It wasn’ t intentional. We were simply drawn to it. The deep, dark blue sky bloomed into shades of purple, pink, and orange before breaking into the crisp morning blue of a brand new day. Nature’ s magic, unfolding right before our eyes. The morning sun was the star of the show.
Next, it was time to make the ascent to the top of the Peak. After a short, moderate uphill climb on a wide flat path, there stands a beautiful stone staircase. We climbed it and the views to the north and west opened up. Our new friends Chloe and Tyler— from Prundale and Watsonville respectively— had also beaten the park opening and were already at the summit when we arrived. They pointed us toward the best trail to navigate the last 150 feet of elevation, over and around jagged rocks and little crevices seemingly designed to twist ankles.
Making it to the top was worth every bit of the challenge. The 360-degree views are nothing short of staggering. To the north, Gilroy. To the east, Hollister and the broad sweep of the valley. To the west and south, the full Monterey Peninsula opened up before us: Fisherman’ s Wharf, the iconic twin stacks of Moss Landing rising 500 feet above the shoreline, and Capitola
Village hugging the coastline. The Pacific stretched out beyond it all, quiet and vast. We stayed a while. You will too.
When we were ready for coffee, we headed to our favorite stop south of Gilroy— Vertigo Coffee Roasters. Vertigo was is named after Alfred Hitchcock ' s classic 1958 film, which was partially shot at the San Juan mission. Walk in once and you’ ll feel like a regular. Besides great coffee that hits perfectly after a morning hike, they offer fresh baked breads and pastries, wood-fired pizzas, sandwiches and more. They also do lunch and dinner, with beer and wine to round it out. just fifteen minutes south of Gilroy, the coffee at Vertigo alone is worth the trip.
We finished our coffees and set out to explore the charming town. We started at Mission Plaza, where the courtyard was teeming with native flowers and plants in full bloom. We walked a small stretch of the original El Camino Real next to the mission and took in the farmland below from a bench perched beside the rose garden. Behind us, the iconic statue of John the Baptist, hands reaching toward the heavens, has graced visitors to the mission since 2000, making no exception this day.( Continued...)
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