Jennyarn

Santa Cruz is the place I like to be.

But even my favorite place has traffic. I was stuck at a juncture where Highway 1, Highway 9 and Highway 17 converge. This is not a hassle, I reasoned. It is a photo opportunity.

Seen only from a highway, are there many places that look appealing? In some places, like San Francisco, one is forced to drive through parts of the city to continue on one’s merry way north. Or south. Is it good for commerce? I don’t know. I attest that I’ve never been remotely tempted to stop and buy something. Is it ridiculous for traffic? I won’t bother with a speculation on that! It’s not as though it’s some scenic drive either.

Highway 1 goes right through Santa Cruz, complete with traffic lights, and is there called Mission Street. I can’t say it makes for a good impression.

Train travel gives a unique if not constricted cross-section of a city. The few times I’ve traveled by train through familiar cities, I wasn’t rightly sure I’d know from the track-side views where exactly I was.

Speaking of which, here is a secret. You know what signs I find fascinating? You Are Here signs. Chances are, if you have a fascination for them, it’s not such a good sign, for you! I ought not to say this, but I am deeply affected by those signs! Why are they so disturbing? It’s not because they make graffiti superfluous. Here is a secret: I love those signs. Let’s think of them as assuring and move on to Mission Street.

Sure, having a highway cut through town is not ideal but Mission Street is not merely a means to an end. There are some notably cool places to go right on that busy street. One is Emily’s. I went there.

You can forget the highway! Emily’s has a little patio with beautiful trees alongside a stream - the San Lorenzo River. Go there. Have a muffin. All other muffins - relatively terrible. Their muffins - delightful.

Grover is doing quite well.

Last month, she had what looked to be a swollen injury or growth near her mouth. During the procedure for the biopsy, much of the affected tissue was removed then cauterized. While the lab work cannot identify the cause of the problem, the results
do reveal that it is nothing serious like cancer. Great news!

Grover’s injury from being bitten has healed nicely too and she is as strong as ever.
And is she ever strong! I often resort to using cardboard cat carriers because I have the best chance of actually getting a cat in one. They are top-loading. There are no metal bars to thwart my mission; a cat designed such bars as they make for handy surfaces for a sturdy clawhold thus increasing the chance for the cat to remain in the comfort of her own home.

Poor Grover was confined in a cardboard carrier, waiting. Or so I thought. I disappeared to fetch my purse and that did not take long. I returned to discover that Grover is an escape artist! The cardboard box was quaking with a vengeance and one of Grover’s legs was coming through an air hole. She was tearing her way through the box! She caught her claw on an armrest cover and pulled it partially through the hole. That served to block her departure as I scurried to collect a cage. So she ended up being inside the box, inside the cage. As I opened the door to the vet’s I could see her head poking through the box. I was pretty sad about putting her through this but I had to marvel at her strength.

In a couple weeks I’ll return with Grover to the vet so she can have her vaccinations. If the trouble with her mouth returns, the vet would like to try treating it with steroids. For now, I’m glad that Grover looks to be much better and is enjoying her outdoor adventures.