Pacific Coast Highway

San Francisco to Santa Cruz

July 27, 2014

Bay Bridge

It's been hot around here lately.  Saturday it got up into the high seventies.  I know.  I know.  That's not hot, right?  I don't know what to tell you.  July has felt like an incredibly hot month, but I just checked the high temperatures in Alameda.  Exactly one day was in the eighties and one day was 90 degrees, every other day was seventies, well except for those six days that topped out somewhere in the sixties (our normal days).  That's a heat wave for us, and funny thing is it actually feels like it.  We melt like popsicles when the temperatures get up into the high seventies.  I can't explain it.

Ocean Beach, San Francisco, CA

I decided to escape the 79 degree heat of Alameda by driving down the coast.  It worked like a charm.  I drove into San Francisco and as I crossed over the Bay Bridge I could see that at least part of the city was under fog.  Perfect.  I drove straight out Geary from downtown, and somewhere along the way I crossed the line from sunny to not-exactly-foggy-but-definitely-not-sunny.  I was giddy.  Bring on those high-sixties!

Ocean Beach, San Francisco, CA

I stopped to enjoy the cool summer air near the Cliff House.  The refurbished Golden Gate Park windmills make me smile every time I see them.  Ocean Beach is not the prettiest beach by any stretch of the imagination, but it's one of my favorite spots.

Ocean Beach, San Francisco, CA

I drove down the Great Highway to Highway One, continuing South while stopping at beaches here and there on the way.  The new tunnel through the Devil's Slide area was pretty sweet and certainly cut some time off the drive.

Bean Hollow State Beach, CA

Bean Hollow State Beach, CA

By the time I got to Santa Cruz I'd lost the fog.  It was sunny and warm, the perfect kind of weather for an afternoon on the Boardwalk.  I walked along the crowded beach, stuck my feet in the water for a while and had a corn dog.  Then I headed home.

Santa Cruz, CA

Santa Cruz, CA