by Jay Freeman
I went to Dinosaur Point Friday April 27, arriving a bit past 10 PM. Low cloud had clung to the hilltops and shrouded portions of US 101 and state 152, all the way from Palo Alto to the turnoff for Pacheco State Park, but as I drove past the park entrance and down toward the boat launch area parking lot, I passed out from under the cloud deck into sparkling clear sky, made darker with the help of the cloud mass blocking city lights in many directions. I was set up in plenty of time to watch the mu Gem occultation, which was very pretty, then turned to deep-sky work as the Moon set. Humidity was high enough to bring dew to the top of my car, but just a dewcap kept my optics dry. There was breeze for a few hours, but I had no problem with either chill or vibration, set up in the lee of my van. Weather stayed clear for my entire observing session, which ended at 3 AM.
I logged 159 objects,. I felt almost guilty having such an excellent night at such a fine location all to myself.
Almost.