Another beautiful day in the bay area. Another day without Jett. Another opportunity to take one of those long drives along winding mountain roads that Jett hates. So I left Morgan Hill around 2pm, drove through Saratoga up into the hills, along Skyline Drive, down to the coast, up CA 1 through Half Moon Bay and Pacifica and into San Francisco, making it just in time to catch the sunset there.

Round trip: 160 miles.

Half Moon Bay Loop

Until I left CA 85 in Saratoga the trip was along familiar roads: it was my usual commute plus a few miles. Saratoga seems like a nice little town, not quite quaint but picturesque nonetheless. It is home to several wineries, including the Mountain Winery, an early Paul Masson home and vineyard.

The hills west of Saratoga were higher and steeper than I expected. I was delayed for about 15 minutes while the police shut the road to set up operations to recover a car that had just gone over the edge. I don’t think I want to know the condition of that driver.

When I reached the summit I turned north on Skyline Drive which pretty much followed the ridge for many miles. The vistas provided would have been awesome if the air quality had been better (we have had 4 consecutive “spare the air” days, which means that burning wood is prohibited). It is hard to tell from these shots, but Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay are below.

View of Silicon Valley on a hazy day

I broke off Skyline Drive to take CA 84 to the coast, then followed CA 1 north to Half Moon Bay, site of the Mavericks Invitational, a major international surfing competition. I wanted to see how big the surf actually was (they were forecasting 20-foot breakers for Sunday) and to see how hard it would be to find a place to watch it. My conclusions? The surf that I saw was high, but not scary, and it would be VERY hard to find a place to watch it.

The coast near Half Moon Bay

Breakers

Beach

I drove through Half Moon Bay and into Pacifica, along some very scary cliff roads that will soon be replaced by a tunnel. I tried to find the RV park in Pacifica that was one of the first to grab my attention when I started looking for places to stay (rejected due to expenses and climate concerns), but was unsuccessful. I then broke off of CA 1 and drove north on Sunset Boulevard into San Francisco’s “Sunset District”. I got there just in time to see the sunset and was struck by how many residents made the short walk to the beach to view it. Clearly, people live in the Sunset District because of the sunsets. Big surprise.

A Sunset District sunset

Beach at sunset

Looking south

Almost gone

Final light

Golden Gate Park windmill

I drove a few blocks north, to Golden Gate Park. I had never been and didn’t get an optimal view as it was getting pretty dark. But I was struck by its beauty and would like to return. I was also surprised by the full-size windmill.

The trip home was via I-280 and CA 85. It was uneventful and dark. But I was struck by how quickly San Francisco transitions from densely-populated urban scenery to empty wilderness. There is a sign just south of San Francisco on I-280 that warns of “no services for the next 19 miles.” Pretty amazing, really.

I have now been commuting 14 miles each way to my office for three full weeks. The office itself provides exactly what I need: a fast internet connection and a desk and chair. The people there are friendly, though it is clear that they still consider me a curiosity (why would a software guy need a month-to-month office?). The accountants there never got around to producing a lease, so it is the purest form of tenant-at-will: I can leave whenever I want to go. So that is all working out just fine.

The biggest surprise so far: the commute. No matter when I go into the office or return home, there simply isn’t any congestion.  At least not the kind of grind-your-teeth-and-watch-the-pedestrians-zip-by congestion that snarls Boston for at least four hours each day.  The worst congestion that I have seen was actually on the Saturday before Christmas: cars backed up trying to get into a shopping center.  My commute (via Monterey Road, CA 85 and the Almaden Expressway), has a few traffic lights which typically account for about 5 minutes of the trip time.  But the entire 14-mile commute usually takes less than 20 minutes either way: an average speed in excess of 50mph!  Over 60mph if you take away the traffic signals.  Compare that to my 5.5-mile Cambridge/Medford commute which typically took 30 to 40 minutes for an average speed of about 10mph.

That, on the surface, is very good.  But the other day, while enjoying my congestion-free trip into the office, I heard a news story about how the new San Jose light rail system is one of the least successful new transit lines in the nation, attracting less than 1% of the pool of commuters.  No doubt that the car is still king in California, but there is also no doubt that there is simply no incentive to park my truck and ride the trolley (not that it is really an option – my office is a mile from the nearest station).  The transit stations are in the middle of the freeway and the few riders who I see waiting there look damn cold.  Why leave my warm cab for that?  My truck commute is faster, warmer and cheaper (with free parking at the office and just about everywhere).  Even in downtown San Jose the cost of parking all day is just $7,  In Boston transit is a real option – one that can get you to your destination faster and cheaper than a car.  No chance of that happening here.

So while I admire the lack of congestion and, more generally, the quality of the roads (Storrow Drive would be a cow path here), I can’t help but wonder if Massachusetts is actually being “greener” than California, simply by making car travel so unpleasant that people actually choose to ride public transit.

Now if the MBTA could figure out how to provide a congestion-free commute…