Monday, November 17, 2008

San Fransisco





We left Eureka, CA, on a gray day, much like most of our days in the Northwest. We drove through redwood forest along rocky coast toward wine country. The scenery was much like Spanish countryside with its green rolling hills, Eucalyptus trees and vineyards. Our first stop for meeting with kayak outfitters was in Point Reyes, a beautiful piece of countryside surrounded by forest and sloughs, which are like estuaries. The weather started to turn to our favor boasting temperatures in the high 60’s-- a welcome change and what we had been looking forward to. We drove further south to Oakland where we would spend the next week, parked on a quiet, hilly cul-de-sac (gracias, Armando!). Our bus attracted a lot of attention from the locals and we gave several tours of our little home and explained the journey we had started almost two months ago. We spent the next several days exploring the surroundings areas, working around the bus, and Amanda visited several schools in the area that specialize in Somatic Psychology. We made some new friends which we hope to keep in touch with. Armando’s neighbor Stephanie invited us out Friday night and we biked several miles to a late night art walk. Much to our surprise we found ourselves fading at about 9 o’clock; we had forgotten about the time change. At the moment time had slipped to the wayside, freeing us from much of what confines us to our daily routine. We work when we can and play just as often. Amanda had a mini Rice University reunion with Jeff, Rene and Leif in San Francisco. I spent one Saturday with a friend from a semester in Spain. It was great to see her again, a much overdue visit. The night before our departure south I went on a beautiful full moon kayak in the bay with folks from California Canoe and Kayak, a premier outfitter and guide service. Needless to say I brought the paddle along which got a good review. That same evening a dear friend from high school called to have dinner, a pleasant surprise since both of us were leaving for extended trips in the morning.

The following day we awoke early and continued our journey south to LA, where we plan to have our winter stay and replenish our bank accounts. The journey has brought us through some of the most breathtaking landscapes we have seen on the West coast. Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing was one of these places. We spent the night on the water, falling asleep to the barking of seals and the ocean surf. In the morning we took our kayaks off the bus for a morning paddle. Let me describe the procedure of removing a 16 foot boat from atop a 10 foot high roof rack. This involves two people, one on the roof and the other on the ground. The person on the ground catches the boat as it slides delicately off the back, becoming almost vertical. The one on the roof then lowers the 50 pound boat over the edge with a rope. While this may seem a simple task there are certain risks such as crushing a $3,000 boat, slipping off the edge of the slanted roof or dropping the boat on someone’s head. The paddle was full of sea life such as sea otters, seals, loons, pelicans and the standard seagull. The seals follow the boats and playfully dance in the water beside you, sometimes for miles. The sea otters bob their head out of the water like the whack-a-mole game at Chuck E. Cheese. Watching them play chase and wrestle in the water, as well as watching one momma sea otter cross the river on her back with her furry baby asleep on her belly, was one of Amanda’s favorite things.

The journey to Monterey was my biggy on the notorious Route 1, but south for the next sixty miles we would be in for a surprise. The road has many treacherous curves and with steep cliffs on either side. Signs warn of landslides and fires every few hundred yards. The guard rail would be nothing more than a speed bump if we lost control. White knuckled I drove 15 miles an hour for the next sixty miles. That didn't stop from us enjoying the beauty of the landscapes and the breath taking contours of the shoreline. I puttered along at my slow pace, yet even if I had wanted to drive faster it would have been futile because the road was so winding that our bus would have had a hard time staying on the road. I could just imagine how thrilled the traffic behind us must have been, yet none of them beeped or gave us the finger. Every so often I would stop to look at the GPS. "I can't believe we have only been seventy miles, at least we only have thirty to go." Well after dark we managed to pull over and find safe parking. Only eighty five miles from where we had started that morning.

2 comments:

Wendy said...

Damn! I love sea otters....I'm so jealous. Some day I'm going to give Auggie a clam and see if he looks as cute....

Eric said...

Hey Hawwwwssss.....
Don't camp out in South Central LA too many homies...Maybe you can find a nice vacancy up in Beverly Hills lots of empty mansions....Are you really taking the blunderbuss TO Hawaii..?...I don't think there is a road to there chief......;)