West California

From Yosemite we headed westward still (haven't run out of country yet) and came to San Francisco on a Sunday afternoon. Ugh. It was dirty and noisy and congested and filled with the rudest drivers we've encountered yet. We drove across the Golden Gate Bridge but the parking lots on both sides were full so we couldn't even stop to take a picture. Instead we continued northward along the Pacific Coast on Route 1, otherwise known as Shoreline Highway. 

Shoreline Highway is hundreds of miles of narrow, winding roads with top speeds somewhere around 32 mph. The road would alternately run out to the edge of the land, on high cliffs overlooking the Pacific, and dip into the forest with towering trees and full canopies of leaves over the roadway. It was slow going and took us two days to drive a bit more than 200 miles, but it was more like two days on a roller-coaster than a highway, so it was fun (sort of).

This beach had shark warnings posted

California Coast. More info HERE

The entire northern coastline of California is one State Park after another. We stayed at a tiny village called Gualala in a hotel that had an area overlooking the beach. We were high up on a craggy bluff and couldn’t figure out how to get down to the beach, so we walked the ‘Bluff Walk’ and contented ourselves with wonderful views. Dinner was wonderful, the stars were brilliant, and the sound of the ocean crashing in beneath us was a fitting lullaby.

 

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