Trip Northwest
After Being thoroughly charmed by Merced. It
was hard to be impressed by Lodi and it neighbors. We did stay in Vacaville
for a night.
Vacaville is a cross between a tract suburb and a small town. It has a viable
old section with a clean and busy main street. There was even a large free
concert the night we were there (part of a Jazz festival). They also had a
Renaissance fair going at the same time. Vacaville would be a fine place to
live if you could find a job nearby, but it is way too far from San Fran for
my commuting preference.
We did San Francisco in 4 hours, The wharf, a Cable car and then China Town.
Joan had her first experience of Dim Sum at a restaurant where we were the
only non-Chinese. Not that we didn't want to stay longer, but it was approaching
100 degrees. The other ferry passengers agreed as we saw the same morning
faces on the return boat.
Joan's Favorites, about 5% of Fisherman's Wharf population
After San Francisco, we were extraordinarily lucky to enjoy the hospitality
of Nancy and Terry Brookshire in Mill Valley, a lovely town near the Sausalito
Ferry.
Terry and Nancy are into donkeys big time.
Classy Thank You Gift?
From Terry and Nancy's we ran up the 5 freeway to Ukiah. It was wild to see
the mighty Interstate 5, which is at least 10 lanes through much of San Diego
and Los Angeles, reduced to a Mountain 2 lane outside of Ukiah.
In Ukiah, our campsite was ripped off. It nearly ruined the day, but Walmart
came to the rescue and we continued the trip without our Trader Joes goodies.
Luckily, wine was cheap throughout North Cali and Oregon.
From Ukiah we cut across to Mendocino, the Murder
She Wrote town. Needless to say, I didn't invite anyone over for dinner.
Mendocino started our one day Highway 1 blast up to Eureka. The road is twisty
and windy, but the scenery and occasional tireless bicyclist break the monotony.
Retirement, Lumber and shop-keeping seem to be the biggest employers along
this stretch, but the scenery is beautiful. People say that fog and rain are
the norm, but we didn't see a single cloud.
The California Coast
Take me to Oregon!
I wanna
go home!
