Arriving at the Hertz depot before the staff on Saturday morning we were glad that we had booked a nine o’clock pick up. The cab driver had informed us that there was to be a major protest march later that morning with many road closures. ( As if we need any more stress than driving out of San Francisco on the wrong side of the road?) It turns out that 30,000 people showed up to protest Trump’s immigration policy – I would have joined had we still been there.
Eventually Hertz got themselves organised, we piled our gear into our Chevy Equinox, adjusted seats and mirrors and pressed the start button….mmmm…. “low pressure right rear tire” – a quick check revealed the right rear tire was sitting on the bloody rim 🤣
Out of the Equinox, change the paperwork and an hour after scheduled collection time we were on the road in our Nissan Rogue, getting to know our GPS and eventually pointing our nose northward toward the bridge.
It was just as thrilling driving over as cycling but less chance for scenic views and slightly more hair raising but we were soon veering off onto Highway 1, the scenic coastal alternative to Highway 101. And scenic it was.
First stretch of the legs at Muir Beach
Stunning scenery was around every corner and there were LOTS of corners! The road at times was tortuous and when we decided to leave Highway 1 for a detour to Point Reyes National Seashore even road surface conditions deteriorated making it very slow going. The final destination on the peninsula rewarded us with whale sightings, a deer in the grass and a dead skunk in the middle of the road 🎼 – so totally worth it!
Near the Lighthouse
There are a lot of references to Sir Francis Drake who landed on this coast in 1579 in the Golden Hinde claiming this land for Queen Elizabeth I. The road that bears his name is not quite so illustrious, being the aforementioned skunk road and frequently bisected by cows with pendulous udders heading home for milking…..
One of many dairies on the peninsula
After a quick snack at a nearby beach we headed back to rejoin Highway 1. I was sure we must have made a big dent in our journey but we were devastated to have google tell us once we were back in range that we had nearly another three hours to go given the slow pace on this road. It was now 4.45 pm! 😏
The scenery however, continued to be sublime.
Near Jenner, gorgeous weather bringing lots of sun seekers.
We even passed a film crew on the side of the road complete with camera boom and accompanying highway patrol, real or not we weren’t sure? Further along was the whole setup, including luxe motor homes, catering etc. we never found out what they were working on.
A little before 8pm we were relieved to see the Nightcliff Hotel, Fort Bragg, come into view and even happier to hear we had been given an upgraded room which the young man on the desk proudly announced came with a free bottle of bubbles!
We could hardly contain our laughter when he came back with a bottle of SEAVIEW BRUT 🤣🥂
That’s the sea in the window above the bath not a painting – worthy of much more than our one night stopover. It was a quick walk down to the small harbour for another surprisingly good dinner at the Noyo River Grill and then back for some much needed sleep.
Tomorrow, tall timber and the promise of a straight road….