California 2007 Trip Day 4

November 8:

This was a less stressful day. I only had five cities scheduled for today. Originally, I had six, but when I didn’t go all the way up to Redding, I also didn’t make it to Eureka. The day didn’t start or end well, but I got everything in between. I started out at 8:39 AM – a little late, but since I had a lighter schedule, I rested a bit more. I clocked the mileage when I got gas and when I ended the day yesterday. However, I forgot to zero the 2nd trip odometer when I got gas in Red Bluff. At the end of the day, I had about 475 miles on it, which includes all of the distance from the last two fill-ups. Today I had a full lunch after getting my last planned map for the day in Novato. I had it at a place called Moylan’s. It reminded me of Tied House in Mountain View. Lunch cost about $17.15, plus tip (I did my math wrong and tipped low). I got cash in Petaluma after I got my map. I got gas somewhere around Santa Cruz at 4:38 PM. The total mileage on the trip2 odometer was 680.8 miles. Subtracting the setting at the last tank filling, that was 205 miles on that tank. I filled up with $25 of gas, which didn’t fill the tank. It got me 7.228 gallons, which works out to $3.46 per gallon. I think I was running above 42 miles per gallon on this leg.

After being unsuccessful getting my Santa Cruz map, I headed toward Watsonville for Motel 6. Unfortunately, this was somewhere around 4 PM and Highway 1 South was very slow. I made an attempt to stop off at a small town south of Santa Cruz (the signs said it had hotels), but gave up and headed back to Santa Cruz. I saw a Best Western right off Ocean and stopped there. The charge for the night is about $67.

It was gloomy pretty much all day. I needed my jacket most of the day. There was one crack of sun right after I left Novato. I thought it was an indication that things were clearing up south of the bay. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Below is my rundown for the day:

Ukiah:
This stop was very short. I stopped at the town hall at about 8:48 AM. They had no zoning maps available (it was being revised) and their engineer was out until next week. I left my name and number, but I’m not sure if I will hear anything. Basically, my trip as far north as I went was a waste because I didn’t get anything at Red Bluff or Ukiah. Moving on …

This was a nice small town in the hills. I liked the Civic Center building. Since it was on Seminary Avenue, I wonder if it was once a seminary or church.

Healdsburg:
I got lost on my way in (bad directions). After I asked directions, while walking around, I found the place no problem. The map was $10. I got it at about 10:03 AM. There were a few sculptures outside of the main building, including a horse. I took a few pictures.
The town looked small but prosperous, with many yuppie shops and museums. However, I also noticed a lot of probably undocumented workers hanging around the park, probably looking for work.

Santa Rosa:
This was a much bigger town with lots more banks and several impressive buildings (both in size and architectural style). I parked too early and had to walk several blocks, but I found the City Hall eventually. The map cost $20 when I got it, at about 10:47 AM. I noticed one building had solar panels on the roof. I also met up with an automatic ticket taker again. This time I remembered my ticket.
While there, I got a present for Renee. Since Santa Rosa is where Charles Schulz lived, there are a lot of Peanuts items around. At a comics and games shop I found a Peanuts Monopoly. I have no idea if she will like it, but it was something.

There was construction on the 101 around Santa Rosa. It didn’t have much effect on the way into town, but on the way out, since I followed the signs rather than my printed directions, I got stuck when the entrance ramp was being worked on (it didn’t exist). However, right when I was lost, I saw a sign for the 101 again and was able to find the alternate entrance.

Petaluma:
I couldn’t find directions to get into Petaluma. Either I skipped printing them or I misplaced them. Fortunately, I had a map that included the city, so I made my own plans. As I got to the center of town, there were signs for City Hall, so I followed these. They turned out to be confusing, but I did eventually find it. Signs for parking on the other hand seemed to be a complete fabrication. The parking at City Hall seemed to be for staff and I didn’t see a parking garage where it seemed to be indicated.
The city seems much more working class. It reminds me of San Leandro. I got the map at 11:58 AM for $20.

Novato:
The address for the town hall was about two years old. I called and got directions to the new location. It was simply down one exit at 75 Rowland Way (Room #110). The old building looked like a cross between a church and a barn. The new building looks like a business park (it was next to Staples and across from a movie theater).

I got the map at 12:53 PM. It cost $13.50. I did it on a credit card (the first time I had that option) because I didn’t have the right combination of bills and they didn’t have change. While the person went to get the map she asked me to mind the desk. It was very down home since I had just walked in.
As mentioned above, I stopped for lunch before pushing on.

Santa Cruz:
The drive was long but pretty close to the directions. The one odd thing was there were directions to switch from 580E to 980W to 880S. 980 never showed up as an option. I went right from 580E to 880S – well not right away, but I didn’t get lost. The traffic was a bit congested around Oakland (I think), but otherwise pretty clear. I guess I avoided rush hour on the east bay. The drive over 17S was as stressful as I remembered. I really had to pay attention.
My arrival in Santa Cruz started badly. I ended up on Ocean instead of the exit I was supposed to take. After I stopped and got a map, I mapped my own route to City Hall. That went pretty well. But when I got there, I found out they are only open to the public from 7:30 AM to Noon. They are the only city with those weird hours. Well, I guess I’ll be back tomorrow. Since I ended up in Santa Cruz for the night, this won’t affect my times much. Getting out onto the 1 again was problematic, but eventually successful.