Santa Cruz

A couple miles up the road this morning I spotted a donut shop across from where I was walking on Soquel Drive. Like usual I felt compelled to take a peek at their selection and check their prices. Having only $7, I decided not to buy anything. When I left, I took a break on the step out front to write the previous blog post. While composing it with my phone, one of the women working at the donut shop brought me out a few donuts. Then a guy came up and began talking to me, having seen my gear. He ended up slipping me a ten dollar bill. Now I have $17, and those donuts seem to have given me a lot of energy I didn't have before I ate them. 5.5 miles up the road from where I began this morning, I am still not in Santa Cruz. I am in what appears to be downtown Soquel. I assume I must be two miles or less from Santa Cruz... After 9 miles, I think I'm finally in or near downtown Santa Cruz...
10.3 miles to the boardwalk and beach. The boardwalk is not too terribly exciting. Very hot today.

I did not exhale

The CHP officer dropped me off last night in Aptos on a road he said goes straight into Santa Cruz after 5 miles. Knowing I wouldn't be able to make it to the coast in time for sunset, I found a spot to sit and eat some tortilla chips. When my break was up, I walked down the road looking for an electrical outlet. Couldn't find one, so I turned around and headed back toward Roadhouse Pizza, where I planned to ask if I could charge my phone. They said it was OK, so I hung around and chatted with the people working there. The manager was Troy and another dude's name, I believe, was Alex. When they closed, at 9:00, Troy gave me 2 ice cream bars and 2 Gatorades and said I was welcome to hang around. Post-closing time is when the fun begins at Roadhouse. Four of their friends showed up and someone passed around a bong. When it got to me, I inhaled. Yeah, I sucked it in, and soon I was baked.
I don't like getting high because it generally makes me paranoid, but once in a while I do it anyway.