"Cheers to Another Great Day"
| Daily Summary | April 26 |
|---|---|
| Day | 15 |
| Start | Veterans Memorial Park in Monterey, CA |
| Finish | Veterans Memorial Park in Monterey, CA |
| Today’s Miles | 0 |
| Location | https://share.delorme.com/Judice |
Highlights
- Robin and Ross ran/cycled down to the waterfront near Fisherman’s Wharf and then south along the path past Cannery Row, the beaches, the harbor seals, and the beachfront properties. The sky was clear and the temperature near perfect. Robin ran 7 miles but made Ross climb back up the hill to fetch the Jeep after some reference to Driving Miss Daisy.
- We enjoyed the “17 Mile Drive” through Pebble Beach that toured us past several golf courses and unbelievable views of the rocky shores. We saw a clan of sea lions sunning on a sea stack. We cut over to Carmel-by-the-Sea for some coffee and window shopping. Carmel’s lovely neighborhoods feature quaint houses with special touches like unusual siding or roofing.
Lowlights
- Tonight’s returning winds may drive us back into “The Appendix”, that is until the right lower quadrant pain begins to flare up. Maybe tomorrow we’ll have to move our teardrop to McBurney’s Point.
Mo' Pie
| Daily Summary | April 25 |
|---|---|
| Day | 14 |
| Start | Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Santa Cruz, CA |
| Finish | Veterans Memorial Park in Monterrey, CA |
| Today’s Miles | 57.9 |
| Trip Time | 03:28:05 |
| Moving Average | 33.8 mph |
| Speed Max | 67.0 mph |
| Time Moving | 01:50:53 |
| Odometer | 1047.5 |
| Location | https://share.delorme.com/Judice |
Highlights
- Robin worked out again in the state park’s beautiful “Redwood Grove”. So peaceful. Robin felt Lucy’s presence during her run.
- Ross cooked a big mess of eggs and bacon. It makes mathematical sense to cook all 12 eggs: 3 eggs for Ross + 3 eggs for Robin + 1-2 egg for Mr. Spock + 1-2 egg lost to the bottom of the skillet/cosmos = 8-10 eggs. Since it makes no sense to put 2-4 eggs back in the fridge because our plastic egg container fits 12 eggs. Stay with us here, if we buy another carton of 12 at the store, then how do we store 16 eggs? So we MUST cook all 12 eggs. Since Ross likes eggs, he eats the excess eggs. He considers it his patriotic duty as an American.
- We stopped at Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville for pies made from their own farm’s berries. The bakers were busy making pies at this favorite stop for people passing through. We bought 5 slices of pie, including apricot, strawberry-rhubarb, raspberry-blackberry, Dutch apple, and raspberry-ollalieberry-dwoleberry-Dutch apple. We had the apricot pie tonight and it was delicious.
- We lunched at Phil’s Fish House in Moss Landing, CA. Wow! What a great find! The restaurant sits in the harbor and sells fresh fish from the docks. The restaurant side prepares fresh seafood in large portions. Robin’s cioppino was loaded with clams, mussels, dungeness crab, calamari, shrimp, and cod in a tomato fish broth. The portion was so large we took it with us and finished it for dinner. Ross had the Manhattan clam chowder and red snapper spiced with jalapeño, mushrooms, and lemon-butter. So good!
- We scored a terrific campsite on the hillside in Monterrey, CA’s Veterans Memorial Park. Central to just about everything, we like the location and the wooded campground. We’ll stay 3 nights.
Lowlights
- It seems colder at a given temperature, say 40 degrees, than it does in Bend. Could it be the moisture in the air?
- This evening was so windy we huddled for cocktails and dinner inside “The Appendix,” our privacy tent that hangs from one of our awnings and is good protection from the elements.
- While Ross was using his iPhone app “Beer Buddy” to scan various barcodes on beer bottles in Safeway, in order to find the most highly rated craft beer on the shelf, some guy walked up and grabbed the last six-pack of the most highly rated one off the shelf (just as Ross was putting his iPhone in his pocket). Damn! P.S. Ross walked away with a six-pack of Lagunitas Maximus IPA — his second choice.
Observations
- Mr. Spock seems to be in the groove of the trip. He has breakfast and old-man walks at sunrise. Soon after, he wanders back to the Jeep and stares at the door until we lift him into his bed in the back of the Jeep. At 3:30 PM he gets up for dinner followed by more sloooooow walking and a couple of throws of the ball, then hangs out with us until he wanders back to the Jeep for bedtime. Sweet little old man.
Smooth Moves, Ex-Lax
| Daily Summary | April 23 |
|---|---|
| Day | 12 |
| Start | The Costanoa Campground in Pescadero, CA |
| Finish | Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Santa Cruz, CA |
| Today’s Miles | 35.2 |
| Trip Time | 02:30:24 |
| Moving Average | 32.3 mph |
| Speed Max | 65.0 mph |
| Time Moving | 01:14:03 |
| Odometer | 989.5 |
| Location | https://share.delorme.com/Judice |
Highlights
- We woke up to a gorgeous morning of sunshine and cool ocean breezes. Robin ran amidst the smell of eucalyptus trees while I packed up the teardrop.
- Driving along Highway 1 we came across The Pie Ranch and stopped to offer ourselves as ranch hands in hopes that we could wrangle and lasso some pies. We even volunteered to help drive the pie herd up to Montana. Sadly, we were turned away because we don’t know how to lasso pies. Apparently, they are smaller than cows. So with three pies in hand (strawberry, lemon buttermilk, and honey custard) we headed south.
- Found space on a busy Saturday at a state park in Santa Cruz. Prediction: in 10 years, you will need to make reservations months in advance for these coastal campgrounds.
- That said, we just discovered that Yosemite campgrounds are all booked up for for the season. For that and several other 4-footed reasons, we’ve decided to bypass Yosemite on this trip and spend more time moseying up the eastern side of the Sierras.
- We enjoyed a picnic on the Santa Cruz waterfront watching people, dogs, surfers, and surfing dogs.
Lowlights
- None
Observations
- What we are learning about each other after 22 years of marriage:
- Robin’s spirit soars with smells, sounds, and color, and rhythmic movement.
- Ross feels most alive with intense physical activity rewarded by a stunning vista. Or a craft beer.
Running with the Giants
| Daily Summary | April 24 |
|---|---|
| Day | 13 |
| Start | Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Santa Cruz, CA |
| Finish | Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Santa Cruz, CA |
| Today’s Miles | 0 |
| Location | https://share.delorme.com/Judice |
Highlights
- We walked and ran in the cathedral of our lady of redwoods here at the state park, and along beautiful trails through groves and down along the San Lorenzo River.
- We drove south on Highway 1 to check out several potential campground stops. We drove 30 miles to Monterey and picked the Veterans County Park for tomorrow’s destination. We loved the little harbor town of Moss Landing - so much character.
- Ross replaced his recently lost adjustable 8’ tarp poles with a quick stop at REI in Marina, CA. Now we can stand upright under our tarp without feeling like Quasimodo.
Lowlights
- Traffic. Wow. We’ve lived in Bend so long, we’ve forgotten what a traffic jam is.
Observations
- A quick check of local headlines revealed that the traffic jam heading north on Hwy 1 was probably runners returning from today’s Big Sur Marathon.
- Ross needs lots of snacks to sustain him.
Chore Adventures
| Daily Summary | April 22 |
|---|---|
| Day | 11 |
| Start | The Costanoa Campground in Pescadero, CA |
| Finish | The Costanoa Campground in Pescadero, CA |
| Today’s Miles | 0 |
| Location | https://share.delorme.com/Judice |
Highlights
- After 5 loads of laundry, including Mr. Spock’s bed, everything is clean. Robin even got Ross to take a shower by offering inducements that at first sounded like sexual favors but was later revealed to be chores, including folding clothes and making up the bed.
- And after several hours of sideways rain, the sun finally came out.
Lowlights
- It rained so hard that Noah made a brief appearance before sheepishly declaring, “False alarm.”
- Wasted calories on a really lousy burger, but the wine was tasty.
Observations
- Weather Underground is the best weather app. As usual, it accurately predicted the lulls in the rain (for exercising purposes) and when the sun would come back out (within 10 minutes of predicted time). This is Robin The Weather Girl’s go-to app. They have a great blog too.
- Robin wants to experience a wee earthquake and to see a wee bear (from a distance).
Purple Rain
| Daily Summary | April 21 |
|---|---|
| Day | 10 |
| Start | Salt Point State Park - Woodside |
| Finish | The Costanoa Campground in Pescadero, CA |
| Today’s Miles | 147.7 |
| Trip Time | 08:15:44 |
| Moving Average | 31.5 mph |
| Speed Max | 65.0 mph |
| Time Moving | 04:54:23 |
| Odometer | 954.3 |
| Location | https://share.delorme.com/Judice |
Highlights
- While Robin ran around the campground, Ross hiked a couple miles down to the ocean. The campground was pretty empty, and this gave our morning exercise a side order of solitude.
- Driving over San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is always a thrill.
- The lazy momma seals and their pups lying along the Russian River right at the junction of the Pacific Ocean teaches that laziness may just very well be a virtue.
- We ate clam chowder, crab cakes, and fish tacos at Parkside Cafe in Stinson Beach. The Pacific coast makes for some hankering for seafood.
Lowlights
- With the forecast predicting a day of pouring rain, we looked for a new campground where we could hunker down, take needed showers, and wash some clothes. And we wanted it to be awesome and beautiful and cheap. And we start to feel a little desperate late in the day as the sky gets cloudy and darkens. It’s really the only thing left we have to fight about these days. And did we mention that the Jeep has started to smell like a dank funk due to the aforementioned stinky laundry (dank) and Mr. Spock (funk).
- Sad to hear about the death of Prince. Robin fondly remembers seeing him live in Richmond, Virginia back in 1982. His grand entrance was descending from the ceiling on a round, purple-silk covered bed. In keeping with Ross’ tradition of paying tribute to departed musicians, we streamed some Prince at bedtime to remember him.
Sounds and Color
| Daily Summary | April 20 |
|---|---|
| Day | 09 |
| Start | McKerricher State Park |
| Finish | Salt Point State Park - Woodside |
| Today’s Miles | 88.9 |
| Trip Time | 04:04:25 |
| Moving Average | 30.4 mph |
| Speed Max | 57.1 mph |
| Time Moving | 03:01:34 |
| Odometer | 806.6 |
| Location | https://share.delorme.com/Judice |
Highlights
- Brilliant colors along the beautiful coast, including the azure water and loads of wild flowers
- We lunched at the Port Arena Lighthouse overlooking the “pancake rocks” and sea stacks, and two large ravens looking for a hand up (not a handout). In other words, they wanted or sandwiches.
- Mendocino is a delightful little town with cute shops and houses. We drove a grid pattern through town so we could see the gardens and architecture.
- Landed in a sweet camping spot: Salt Point State Park. Private wooded spot, with lots of birds for T'Chat to stalk (on-leash, of course) and good smells for Mr. Spock. Coincidentally, after picking up the teardrop in Petaluma, CA three years ago, this campground was our first stop.
Lowlights
- Left Mr. Spock’s and T'Chat’s leashes at our lunch spot. Distracted by ravens. Luckily, we have backup leashes.
Observations
- If you wanted to, you could eat your way across America going from one Pancake Breakfast fundraiser to another. Every small town has one.
- Campgrounds are great places for runners with GI issues. There are bathrooms every 400 meters.