Pacific Coast

This was the longest drive of the trip and perhaps the most beautiful. We left Santa Cruz via the bio-diesel pump for the second tank then picked up Orien in San Francisco. We went as far as Bodega Bay that evening where we parked in front of her friend’s family cabin. (Thanks Davis!) The next day we drove up Highway One until it leaves the coast and becomes Highway 101 through the redwood country inland. We even got rain for the first time since Louisiana! We dropped off my dear Orien with her high school friend Jenny and husband, Steve, then went on to Arcata ourselves. It was wonderful to be able to share meals and time with Orien. (I miss that part of my life when I was a parent and she was my child now that she is a busy adult.) The coast was emerald and blue gorgeous. The California coast has it all over the Atlantic because the land has been protected against development and retains its rugged wildness. Normally we would have taken days to have come this far but now we are all on a timeline.