After a decent sleep at the Motel 6 in Buellton (yes, even Goddesses have budgets), JD and I hit the 101 North to San Francisco. Although there were scattered rain showers, it was a relatively easy drive. We stopped in San Luis Obispo at the
Apple Farm and breakfasted on eggs and sausage and those famous muffins. Stopped in the gift shop and found ourselves in the middle of conversation about the Renaissance Faires - North and South. JD and I are old rengeeks, and it's always fun finding like-minded folks. Still, we left the Apple Farm a bit later than planned.
Driving north on the 101 takes you thru fields of grapevines, amazing ocean views, evergreen-forested mountain passes, and quick views of small farming communities like Gilroy (garlic capital of the world, I think) and Salinas (not so small), before heading into San Jose and the Silicon Valley.
We had a short unexpected stop just south of Salinas. Cruising along, we noticed a helicopter circling around to hover over the highway. And land. On the highway. Traffic, of course, stopped. We assumed it was a Medivac helicopter, and were dismayed to see a second whirlybird land on the highway. After a while, both 'copters took off in the general direction of Hollister, and traffic began to move. The remains of the accident left no doubt that folks were seriously injured. We sent good thoughts their way, and made our way cautiously out of the area.
