On the way to the coast I parked at a store for supplies and as I was getting ready to leave, someone knocked on my door. It was a young Australian couple with a rental RV who had just been to Yosemite National Park. They had some tire chains to give me if I wanted them.
Evidently everyone visiting Yosemite at this time of year is required to buy chains because of the snow on the roads. A store at the entrance was making good business selling them. The Aussies had no use for them back home and refused any offer of payment.What a gift! They are expensive and I have often thought of getting some in case I have to drive over an icy mountain pass. When you least expect it something wonderful like this happens!
Soon afterwards, I arrived at Ventura, on the west coast of California and had my first glimpse of the expansive ocean. What a treat that was after such a long time in the desert!
A few miles north of town, I found Faria campground. My site was right against some rocks separating me from the pounding surf serenading me to sleep.
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| Farmland on the way to Jalama beach |
I left the next day continuing north
along the coast. The green fields and trees were a delight to see. The road led inland to Lompoc then I took a side road heading back to the coast to Jamala Beach that someone had told me about. It was a slow 14 mi drive over a narrow, windy road and hilly terrain.
Arriving at Jamala Beach was like discovering a hidden gem.
I was a week day and I was able to find a campsite. This beach is very popular and some people reserve a site and pay for it for 1-2 days before the weekend to ensure getting a site.
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| My campsite, central and right by the beach |
The weather was glorious and I went for walks along the beach twice a day.
The surf was high and the water too cold and dangerous for swimming (strong undertow and rip tides) but it felt good to walk barefoot in the warm sand.
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| Pacific coastline |
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| Surfers getting ready for kite surfing |
Something I had never seen before were people kite surfing. Dozens arrived for the weekend and it was fun watching them wait for the correct wind and wave conditions. I asked one of them about this sport and he said it was easier than regular surfing because you hang on to the kite and skim across the top of the waves on boards similar to surf boards. They can stay out for hours, riding the waves, going at high speeds back and forth along the shore. It looked very exciting!
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| A sign at the campground |
When I saw the above sign, I remembered that this whole coast is prone to earthquakes. Hopefully there will not be any during my journey!
I stayed a few days and then took a small side trip into Lompoc to take care of some business. My medical travel insurance was expiring soon and it was a long and frustrating process to get it renewed for another month. Given that our Canadian health care covers only a very small part of the services in the US, it's imporant to get the extra insurance .
When traveling like this I am often out of cell phone or internet service. Luckily I found a Staples store and got my forms printed and faxed.
Just east of Lompoc is the popular tourist town of Solving. It is a replica of a Danish town that someone told me was worth a visit. The bakery had a long line-up and the town was busy with tourists. It was fun walking down the main Street.
Later that afternoon, I drove to Pismo beach, a favourite place I camped at last year. The state park is located right along an expansive beach.
A big disappointment for me was that most of the monarch butterflies who usually spend the winters there had already left for their journey north. Spring is early this year with the wildflowers in bloom.
Last year I saw this group of monarchs nesting in the eucalyptus trees in that park. They are from west of the rockies. Another group from east of the rockies fly down to Mexico for the winter.
Despite my disappointment, I did enjoy some walks along the beach and the weather was sunny and warm.
The sunsets at Pismo Beach were always a treat.
The next day, I continued a short distance north to Montana de Oro, another favourite state park I had stayed at last year. I had told my friend Peter about it and he met me there. It is a great place for hiking and we enjoyed exploring and waching the surf splash up against the cliffs. The next morning we hiked to the top of Valencia peak, 1347ft altitude. The day started out sunny but we then watched a fog bank roll in and over us. Luckily we were already quite high up and soon saw the sun again .The views were fantastic. Those orange flowers are California poppies.
I left there to drive to the Franklin hot springs, northeast near Paso Robles.
It was a good place to relax for a while. There was a camping area right next to the hot springs and people came from all over for the healing properties of that water. An added feature was a very large pool and I finally got some swimming done.
After leaving there, I returned to highway #1 along the coast and stopped to visit Hearst castle. It was built after a dream of William Rudolph Hearst who said he wanted to build "something a little more comfortable than a tent"!
He hired architect Julia Morgan to design it. It took from 1919 to 1942 to complete it and is impressive to see. The main building , Casa Grande, is 60,645 sq ft and has 136 rooms. The buildings and grounds contain a massive number of artworks and antiques. During his time there, he had many famous guests.
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| Casa Grande |
A short drive later on, I stopped to see some elephant seals that were in a protected area of the beach. The males were huge and can weigh up to 5000lbs. It was fun seeing some of the young pups playing.
From there, the coastal road became more windy and hilly. There were sharp curves and with sheer drops on one side down to the ocean and mountains on the other, it made driving a challenge. There was a surprising amount of traffic.
The slow driving gave me more time to enjoy the scenery.
It was still daylight when I arrived at Kirk Creek campground and found my friend Peter parked there. The camp host was not available and it was self serve. I was happy to find a site that had no indication of reservation on it. After parking, I went on a trail down to the beach which took a while as the campground is high up on a bluff .
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| Trail to beach |
I loved watching the surf break against the rocks.
I was making dinner when there was a knock on my door. A couple told me they had reservations for that site and showed me the papers. The staff had neglected to mark the site as reserved and I had to leave. It was getting dark so I hurried off without a chance to say good-bye to Peter. It was the first time I have had to leave a site and it felt rather unsettling. The road was too treacherous to drive at night so I decided to park in a turn out on the side of the road, hoping no one would ask me to leave. I felt uncomfortable parked there with no one around and with no cell phone signal. There was nothing I could do about that but I did keep my bear spray handy!
The night went by without incident and I woke up to fog. This lifted a bit once I got going but it still meant driving very slowly. The fog patches added a mystical atmosphere.
An hour or so later, the road became straighter and faster. Soon I was driving through residential areas and I reached the outskirts of San Francisco. Near the airport, I found a mall and decided to park there for the night. I noticed a couple of trucks parked there and felt it was probably all right.
The night went by quietly and the next morning I decided I had better move to a different area of the mall. A security man showed up just after I arrived and asked if I was shopping there. I told him I wanted to take the public transit into the city and asked if I could park there that night. He told me there was no overnight parking but offered to take me to an area at the back of the mall where no one would likely bother me. I felt like royalty being escorted by a security vehicle with flashing lights!
He was very kind and said he would tell his supervisor I would be there just one night. He then showed me how to get to the transit station and wished me a good day. It's always such a pleasure to be treated with kindness!
I found the BART transit station. There are several subway and above ground trains that travel to the city regularly and I didn't have to wait long. 30 min later I arrived at Embarcadero St which runs all along the waterfront. I happened to get there for the farmers market and it was interesting walking around inside and out. The atmosphere was festive and there were a lot of tourists (most were inside due to the rain)
It was a long walk around the bay and I finally reached the well known Boudin bakery where the public could watch sour dough bread being made.
Since it was lunch time, I decided to have some of their clam chowder, served in a bread bowl. It was very tasty and gave me the energy to keep going. As I was sitting there watching many people come and go, I suddenly felt homesick for my family and friends. It's interesting feeling lonely while surrounded by people while I didn't feel like that in the desert where there were times no one was nearby.
After that, I arrived at Fishermen's wharf, a popular tourist attraction with numerous restaurants and stores.
It was a rainy day but that didn't deter the many tourists. I was happy I had brought my umbrella.
Getting tired of wandering about, I turned back the way I came. I noticed the San Francsco Bay Aquarium and decided I would visit.
There were many well done displays of all sorts of fish, including sharks , and various sea creatures. I was fascinated watch an octopus, which is evidently very intelligent. My favourite were the jellyfish. I had seen some in Nova Scotia while swimming but have usually kept my distance. I didn't realize there were different types of jellyfish and some are quite beautiful.
It felt good to return to my RV after such a full day. That night the winds increased and there was heavy rain. My RV was rocking in the wind but heavy enough to be stable. I was grateful to be in a warm dry place.
In the morning, I was happy to see no ticket or note on my window. It took some time to drive out of the city because of heavy traffic and many stoplights. I was excited to finally get to the Golden Gate bridge and drive over it. There was a look off place to park on the other side and I was able to take a photo of at least part of the bridge.
The road from there was a large expressway leading north and I stopped at a campground near Santa Rosa, on hway 101 inland from the coast and where I am now. They honor Passport America which means I got in for half price. It feels good to be hooked up as my solar panels were not getting enough sunlight to fully charge my batteries. I could also do my laundry and have a shower.
Now to check my map and see where I want to go tomorrow. My timing is good and I don't think I will have any difficulty getting back to Canada by the end of March.
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| The Golden Gate bridge |
Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel."
--- Socrates
Did you know that the sun orbits the center of the galaxy roughly once every 200 million years and that the very center of the milky way is home to a black hole with the mass of 3 million Suns!
-- "Astronomy" by Ian Ridpath
"And in the end it's not the years in your life that count.
It's the life in your years."
---Abraham Lincoln
Take time to play!
Maria
whyknotrvmaria@gmail.com
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