Sometimes we just need to get the heck outta Dodge for a little while, even if we don’t have much spare time.

Camino Cielo is the perfect getaway spot because it is a short drive of maybe 25 minutes up Highway 154 from most areas in town. (No, I don’t drive like a bat out of Hades, it really is that close.)

Right near the top of San Marcos Pass, you have an option of taking East Camino Cielo or West Camino Cielo. I recommend both roads with equal enthusiasm. Head eastward one time, then westward the next.

They both have features worth the drive, where you can find your shot of solace free for the taking. That is way better for you than a shot of caffeine or alcohol or worse.

The views are breathtaking. They include wide vistas of the coast, ocean and islands on the south side. To the north is a broad valley and majestic transverse mountains.

I recall borrowing a telescope on one of my Camino Cielo jaunts. I sat with my back against a boulder for stability and watching the squid fleet working along the front side of Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

Then I drove to another spot on the road with a northward vista and used the telescope to watch a herd of a dozen deer graze slowly up a cozy canyon in Los Padres National Forest. Most of the time a telescope is a bit much to lug around, but a pair of binoculars will help you spot things of interest and amusement.

After all of that visual enjoyment it helps to lean back against a rock and take a brief snooze, with just the sounds of nature to lull you peacefully. After about 20 minutes of that, I tend to feel ready to go back into town and take on the world.

Both roads (East and West Camino Cielo) have plenty of turnouts and natural settings that beckon compellingly for a picnic.

There are usually plenty of critters around to keep up the entertainment level because even though there is a road and a few homes, it really is a wild area with plenty of critter life.

Bring along your cell phone camera, or 35 mm camera. But mostly just bring your need for solace.

Oh, one more thought about Camino Cielo: June gloom will be here soon (typically May through July), and when it makes you feel dreary, Camino Cielo is usually just above the clouds, offering an opportunity for a spot of sunshine on your soul.

Ya know, I could use a break and I think I’ll head up there right now.