Ben Lomond, Santa Cruz, Pacific Grove.
Well, time to say goodbye to Kaye, which is pretty sad after spending two weeks together, 11 days of which were on the road. I’m so glad we did that!! More than glad.
I packed up my car, and off I went, leaving mid-morning, heading for Ben Lomond and Santa Cruz, two important places in Bev’s travels and mine. Ben Lomond is where Bev and Suzanne first met Marg, who was living in “This Old House” on Central Avenue (sounds fancier than it actually is) with Cynthia, and really the BGC was first born there with the inclusion of its first (and only) non-Baltimore girl.
Ben Lomond is a small, serene, and sleepy town of around 7,000 people, about 12 miles inland from Santa Cruz, tucked into the Santa Cruz mountains, not surprisingly near the Ben Lomond mountain. When I first came out to visit in early 1977, I stayed with Cynthia, and met Marg who was one of Cynthia’s housemates at the house on Central Avenue, with its welcoming “This Old House” sign above the front door. Both were school bus drivers at the time, which is how they met, while in bus driving school. That’s when I first heard Marguerite’s incredible singing, as she accompanied herself on the guitar.
I walked around this wonderful town for a bit, with my first goal finding the house. Finding Central Avenue is easy… but finding the house, not so easy. I’ve actually visited Ben Lomond several times over the years, but have never been able to absolutely find the house, as it’s changed. For one thing, none of the houses have that sign hanging over the front door. On the other hand, it has been about 48 years since Marg and Cynthia lived here.
It was difficult at first to be sure which house was actually This Old House, but in consultation (by text message) with Marg and Cynthia and with some sleuthing involving old photos, it is clear that the street numbering has changed over the past half century, and what is now number 9425 was once number 9725 (the street number of This Old House). In fact, there’s photographic proof of the numbering change.
The lovely stone chimney that was once next to the front door was removed as it seems a small extension was built onto the home, which is clear from a 1996 photo, and by 2014, when I visited again, the hanging sign was gone, there was new front door, and the street number had changed to 9425. But, it is, indeed, This Old House, although now with a front yard fence in front of it.
This Old House holds special memories, for lots of reasons, and perhaps most specially because it was the start of Bev and Marg’s lifetime loving relationship, as well as Marg’s induction into the Baltimore Girls Club (although no-one knew that then 😊).
I released some more of Bev’s ashes in front of This Old House, and thought back to then, and that summer in Ben Lomond. I walked around town a little more, including going down to the San Lorenzo river, which flows through a small park behind the down town area (although down town is a bit of an over statement). The San Lorenzo flows all the way from here to Santa Cruz, where it’s considerably larger.
After a couple of hours, I headed out of Ben Lomond and toward Santa Cruz. taking the Cabrillo Highway through Scott Valley and Felton, a fabulous redwood and fir tree lined windy road connecting Ben Lomond and Santa Cruz. What a joy to drive it. No wonder we loved it out here. Who could not?
Santa Cruz, also iconic in our memory, is a horse of a different color. A great hippy town, but also very upscale in its downtown area, but also very picturesque and inviting, with great looking houses and building. When I first visited, I remember feeling that I looked just like every other guy in Santa Cruz: bearded, long haired, T-shirt, and wearing a dark wool hat. Santa Cruz has moved on since then, and now a small city of around 62,000.
Santa Cruz still looks great, as does the famous Santa Cruz Boardwalk and beach, 100 years old this year, which was packed with people having fun and enjoying the lovely weather. Bev loved the Ferris wheel, and Marg reminded me that Bev also loved a good old fashioned roller coaster (but I don’t, so we never went on a roller coaster together).
The boardwalk was fun (I had some pretty tasty french fries, although restrained myself and just ordered a small size), and the beach was lovely, sandy, and warm, with great waves lapping onto the beach, and packed (but not too packed) with people. I released some more of Bev’s ashes here, on the beach, intermingling part of Bev with this place we fondly recalled. I almost worked in Santa Cruz, and was offered a great job, but turned it down as they required me to cut my hair.
I walked some more around the down town area, and released a few more of Bev’s ashes in front of the Catalyst, a Santa Cruz icon in my mind, there when we first visited and still here today.
Leaving Santa Cruz, I headed south to Pacific Grove, another town in Bev History, not only because BGC was here in 1997, but because Bev loved Toasties, a small restaurant in Pacific Grove (who couldn’t love the place?).
I took the 17-mile Drive through Pebble Beach on the way, which is another lovely scenic drive, adorned with Pacific coast beaches for many miles, and incredible, and very expensive, homes and beach and golf resorts.
Then into Pacific Grove, which is yet another fabulous town, where my first stop was Toasties. Too bad it was closed by the time I arrived, as it’s only open until around 2:30. I would liked to have bought a new Toasties mug to match the one we have. Of course, I released still more of Bev’s ashes here, in front of Toasties.
And then inland a bit, and about an hour away, to King City, which isn’t too much of a city from what I can tell, where I spent the night, before heading down to Marg and Mark’s tomorrow.
