Week 3 - November 17th

Hello everybody!      

So we didn’t go to Napa Valley….instead, we stayed on the coast for one more night before heading into San Fran. We pulled into a campsite along the Gualala River, which is a couple hours north of San Fran.  We went for an evening paddle down the Gualala River which was a lot of fun and spent the rest of the evening chasing very bold raccoons away from our campsite.  Turns out Karly is pretty good at chasing away wild animals.

Alcatraz, San Francisco

Golden Gate Bridge

The next morning it was on to San Francisco. We got an early start and headed out on the road eventually making it to the city and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.  We figured camping and sleeping in the truck wouldn’t be the best way to see San Fran so we got a hotel for the next couple of nights.

Bridge in the Tea Garden

We parked the truck at the hotel and decided we would get some exercise and explore the city by foot.  Maybe you’ve heard but apparently there are some very big hills in San Francisco.  Over the next couple of days we checked out the Fisherman’s Wharf, the cable cars, Golden Gate Park(Japanese Tea Garden), Haight St.(the peace and love district), Union Square(the hub of downtown) and spent some time in Japantown. There was a lot of walking and bussing but it was definitely nice to come home to a free shower, tv and clean sheets.

On the morning of the 13^th we had, had enough of the busy city and needed some peace and quiet so we hit the road again. Our first stop wasn’t too far, a place called Half Moon Bay, known for the world-renowned surf spot, Mavericks. Karly was relieved to find out that the potential 80+foot waves were not a possibility for at least a month or two. Instead we hung out on an endless beach watching the waves and enjoying yet another epic sunset.

Half Moon Bay

Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz

Next stop was Santa Cruz, we decided that it was time to get back on budget (San Francisco wasn’t kind to our wallets), so we camped in the residential area and surfed at dawn. On our travel day out of Santa Cruz we stopped at the most amazing produce place ever. I could have left Karly there and she probably wouldn’t have known for at least week or two. I wouldn’t nomally get that excited about produce but 10 grapefruits for a dollar was pretty sweet. That night we decided not to spend money on a campground and someone at a kayak shop had mentioned that we could camp without hassle on a wicked side road named Nacimiento Rd.



Sunset at Nacimiento Rd.



Along Highway 1, Central California

 Last night we stayed just outside a neat little town called Cayucos which is the halfway point between San Francisco and LA. Today we are heading towards San Luis Obispo and possibly Santa Barbara.

Disney Land, here we come!

P.s. we have added some more pictures to the first blog that we posted if you are interested in checking those out.

Elephant Seals resting on the beach

Juvenile Elephant Seals play fighting