.