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  • Santa Cruz Cruise

    Posted on December 28th, 2011 tcorzett No comments

    After taking two months off from work earlier this year for my Road Trip, it felt a little weird taking more time off for trips home. The end of the year is also packed with holidays that makes travel a nightmare… so when I only have a weekend off, the last thing I want to do is spend it in an airport. After two months of solid work, I was really needing a break… fortunately here is a holiday shutdown that makes braving the airports worthwhile.

    Having a few days back home, one the the things on the top of my “To Do List” was getting out with some NorCal GOATs for a cruise. A group of us met-up in Saratoga and headed out into towards Santa Cruz.


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    The roads in the South Bay hills are really some of the best in the Country. At times there can be some annoying traffic, but today most of the people were courteous and pulled aside when they saw us approaching.

    Normally I would have lead the group North on Skyline Dr. to Alice’s before turning onto La Honda Rd. for the journey to Pescadero Creek Rd. At the suggestion of one of those going on the cruise, and because we didn’t have a big group, we decided to take Alpine Rd. instead.

    I’d never driven Alpine Rd. before, but based on the Google Street View anticipated it to be quite tight/twisty… boy was it! While there was a painted center line, the road was only one-and-a-half lanes wide. Fortunately there was zero traffic on the road (not another car or even a bicycle)! While it was fun, the road was a bit too tight/twisty for a large car like the G8.

    I’ve been looking forward to driving Pescadero Creek Rd. ever since the last time. This road is truly the ideal place for my car to play… perfect pavement and fast sweeping corners. This time we weren’t any cars to slow us down and we made great time!

    We made such great time that we had to wait a couple extra minutes at Highway 1 for one of the GTOs that was meeting-up after work. We took the opportunity to take some photos and talk-shop about our cars.

    When we first arrived at the coast it was fairly cool and overcast, but it didn’t take long for the sun to burn through the clouds and really make the scenery beautiful.

    Once the final GTO arrived we headed out along Highway 1 towards Santa Cruz.

    Having spent so much time away from the West Coast, I was really enjoying the views. There is nothing line a sunny day driving down Highway 1 to make you realize why you live in California!

    I had planned on simply driving along the coast into Santa Cruz, but we found ourselves stuck behind some slow cars/trucks. Someone suggested we take an alternate route, so I gladly pulled-over and let him take the lead.


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    I was very impressed with the suggested route, will definitely be adding these roads to my repertoire!

    Due to the detour we were running a little late, but that just made lunch that much better. We stopped at a small BBQ joint that has a really incredible menu. I finally decided to get a Tri-Tip Sandwitch with garlic fries… yum! I’m sure I’ll have to make another trip here to try their ribs, and maybe even their fish and chips!

    I was really looking forward to trying to dive on Bear Creek Rd., but unfortunately we were running behind schedule. As a result I had to leave the rest of the group and take the direct route back on Highway 17.

    I was really happy with the way the day turned-out. The choice of roads, planned and improvised, made for a very enjoyable drive. Being on the road with other people was a great change, and really makes me want to spend more time at home.