Heading Toward SF

(left) waves hitting the rocks near Sea Ranch. (above) Mimi and I at Jenner where the Guala River runs into the ocean. (right) A rather abrupt dropoff at Bodega Bay.

We are in Bodega Bay this morning (couldn't get on the internet in our room last night) after a day of fog and drizzle most of yesterday in the drive from Gualala. We awakened to a drizzling rain and some pretty thick fog so the coastline was somewhat blurred most of yesterday but it gave the rocks and ocean and surrounding areas a rather erie feeling, kind of like you were on a movie set.

The drive from Gualala to Bodega Bay doesn't appear but a three wood shot on the map but it is anything but that. In miles it's short but in curvy road and steep cliffs, it is anything but a quick hop down the road. The scenery is something else and the terrain changes to some degree from the upper North Coast. From a place called Stewart's Point you climb some huge cliffs and the narrow road literally hugs the side of the mountain with dropoffs of 1,000 feet or so to the ocean below.

It is rather dramatic to say the least and in some places on the road, you don't even want to look down. There are spots where your stomach kind of drops to your toes because there are not guard rails....just your car, the road and sky. The fog was rolling and out of the coastline and it was quite a scene. There weren't any places to stop along the road because the mountain climbs higher than the road but you can surely see the ocean expanding into the beyond where Hawaii is probably the next stop.

We took a couple of little side trips along the way. We went inland along the Russian River to Guerneville where Mimi used to spend some summers with her folks at a little cabin and camping grounds along the river. The river is beautiful, wide and the foliage of cedar and pine trees and some redwoods cover the hillsides along with so much underbrush that you can't see the rocks and dirt. Everything is so deep dark green.

Guerneville used to be a sleepy little town where families from the Bay Area went for summer vacations. It is only 20 miles or so from the ocean. When you drive into the main street of the town it is literally a time warp back into the sixties. People are dressed in hippie-like clothes, there are a number of homeless and waywards wandering the streets and it's a little creepy and scraggy, if you know what I mean. We did have a late breakfast there at a longtime (80-some years) place called Pat's. The breakfast was really good and we even had to wait to get a table or booth. It is out of the fifties and sixties, though, and you definitely would not have liked the bathrooms. We don't think they had done a thing to them since they opened.

After getting to Bodega Bay we took another inland trip to Sebastapol and Occidental. The guide books talk about how quaint and neat Sebastapol is, but we certainly didn't find it anything but a small town with little junk shops so we never stopped, moving on to Occidental. Occidental is a much neater place, nestled in the heart of redwood forests and there is one little strip of stores and hotels that are pretty cool. The main hotel on the strip was built in 1879 so you can imagine how old the town is. There are orchards and vineyards scattered on the hills leading in and out of Occidental and we did stop to check out the wine in one of the general stores. They had an amazing selection of wines.

The Russian River produces nearly as much wine as the Napa Valley (not quite really but a lot) and their Pinot's are excellent. I've had some Navarro and Gualala Pinot's the last couple of nights at dinner. They were ones you can't find in KC because they don't produce enough to stretch across the country.

Bodega Bay sits right on the ocean with a huge inlet bay surrounding the little community. We drove out to the point of Bodega Bay yesterday afternoon and stood on the cliffs watching the ocean collide with the rocks far below the cliffs. The fog had lifted somewhat but was still hanging around. We could walk right up to the dropoffs and it was a scary feeling standing near the cliffs and seeing the ocean broiling below us.

We are about 50 miles from the Golden Gate bridge and will try to hit Point Reyes National Seashores before we cross into San Francisco and then head to the airport for Uncle Donn's flight this afternoon. We are thinking of staying near Tahoe tonight before heading across Nevada tomorrow and on to Idaho for the Tetons.

It is a gorgeous morning today with just a touch of fog blanketing the bay and blue skies above. It should be a good day to finish off Highway One and the Coastline. I think we are going to miss the ocean scenes as we head east this afternoon.

Happy Trails.