A Big Red Bridge

The journey has concluded.  Well, kind of.  We are in San Francisco for another day and then we head out to the airport on Saturday.  But we only fly as far as Detroit because we left my car there and have to pick it up before going home for real.  By early next week we should be safely back in PA.  I don't know if I can make it that far though! I'm so over driving.  I'm forever grateful that airplanes exist because I would not be able to drive the whole way back across the country! 

Our last day in Santa Monica, or first, depending how you look at it, was spent at Santa Monica Mountains NRA with a ranger friend I made when I interned at Shenandoah many summers ago.  Big shout out to Coby Bishop! We had a great time exploring the set of the Dr. Quinn TV series and going movie star sight seeing.  

After we left Santa Monica, we chose to drive the Pacific Coast Highway up north.  It is fondly called the PCH for short, here on the west coast.  Turns out it was like a mini 66.  We wound through small towns in the middle of nowhere, got lost a couple of times, and even completely lost cell service for about a day! We smartly chose to break up the drive into two days allowing ourselves a comfortable amount of time to make it from A to B.

The first day was kind of cloudy and dreary.  The fog settled low in the mountains and we couldn't see very much of the water or coastline.  However, the land we could see was absolutely gorgeous! It was more lushly green than anything we had seen in the country so far.  We wondered if we had made a wrong turn and found a lost bridge to Ireland or Scotland.  

Just after we entered the area called Big Sur we found a place to stay for the night.  It was a lodge bordering the cliffs right next to the ocean (which we still couldn't see because of the weather).  The lobby staff informed us that they were the "cheapest" place we were going to find from there to the end of the Big Sur region.  Well, that cheap rate had just risen the day before to their new spring prices and they were certainly not a bargain by any stretch of the word! At least we got a fireplace in our room and free cookies in the morning....

The next morning it was still raining when we set out.  Fortunately it cleared out for us by noon.  Just in time, too! We got to drive around the cliffs and through the woods on our way to San Francisco.  

When we rounded that first bend and I saw the Golden Gate Bridge soaring above the tree tops up ahead I was so excited! I woke up Danielle so she wouldn't miss the drive and we enjoyed the most thrilling ride across the coolest bridge in America!  It was an experience that I will never forget - one that made me unexpectedly filled with joy.

I spent the day today riding along with and meeting some of the rangers here at the park.  I had a really great time!!  Tomorrow I get to explore the park on my own on foot by trail.  One of my favorite ways to learn about a new place and bond with it.  Also one of my favorite ways to exercise. 

I should also mention that I had my first experience at a coin operated public laundry facility in Sausalito!  Danielle and I were critically low on clothing items and so we had no other choice but to do it at an over-priced but generally nice laundry place.  We also had dinner at a great Italian place locally and enjoyed listening to a string quartet (which was made up of 5 people) that was surprisingly talented!  I actually considered buying their CD.

California has treated us well.  I will miss the warm sunshine and the lively atmosphere that this place has.  I hope someday to visit again or to work in a park in this state.