350 miles to Portland....

We've made it!  Farther than anyone could have imagined I suspect.    Charlie has done for us what we could not have anticipated.   Over 4,000 miles with no major setbacks.  I am more than impressed with him.  We stopped right inside the oregon border in the town of Brookings.  We found a nice, quiet campsite right near the beach, Harris State Park.  The weather is slightly warmer, but the view just keeps getting better!

We now have the option of taking our time and enjoying the coast.   We stopped  many times along the way, there were just so many beautiful views to take in right off the road.

   We decided to stop in Bandon.  It came highly recommended by a co-worker.  We ate lunch at the Bandon Fish Market, deciding to get what everyone else was getting... fish & chips.  They were great!  While waiting on our order, Daniel met a man, Tom, who was inquiring about the bus and Daniel's Florida jacket.  Turns out he went to UF.  We spent an hour talking to Tom & his wife Nancy about many things.  They invited us to stay in Bandon and go clamming with them the next morning, as well as a nice home cooked meal that evening.  How could two lonely wanderers say no?    Nancy's cooking was by far the best meal of the trip!  Matza ball soup and a yummy berry cobbler.  We enjoyed the evening with good food, wine, and conversation.   Both Daniel and I were happy to have made some new friends.   A late night and then early morning of clamming.  We apparently hit Bandon at just the right time.  The tide was the lowest it had been in about 7 years, so the clamming was supposed to be good (and easy).  Unfortunately, it was not so easy, or we were just not that good.   No clams for us!  

Daniel & Nancy looking for clams

locals showing us how it's done

Tom & Nancy wanted to take us to a beach they had visited and since the tide was so low we could walk farther out onto the beach than normal.  So many amazing things.  Closer to the water the beach was nothing but rocks.  Worn so smooth by the water.  We were able to see the biggest starfish I've ever seen.  And crazy colors!    We could walk between the rocks and get close to some seals sunning themselves on the rocks.  Check out these pics....

low tide at Bandon Beach

No sand, just rocks

they blend in so well

We were sad to leave Tom and Nancy... I'm not sure they realized how thankful we were to have met them.   But Portland is in our sights!  Back in the bus and north we go.  Here are some pics of some of the things we stopped to look at.

Heceta Head Lighthouse

We stopped close to Newport at Beverly Beach state park... tomorrow we reach Astoria.  The inner goonie in me can't wait!

Oregon or bust...

We were sad to leave Monterey but we've got somewhere to be.  We left Lindsey's and headed towards San Francisco.  Daniel decided to steer away from the northern coast of California because he heard the roads may be a little hard on a VW bus.  Charlie has gotten us this far, let's not push our luck!  So across the bridge and into Sausalito we went.   

After leaving San Fran we made our way back towards the coast, wanting to get as close to the oregon border as we could.  Most of the state park campsites were full,  but we were able to camp in a parking lot right on the beach across from a state park.  It was freezing cold but there were a couple of local guys in the water that were diving for abalone.  They took some time to talk to us about abalone (since neither one of us really knew anything about these creatures), and even let us take a peek at one.  They have to be at least 7 inches to harvest, which I read can take as long a 19 years.  And the meat cost more than $70 a pound. Needless to say they didn't offer to share....

We also had some free entertainment from a local guy feeding the seagulls.  Now I must tell you that before this evening of fun began, he showed us his medical marijuana license for his "aches and pains" and offered us some of his best remedy.   We declined and proceeded to watch him have a good time with a sandwich and a big freaking seagull.  Guess you had to be there... or be stoned!

our beach view

We made a short stop so Daniel could see if he could get Charlie through one of the redwoods.  It cost us $10 to find out we were a little to big on top.  Daniel did try to gather up  a tour group of senior citizens to load up into the bus to try and weigh it down, but no one was interested.  Maybe next time....

The weather was looking like rain, but I wanted to take a break to walk on the beach.  We stopped at beach with signs that read "Beware Sneaker Waves"  Not sure exactly what a sneaker wave is but it doesn't sound like something fun.  I was in awe of how dangerous this beach actually looked.  With the gray sky and the never ending pounding of the waves onto the beach.  It was beautiful.  Nothing like this in Florida.

Back in the bus!  A quick ride through the redwood forest and Oregon is in our sights!

Nothing like a view....

So we made our way out of Yosemite heading for the California coast as well as some warmer weather.  We stopped outside of a little town called Gilroy for some fresh picked roadside cherries.  If you've been to or through Gilroy then you know about the distinct smell that is Gilroy... garlic!  The entire town smells of garlic, seriously the entire town.  We saw many signs boasting of the best "garlic ice cream" but Daniel and I were too nervous to give it a try.  Back in the bus and on to Monterey.  The excitement was building as the mountains were behind us and the road started to flatten out.  Here's a pic of our first view of the Pacific...

Daniel was right when he said you haven't seen a coast until you see the pacific coast.  For me it was love at first sight.  We made it to my dear friend Lindsey's house and she took us for a drive down the coast towards Carmel and Big Sur.  We took the highway all the way to Big Sur and stopped at a great little burrito bar for a picnic.  

Me and Linz

After leaving with our belly's full of burritos, Lindsey took us down a narrow road to Pfeiffer Beach.  It was amazing.   The wind was blowing so hard that my fedora (as previously seen in the pic) had its last moment atop my head before taking a dip into the pacific.  If you're going to loose an accessory then I can think of no better way.  Here's some pics of Pfeiffer Beach.

We got up the next morning to terrific weather and a drive down the 17 mile loop which follows the coast down through Pebble Beach and Carmel By the Sea.  By far one of the more beautiful drives for me.  We enjoyed the drive as well as managing to get a little bit of shopping down in Carmel.  Well... the shopping was more for my benefit but don't worry about Daniel.  Before I was done he had managed to make friends with two gentlemen waiting outside a shop for their wives.  He meets no strangers.  We went back to Monterey and luckily were able to spend some time with Lindsey's beau, Dennis.  We decided to head down to the beach for some vino, surfing, and a bonfire.  Dennis has taken up surfing while out in Cali... can you blame him?  The wine was delightful, thanks to Lindsey, who by the way has a sweet part time job at a winery.  We spent the evening watching the surf as well as the surfers and of course... a beautiful sunset.

Pebble Beach golf course

The Lone Tree

coastal residents

enjoying our vino

so nice