From OR to CA

If anybody tells you that the Oregon coast is nice, they're lying. It's GORGEOUS!

It was 10:30 by the time I checked out of the hotel. Stopped by at the grocery store next door to get bottled water and Ziploc bags. Now, you're thinking what the Ziploc bags are for. :-) To get sand for my Zen garden, of course! So I was on a mission.

Traffic was very light, but I kept missing turn-offs to the beach. After a nice old town called Bandon (which I'm going to visit again, btw), I saw a turn-off for a "Beach Loop." Missed it, of course. But being a loop, there was another turn-off a few minutes later, and I caught that one -- barely.

There were a few cars in the parking lot, a couple of trailers, and four horses that later came down to the beach with riders on them. Kids were flying kites, and a couple of women were walking by the water.

There was short drop (about 15 feet) down to the beach. I found an "unofficial" trail (indicated by bent grass) and scrambled down. At the bottom, there was a strip of shale (I think) rock and a narrow stream before the sand started. I took off my shoes and waded across the stream. And it was a llllllooooooonnnnnngggggg walk across the sand to get to the surf. That was a very wide beach. And long. Oh, wait, let me rephrase that: the beach extended from the Washington border to the California border and beyond.


A child's shovel abandoned in the wet sand (Bandon, OR). more pics

So, I got my sand, and some pebbles to go with it. I walked on the wet sand and played on the fringes of the waves. The water is cold, but not that cold. And I realized that there I was at the start of the month, dipping my feet on this side of the Pacific Ocean. And the end of the month, I'll be dipping my feet on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Cool, huh? :-)

In Port Orford, I saw a road that went up a little hill and on the road was painted "Ocean View" with an arrow pointing up, so I followed it. Sure enough, there was cliff overlooking a beautiful bay. A couple of bikers parked their bikes and sat at the edge. And that's just the beginning. After leaving the town, there were even better views. Huge tall rocks sticking out of the water with the waves crashing against them. The water was very blue and you got the sense of the depth and greatness of the sea.

I stopped at a few more turnouts to take more pictures, had lunch at Brookings. And around 3:30 pm, I crossed the border to California. There were still great views of the ocean.

Then after a while, I got to the Redwood Highway and the trees are nice, but I just came from Seattle. :-) But the places I'd be sure to hit when I pass this way again:

• Avenue of the Giants
• Confusion Hill
• Tallest Tree House
• Drive-thru Tree Road

Once I got to California, it was easier driving. I was running late already, so I had to pass the great views. Around 5pm, I was still more than 290 miles from San Francisco. I got to Ukiah after 8pm and that was still more than 100 miles from SF. The vineyards in Hopland reminded me of Napa Valley and, sure enough, I saw a sign for a highway that goes to Calistoga. Mudbaths....

Anyway, by the time I got to San Rafael, it was already dark. When I got to my mom's house in Alameda, it was 10:30pm.

Total: 940 miles.