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.