Not knowing the country roads, we needed to take the freeway to get to Crockett, Port Costa and Mare Island. Marlene said, “Greg wouldn’t approve,” and I agreed. This was our first long distance outing since Greg became ill. We stayed around home base for a few weeks during our Tuesday’s With Seniors outings to accommodate his needs. He may not have been able to come, but he was certainly on our minds.

Driving the freeway route, we first stopped at Crockett, then found Port Costa and eventually made our way to Mare Island. Today, I want to show you some of Port Costa. This small, decaying town is a census-designated place in Conra Costa County. The population was 190 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1879 as a landing for the railroad ferry Solano, Port Costa’s ferries carried entire trains across the Carquinez Strait from Benicia to Port Costa. The town lost its importance when a railroad bridge was constructed at Martinez in 1930 to replace the ferry crossing. Today, it’s a sleepy, photogenic and cute town.

I enjoyed shooting in Port Costa more than the other two places which I will show you in another post. I just wish, some of the stores were open on Tuesdays. It’s a good thing we ate lunch before we arrived!

From Port Costa to Mare Island, we were able to stay off the freeway although we did use the GPS–another thing Greg would never use!

I would have liked to go into this store. Looking through the window gave us a glimpse of treasurers.

I’m so glad they were able to tell me where I was. This town has a sense of humor!

This store was also closed.

This golden statue was advertising another closed store.

The town’s post office.

The hotel.

I liked the doors in this town. This is an entry into the hotel.

Another door that must be attached to the hotel. I think it was the restaurant.

I truly don’t know what these doors opened. I also don’t see door knobs!

I think this is an antique store. Again, closed.

Isn’t this a beautiful door knob.

A beautiful courtyard.

An alley.

These train tracks are still in use.

This small structure is near the tracks.

Now how many locks do you need?

Also near the tracks, this is a very decorated port-a-potty.

The treasure of this town is this message tree. It’s full of wishes from residents and visitors.

An example of some of the notes.