My Father served in the U.S. Army in the late 1960s.  For a brief time, he was stationed at the now-decommissioned Fort Ord, California.  What was the first thing my dad did upon arrival at his new post? He went AWOL – so that he could see the Pacific Ocean.

On the fifth day of my road trip, after calling on General Sherman and General Grant, I descended to sea-level—finding my way to the coast—not far from where my dad got his first view of the Pacific.  I worked my way north and west and stopped at Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, CA.