Thursday

I woke up in Santa Barbara to a gorgeous day. I just knew it would be a great day for a drive! After checking out and filling up at the pump next door I hit 101N for a bit, and then CA1, the Pacific Coast Highway. Around that area there were a few cool stretches through the mountains – kinda felt like I was driving thought South Korea to the 4077.

For a while it would alternate between little towns and just land – mountains or farms. Usually the ocean was in sight, but not always.

I stopped in Pismo Beach to take a look at the ocean for a few minutes and snap a picture or two (Here we are! Pismo Beach and all the clams we can eat!) After the pitstop I was back on the road. The rest of the trip through Pismo Beach was uneventful, and eventually the road opened up to some ordinary scenery. I almost felt like I was driving in Upstate New York a few times. I almost started to feel that I had erred and that the PCH was a different road.

Then it opened up to the ocean on my left and big brown land on my right. I decided to pull over to one of the scenic areas and take a picture of the ocean. It was a little bit of a drop but enjoyed inching up to the edge. I went back to the car and pulled out a map to make sure I was doing the right thing (I was, just wasn’t patient enough).

I’m standing outside the passengers side of the car with the door opened flipping through my map book when something catches the corner of my eye. And what do you think it was that caught my eye? Yup – a squirrel. A damned dirty squirrel! I closed the door to the car, thinking it would jolt him away. Nope – it didn’t. He just stood there staring at me. Taunting even.

Taking that as an omen, I got back in the car and drove away. I don’t want to piss off another family of squirrels, so I kept driving north and saw the entrance to Hearst Castle. I pull in there thinking that it might be right off the road. Nope – it’s waaaay off in the distance on the top of a hill. I stopped in the visitors area there to check my distance from Big Sur and make a pit stop since I was off the road already. It was a nice area, with plenty of exhibits about the newspaper baron. I wish I had more time built into this part of the trip because I’d have loved to take a tour of the Castle, but it just wasn’t on the schedule. I may have to add that to the list for next time.

On my way out, the lady at the front desk handed me a flyer about the elephant seals that had a beach about 4 miles north, right off the road. It’s like she knew that I loved watching seals! I headed up that way and stopped to take a look. They weren’t exactly playing, but they were cool to see. Huge! Just laying on the beach, soakin up the sun. Lucky seals – they didn’t have to get back in the car and drive anywhere! But I did, so.

I hopped back into the car, and this is where the trip when from interesting and fun to absolutely breathtaking. The stretch between Hearst Castle and Big Sur is something everyone should drive in their lifetime. And that’s not just me saying that, I’m sure there are a thousand “Do Before You Die” lists out there that contains that statement. It was amazing. All of a sudden the road starts climbing and climbing and starts to hug the mountains, winding around them like you see in the movies. This went on for quite a while, and just got higher and higher. I pulled over once or twice to soak in the views. After over an hour of this I finally hit Big Sur and my lunch destination, Nepenthe.

Nepenthe was recommended to me by several people and it did not disappoint. I had a view of the ocean from the top of one of the cliffs while I ate my chicken sandwich and sipped my Chardonnay. It’s a very peaceful, relaxing spot, and I’d recommend it to anyone that is driving the PCH.

I didn’t feel like driving anymore, but I still had a little ways to go yet. I was about 2 and a half hours south of San Jose, and it was about 3pm pt. After my piece of pumpkin cake (Allison the waitress is a good salesperson!) I was back on the road. I took rte 1 up to 17, which took me right into San Jose. There were some nice stretches along here as well. Monterey was quite lovely, with beautiful views of the ocean crashing onto big rocks. Great colors. I watched the sun set while sitting in traffic while getting close to the 17 turnoff, but I still had plenty of time before the game.

The HP Pavilion (Shark Tank) is very easy to get to – right off the highway. I threw the car into a lot (I did NOT feel like driving around to look for cheaper parking!) and donned my Ducks jersey. I hit up will call and waited outside the Tank to go in. It’s very pretty from the outside.

Once inside the Tank I took a stroll around the concourse. It’s one large concourse for both levels, but it’s big enough that I didn’t feel crowded (can we say Long Island…or the old NJ arena…). I went down to the Team Store to get my game puck (I get a puck for every arena I go to), but the lines were way to long. They did have a cute shirt for the Ducks/Sharks rivalry. Picture the Jaws movie poster, but instead of a girl swimming it’s a little rubber ducky. I was going to get one, but the lines were too long, and I’m a rubber ducky fan, so. I wound up getting my puck from one of the smaller side vendors.

The seats I had were pretty good. Center ice upstairs, but two rows up from the press row. I was actually sitting right behind the Prime Ticket announcers for the Ducks. It was fun to watch that, but the light and camera were a little distracting during each intermission. The crowd was a sell-out, and the usher in that area seemed to know everyone (including the Ducks announcers). He said he’d been there since the place was opened. He greeted season-ticket holders by name which was cool, and had little pieces of candy for all the kids.

The crowd was a lot of fun. I was wearing my Ducks gear but wasn’t really hassled (once or twice maybe). They do a thing where someone (or multiple people) give two beats on a Duck call (one of those hunter things) to which seemingly the entire crowd replies “Ducks Suck”. That goes on for a while. It had me laughing – I love that this is a real rivalry. I’d rather that than no caring at all.

I was sitting next to this old lady who brought her grandkids to the game (I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in the Garden). She would frequently lean over to me to ask about the game. It was only her second time there, she informed me, and she said she had a tough time following. At one point, the Sharks had a good scoring opportunity but the shot went wide. She asked me if it went in. I said no. She said she couldn’t tell because the puck was moving so fast. First, I pointed out the lights behind the goal, and how if it turns from green to flashing red a goal was scored. Secondly, I told her “If the Sharks score, you’ll know.” Sure enough, a few minutes later the Sharks scored their first goal and the roof blew off the place. I turned to her and said “They scored one!” Near the end of the game, as tempers were beginning to flare, the Ducks were crashing the net trying to get a goal (they were down 2-0), and at one point a Duck ran over the Sharks goal tender. Well, a brew-ha-ha ensued for a few minutes and there were a few penalties. The old lady leaned over and asked why they were fighting. I smile. It was so adorable that she was trying to learn and understand the game. I told her that the Ducks player crashed into the goalie, and the Sharks didn’t like that. Plus, the Ducks haven’t been able to score, and they’re frustrated. She just laughed. At the end of the game she thanked me for answering her questions. The game needs more people like that old grandma who are willing to take the grandkids to a game and also want to learn a little something about it.

After the game, I got to my car (after some good natured heckling from the Sharks faithful) and made my way out of downtown San Jose. It wasn’t too bad getting out of there. One of the better arenas (getting out of the new Devils arena is easy as well). A quick shot up the 101 brought me to Redwood City where I bedded down for the night. I checked in – brought my stuff into the room, and promptly passed out. THAT was an exhausting day!