Finally, I did some "drivin", at least part of the time on this trip! After flyin', I picked-up my new (rental) Caddy courtesy of COSTCO...Yes, you can buy cars also through COSTCO! My first stop was at my sister's house near Santa Cruz. I was looking forward to spending a little time at the beach. It's not unusual for the summertime to be foggy in this area, but the sun was bright and the sky clear, a perfect day! I wish I could have spent more time, but the main reason for the trip was to celebrate Mom's birthday and visit a few friends in "The Valley". Even after growing-up in CA, I'm amazed of the seemingly nonstop growth of the state and it's well-earned reputation of outrageous property values. No bargains here! Makes me wonder how long it will be before the Mojave Desert is developped and becomes "attractive", esp. to all those SoCal folks. I can see it now, the "Space Shuttle" commute from Edwards to L.A.!!! O.K., don't take this too seriously, but I write this to illustrate a point;after being away for over 5yrs now, and coming back often, it just seems so CRAZY!In some ways I miss it, but not enough yet to seriously consider moving back. Why?

I NEVER MAKE A BIG-DEAL ABOUT BIRTHDAYS, BUT FOR MOM, I SOMETIMES MAKE AN EXCEPTION. IT HAD BEEN 3MOS SINCE MY LAST VISIT. A NEW CHINESE RESTAURANT OPENED, SO WE CELEBRATED AT LUNCH TIME. OF COURSE, GRANDMA CAME ALONG TOO!

IT'S NICE TO VISIT BUDDY ALAN'S RANCHO OUT IN THE FOOTHILLS OF CA. IT'S A GREAT PLACE TO NOT DO ANYTHING! A RARE AND CLEAR EVENING FOR SUMMERTIME...THE DOGS THOUGHT-SO TOO!

JAMES, BEN,AND LITTLE SAM. I DON'T GET TO SEE MY NEPHEWS OFTEN ANYMORE, BUT IT WAS COOL TO TAKE THEM TO THEIR LIFEGUARD CLASS AND SPEND SOME TIME SIPPING COFFEE AT THE BEACH NEAR SANTA CRUZ.

I PREFER MORE SPORTY CARS, BUT IT WAS NICE TO DRIVE A NEW CADDY. MUCH, MUCH BETTER THAN THE PREVIOUS "LAND-YACHTS" IMAGE THIS BRAND HAD BECOME IN YEARS PAST. ALTHOUGH, FOR THE $$$, I THINK AN AUDI WOULD BE A BETTER CHOICE WITHOUT THE TYPICAL HUGE DEPRECIATION U.S. CARS ARE KNOWN FOR. AT 300HP, THE CAR STILL FELT HEAVY, BUT HANDLED EXTREMELY WELL. I COULD DO WITHOUT THE "DISCO DASH" OF THE 80'S, BUT EVERYTHING WORKED FLAWLESSLY. WITH MY SPECIAL CORPORATE RATE, I JUST MIGHT MAKE THE CADDY DEVILLE MY RENTAL OF CHOICE IN THE FUTURE.