Day 18- The California Coast

Elevation: Starting elevation = 88ft, ending elevation = maybe 20-30 feet.
Mileage = about 240 mi
Song of the Day = "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell

After a few days hanging with the sis - thanks for letting me drape wet sleeping bags, rain fly, tent, tent stakes, clothing, etc, everywhere; use your dishwasher, washer, dryer; dirty the sheets and refill the supplies -  it is time to go north. And thanks, Brian and Lisa (and Evan and Justin and Eliana) for a wonderful dinner and company. You guys rock - we should do this more often than every 8 years!

After heading north on 280, I cross the Golden Gate Bridge and turn around for a last look at San Fran.

It's a little foggy. And I should have read the directions on how to use the camera.

Farewell, southern half of CA!

I take an almost immediate turn off at Sausalito (BTW - spell check wants to correct this to "Sexuality") onto CA-1 (The Pacific Coast Highway). The road winds unhurriedly through canyons, along cliffs, through groves of trees that smell vaguely like sage, past cows and deer and strange people hitchhiking. Every 20 minutes or so, the road passes through a small, picturesque town (Stinson Beach, Point Reyes Station, Bodega Bay, Marshall, Dogtown) with a laid-back center and lots of tiny galleries and restaurants. Everywhere are signs for coastal access. I stop at almost everything.

By the time I reach the town of Jenner at 1pm, I've been averaging about, oh, 20 mph. Not good. I stop at the absolutely incredible River's Edge for lunch. It's a tiny restaurant perched on the cliffs above the meeting of the Russian River and ocean. The view is incredible (and so are the prices... this is why the sign says "fine dining"). I chat with the bartender, an old hippie. He laughs when I tell him I'm heading to Redwoods for the night. "Good luck with that! Legget is still over 4 hours away, and then the actual park is another few hours after that. There's some great camping on Patrick Point near Eureka, but if I were you, I'd stop just north of Fort Bragg!" Hmmm. If I want to drive through the tree in Leggett, I need to be there by 5:00 (no chance of that happening). Maybe he's right. Over my glass of Viognier and Salmon in Puff Pastry (the sauce is so good I want to lick the plate, but this is a fancy place and they'd probably throw me out), I consider what to do. I want to drive through that tree. I'm enjoying going slowly up the coast. Looks like I'm not making Redwoods tonight.

And I don't. But here is the view from campsite 97, Westport-Union Landing St. Beach., just north of Westport. Only $25 buys you pit toilets, no sinks, no showers. (BTW - CA campgrounds are freaking expensive!!!!)

Campsite 97. You can see campsite 96 in the background. There's no privacy because it's just a big open field. Oh, and a few feet away... the Pacific Ocean, just 20 feet down those cliffs. If there's a tsunami, I'm kind of screwed.

Cliffs. Beach. Fog.

Best mullet ever in the campsite next to me!

Just because you're cooking over a wood fire doesn't mean you have to eat poorly. Marinated chicken, peppers and onion with fresh grilled tortillas and salsa fresca (chopped cilantro, jalapenos, lime juice, salt). Oh, and my new favorite beer. Fat Tire, we've had a good run. Hello, Boont Amber Ale.

Cliffs at sunset. Oh, and did I tell you that I saw a grey whale migrating north while eating dinner. Seriously. I'm whale watching from my campsite.

Are you jealous yet?