Mercury Way, Pleasant Hill

Morello Avenue curves up into the Contra Costa hills behind Diablo Valley College and the Contra Costa Country Club. Near Diablo Valley College, Morello cuts through a neighborhood where all the streets are named after the figures in Norse Mythology. So you get streets with names like Viking Boulevard, Odin Drive, and Freya Way. (If you were a bit of a comic book nerd and were into Thor as a kid like me, you might find this more than a little cool. The homes here are nice upper middle class homes with that sort of California Ranch feel to them.

The farther you go up Morello the nicer the homes get and the more empty hills you can make out. This means that in the spring you will get green fields of grass and by the fall brownish rolling hills. You are also climbing up as you had towards Martinez but there is not much of a view from here.

Morello is also a good way of getting to Martinez without getting on the freeway. It is not that well known as a short cut so you are likely not to get too much traffic during rush hours.

You are just far enough away from the lower valley to feel a bit of privacy, but close enough to drop down for a movie or some food.