Monterey and Carmel

 I have fallen more deeply in love with my Ipad today. A few days ago, I downloaded a GPS app, for, I think, $1.99. Today it talked me through all the turns from Calistoga to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (more on that in a bit). Afterwards I sat in my car and used my cellular internet connection to go to hotels.com and find a nice little B&B in Carmel, for less than $60. Trusty Ipad guided me on, and I'm now there, sipping the remainders of yesterday's wine.

Also, the ipad battery has lasted all day, and still says it's got 24% left. And the car charger that I already had for my ipOd seems to work fine for it, too.

The aquarium lived up to expectations. Most enjoyable to me were the displays of sea jellies, including an opportunity to see baby ones through a microscope; and a large and amazing display of sea horses... from babies to adults to sea dragons (yes, there is such a thing) which surely do not look like they belong in this world at all. I tried to find someone who could tell me what the jelly marbles in Oregon might have been, but no luck. 

I was hoping to drive down to Ventura tomorrow and catch a boat out for a day in Channel Islands National Park on Thursday. However, the only boat on Thursday goes to Anacapa Island, and as near as I can tell, once you get there, there's a 1.5 mile nature trail, and that's it. Would rather go to Santa ...,  but no boat until Friday, and I need to be in  or near Yuma on Friday night, another fairly long drive, so I guess it will have to wait until another time.

I just got interested in the Channel Islands... truth be told, just learned of their existence... after reading T. C. Boyles' "When the Killing's Done" a few weeks ago. Good book.

So now I'm dithering about what to do for the next 3 days. May stick around here tomorrow and go biking. Seems like there are a lot of nice trails around here.

Redwoods to Vineyards, Boots to Sandals

 Enjoying breakfast in bed at a fancy hotel. My only choice, as I am in the upscale tourist town of Calistoga. Yes, its where Calistoga spring water is from, and theres a note in my room saying I can fill my carafe from the spring downstairs in the lobby.

What a drive yesterday! A ways south of Eureka, I turned off on Highway 1, certainly the windingest, hilliest road I have every been on. Marvelous, as long as you're not in a hurry. The speed limit might be 55, but I don't think I ever got to that on this road... more like 35 most of the way. Even with hundreds of hairpin curves, blind corners, no shoulder, un-guardrailed drop-offs, I occasionally saw signs proclaiming it as a bike route. I am a pretty brave biker, but really, you'd have to be suicidal! True, there wasn't a lot of traffic, but there's got to be a lot more in the summer, and really, I think they'd just have to close it to cars (Ooooh, wouldn't that be wonderful!) for me to ride it.

Eventually I made it to Fort Bragg, where I found a nice little natural-foods place for lunch. True to the California stereotype, seems like every little town has one of these.  Here, I traded my hiking boots for sandals, and my sweater for a t-shirt! Yippee!

Stopping for a latte on the way out of town, I asked the barista if the road going south was as curvy as the one coming in. She said "There's no way out of Fort Bragg without at hour of winding roads"... you would've had to hear her tone of voice....sounded like she'd been there a bit too long....

But she was right. I decided to head inland toward the wine country, but the road was much the same. Gradually changing from redwood forest to hilly chapparal, and then vineyards, vineyards, vineyards, vineyards, and vineyards. Countless tasting rooms, one of which I finally stopped at mainly to use the restroom, but I did buy a bottle of wine from them. This was in and area that I think is called the Anderson valley, which eventually lead to the Napa valley, which as I'm sure you can imagine is even more vineyard-filled.

Not long after I left Fort Bragg I realized I'd forgotten to get gas, so pulled into a station in a tiny tiny town. Old, old pumps, the kind with mechanical odometer-type numbers. $4.55 a gallon! Yipes! I just bought enough to get me back to civilization... 

Calistoga: Art galleries (mediocre, tourist-trade), restaurants ($$$), B&B's ($$$), restaurants ($$$), wine shops. I thought I'd stumbled upon a reasonably priced restaurant until I asked if anything came with that $11 order of crab cakes, and was told that it's a tapas bar and the chef recommended at least two orders for a dinner. Don't get me wrong, this is a pretty town and worth a visit, just be forewarned that it is pricey. And this is the off-season.

A couple of nice ocean views near Mendocino. Lots of cool seastacks.

 

 

California!

Euchie enjoying the ocean view

 This morning's latte was in Gold Bar, OR. I didn't make it very far yesterday because I got enchanted by the Cape Perpetua area and thus spent several hours hiking there. In the sunshine. In shirtsleeves: eat your heart out! Down to a basin called Devil's Churn, and the Horn Spout, neither of which were very impressive because it was low tide, but still of course very beautiful. Then a steep hike up to the top of the cape, billed as the best view on the Oregon Coast. I can't argue.

Ocean view lodgings again last night, where I slept like a baby. So far I am sleeping much better on this trip than I do at home... perhaps because there's not a cat meowing for me to get up at 4am?

My motto for this (and all other) trips!

Now Euchie and I are in California!  Stopped to hike in the Redwoods outside of Crescent City for a while, then drove on to Eureka, where I'm spending the night. My first time seeing redwoods... it's easy to get jaded. After you see a few of them, they don't look that big anymore. I had to keep reminding myself that most of them are at least 15' in diameter. And 200-300' tall. 

Staying in Eureka tonight. Weather has turned to rain, so I think I will push southward and inland tomorrow...

marvelous sand patterns at Yachats

Note Euchie under the sign!

Trying to get a picture of how big the redwoods are. Very difficult~!

Many of these jello-marbles on the beach at Yachats. Some sort of beach creature Wonder what they are?

 

 

 

Saturday, January 28, 2012

The Unfettered Ocean

 it's been at least 6 years since i've seen the real, unfettered ocean. It is truly awe inspiring! 

I stayed last night just outside of Yachats, Oregon, right on the ocean, with that muffled thunder in my ears all night. It's beautiful and fun to visit, but I would have a hard time living with that noise all the time. Can't they turn it off for a few hours a day?

The drive down here yesterday was foggy until midafternoon. When the fog finally lifted I got off the freeway and headed southwest, following a delightful road (hwy 34, I think) along the Alsea river, twisting and turning and  watching it gradually turn from creek to real river to tidal lagoon.

A long walk on the beach just before sunset was a relaxing end of the day.... well, that and playing an hour's worth of "Where's my water?", my latest game addiction, on the ipad. 

Pictures soon, I promise.

 

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Getting ready to travel, again

Just got back a few days ago from my tri-annual trip to Michigan. Got into Seatac last wednesday about 10pm, as 7-10" of snow were just finishing dumping on Seattle. Actually just as that dump was changing to freezing rain. I elected to get a room near the airport so as not to have to drive the 60 miles home. Nex morning I awoke to find my car encased in,quite literally,a half inch of ice... I still have a piece of it in my freezer as proof. I coul see my ice scraper in the car, but couldn't even get to it before borrowing someone else's to chip the ice off my door lock . After a half hour or so of hacking, I made it home with no problem, to find 7 beautiful inches of snow. All gone after a couple of days, of course.

 

Now, I have stuff strewn all over my living room in preparation for my next trip. On Friday I will being driving towards southern California. I have a liesurely wandering week to get almost to Mexico, to hike and canoe with the Sierra club for a week. Immediately following that, I will drive to Las Vegas to meet up with WomanTours, for a week of bicyling through Death Valley.

 

Yesterday I bought an Ipad! I've been very dissatisfied with the netbook I bought a couple of years ago, and also I've been looking for a way to have internet access when I'm at my dad's house. Thinking about getting an Iphone, but rate plans are at least $60 per month. Currently I use my cell phone so little that even at 20 cents per minute, I pay only $20 every three months. But with the ipad, I will pay $20 per month for cell-phone-type internet access, but ONLY DURING THE MONTHS I NEED IT! And will have wifi access anytime that's available, too. SOunds perfect to me. I suspect I'll still have to go sit out on a stump in the woods to get any cell phone service at my dad's house... but it's a start! Plus, the Ipad is just so COOL! Especially with the bright orange folder with bluetooth keyboard that I got to go with it.

 

 

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