Day 3 – aka the day of stunning beaches and wonderful Marin County food
We slept last night at my parents’ house in San Jose, then set off this morning on a zigzagging northward route through San Mateo County, San Francisco, and Marin County. We took 280 to 84 to 35 to 92, before winding back up on the 1 — in other words, all day we alternated through beautiful meditative forests and shorelines, except for one brief leg through SF the city.
In Moss Beach, we stopped for a hike through Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. Visitors are not permitted to remove or harm any of the plants or wildlife, so we saw plenty of shells, funny bulbous kelp, and a beach full of seals!
Families with young kids frolicked on the beach, but we sought out the trails and found ourselves in what felt like an enchanted forest.
Here I am doing Half Moon Pose in Half Moon Bay. I didn’t even do that on purpose (well, I typed it on purpose, but when I did the pose it was coincidence)!
From the wood, we eventually found our own (more secluded) beach on which to frolic.
We didn’t want to get stuck in rush hour traffic in San Francisco, so we left the reserve around 3 PM and had a quick (and delicious) late lunch at Sam’s Chowder House. I’ve always wanted to try a lobster roll and now I’ve had an excellent one. We got to the city in good time and got across the Golden Gate before the traffic even knew we were there.
In Sausalito I flipped out at the Heath Ceramics factory outlet but escaped with only one beautiful turquoise salad bowl and a white platter. Then we headed further north on the most winding stretch of Hwy 1 we’ve been on yet. Luckily it was also the most spectacular stretch so far.
Partway through we found a stopping place and hiked down to the ocean. I was scared because the crashing waves sounded so furious and the cliffs looked so forbidding, but I am so so glad we went all the way down.
We saw climbers scaling the huge rock.
I mustered up my courage and climbed partway up too!
The rock felt stable once I got up, but the path was narrow.
Tired out but very happy, we returned to the car and drove through another gorgeous stretch of highway past Stinson Beach and near Point Reyes.
We came to a stop randomly in the small town of Olema, where we were delighted to find a charming hotel and some really good food nearby. After our day of hiking, climbing, and driving, we’re glad for the quiet room and cozy bed. We are looking forward to breakfast at the inn tomorrow, and to further driving up what must be the most beautiful highway in the country. This vacation is so rejuvenating — just what we so needed and wanted!
[This post was imported on 4/10/14 from my old blog at satsumabug.livejournal.com.]
satsumabug.com | Lisa Hsia 
oooh!
lisa! what a cool vacation you guys are taking! if you are going to drive the rest of the way up highway 1 you are in for a treat. it is windy but BEAUTIFUL. just be careful of cops in the small towns…. when we did the hwy 1 drive up to oregon 2 years ago i got a ticket in crescent city bc i was going too fast! 🙂 can’t wait to see more pictures of your time in portland. we haven’t been to portland but i’ve heard it’s GREAT!
Re: oooh!
by the way, that post was from me – alison 😛 boo me.
Re: oooh!
Hee. I figured it was you. We’ve kept to the speed limit because Erik’s coworker got a ticket once in a small town in northern CA and he had to actually appear there in court!