After a wonderful night’s sleep, I packed up the bus, ran across the street and grabbed some breakfast at the General Store and then we left the parking lot of the Valley Ford Hotel wondering what today would have in store for us.
And Wonder we did! Wonderful is more like it. What was in store was a ride up the coastline through Sonoma County, CA. I was in love. The beaches were simply spectacular as were the views from high above on the cliffs as the winding road weaved its way up the coast. I simply had to stop frequently just to take another picture. I could truly see myself here.
I hope the people who do live here continue to appreciate the awesome beauty that is before them.
We made our first gas stop in Gualala, CA and I parked right next to an older Bus that was getting worked on at the gas station. She was a rusty ole girl, but loved just the same. I learned the area was famous for diving and shark watching as well as an occasional whale spotting. I am a certified SCUBA Diver, but have no desire to ever see a shark while underwater…or above for that matter, though I have plenty of times while swimming.
Our next stop was a bit further up the road at Point Arena Lighthouse. I simply saw a sign for it and said…Lexie, let’s go see the lighthouse . The drive out was beautiful as we headed out onto a spit (think tiny peninsula) and again we stopped for a number of photo ops. We were able to drive right up to the lighthouse as the gate was open and it was not busy. If you ever want to, you can rent a house right next to the lighthouse and spend a weekend right there. Sounds kind of fun to me.
We got back on the road and continued our trek north when we arrived at Fort Bragg. Fort Bragg was on my list of places to stop, but for a propane heater rather than sightseeing. While the night before had played out to our advantage, I did not want to take a chance again so the heater was my number one priority for this day. We scored one just as the nice folks back in Gualala told us we would and when I went to head out of town I passed a VW Vanagon Syncro Westy with its top popped and sitting in a waterfront park.
I hooked a u-turn and headed back to say Hi and see where they were camping as I was getting ready to find a spot for the night. There I met a nice gentlemen, his wife and daughter, from Nevada of course. They were not camping, but rather staying in a hotel down the road. We chatted for a bit and then they told me about MacKerricher State Park and a giant whale skeleton. They also said there was camping there. so away we went.
The park was just up the road and sunset was approaching. Sunset had been fogged in every night since I have arrived in CA, but not tonight. In fact, tonight would turn out to be very special. I headed way back to the dunes and then Lexie and I took a walk along the nature trail out to the cliffs. There was an older couple out there on a bench and I introduced Lexie and I to them. Turns out they too were from back East…Long Island to be exact, but had moved to California in the 60’s. I asked them about this stuff that seemed to be sticking up from the rocks in the water and they told me its probably seaweed, but not like any seaweed i had seen before. Turns out it is Postelsia Click Here for more info on it.
I asked if they had ever seen seals or sea otters in the area and they laughed and said, sure…right there! Can’t be, can it? Sure enough, there in the surf, playing amongst the sharp rocks were two sea otters flapping their tails and playing in the surf (probably fishing more than playing) Yes indeed, today was quite special! Sonoma Beaches, Sea Otters and soon…my first West Coast Sun Set.
( a Sea Otter in the lower left of the photo)
After watching the otters play Lexie and I climbed down some rocks to get a good spot to watch the sun set on the Pacific. Afterwards, we headed back to the bus and I decided I’d head up the road a bit more to see if I could find a campground to park in for WiFi…after all, I am still working 😉
We eventually stumble across a park well after dark on Westport Beach! Yep, I found a park on the beach, with WiFi and had electric 😀 . We plugged in, I made dinner for us and then called it a night.
Photo Link https://goo.gl/photos/7j5zcw6DAiUZ6iy2A
